Quote Originally Posted by echinox
What I haven't been able to find is just how much of the animal/wild instinct does feeding live retain? In other words, does NOT feeding live lessen the aggression of the snake and thus the likelyhood that it may strike the handler (me)?
Aggressive feeders (feeding instinct) are one story, while aggressive or defensive for the sake of survival (fight or flight instinct) is a whole other story, and a whole other response to stimuli. Feeding live does not make a snake aggressive, although it may illlicit a more aggressive feeding response. I have a couple girls that are super aggressive on food, even flying out of their tubs to nab their meal, yet when I open the tubs to clean, or check on them, they could care less (note that there is no rodent smell in the snake room when I clean). Others are always defensive of me opening the tub, whether I'm feeding, cleaning or otherwise, yet when they realize there is food around, their defensive response dissappears, and their feeding instinct kicks in (sometimes even after taking a couple of defensive strikes at their meal before-hand. You can see their behavior change from defensive, to hunting). So, long story short, feed f/t or live; in cage or feeding bin, it doesn't matter as long as you do it correctly and responsibly.

-Evan