There are large-scale breeders that do not handle the rodents by hand, they use long tongs. I assume this is to avoid getting their scent on the rodent and to avoid accidental strikes from a hungry snake. I suppose if you use tongs the snake will not be able to strike the rodent that is walking away either (hense a rat getting struck from the wrong end).

One of the large breeders, off the top of my head, is Colette and Dan Sutherland of The Snake Keeper (ballpython.com). The rodents are kept under control with the tongs and they are much more calm then you would expect. I would even say that a rat picked up by the tongs is generally less spastic than a rat picked up and dangled by the tail.

I am not saying using tongs is better than using your hand. I am not saying live is better than prekilled (or visa versa).

I personally do not use tongs because I weigh each food item prior to feeding it to my snakes so I need to handle each rat twice and I am more adept as grasping with my hand than with tongs.

Everyone does things the way they do things and as long as it works and the snake eats safely, that's really all that matters..

Now.. I do think Coke is better than Pepsi, I like Chevy over Ford, I think the Red Sox rock the Yankees, I choose Snoopy over Bush, and if I must lift the damn toilet seat, my wife can do her part and put it down herself! (My point, in the end, is it is all just a matter of opinion)

Rick