Late to the game here.
I am amazed at the meals my carpet python (Yafe) can easily take down. I've heard they prefer larger meals and even will refuse smaller ones and not recognize as prey. I have yet to see this with Yafe, but also offer food big enough to leave a bulge.
As mentioned, know your species. BP's aren't as stretchy, and the same with some colubrids (king snakes come to mind). Smaller meals are better. This is especially true with Boas like BI's and BC's - speaking from experience and research.
You asked about % of weight. I agree that you should eye it and that's more important, but I will feed 15-20% of my Carpet's body weight (usually closer to 15% as I feed regularly - every two weeks - and all year round). My boas average about 5-7% of their body weight and never more than about 10%. Different metabolisms, body type, etc. I should note, all my boas are growing still (at different rates). Once full grown, the CP will still get larger meals just more spaced out. The boas will still get smaller meals and also more spaced out.
Finally, and this is important, if you are feeding large meals to any snake (relative), make sure your temps and humidity (less important) are dialed in. You want ideal conditions for digestion. Give a gradient, and make sure it's warm enough for that species.
Depending on where your CP is from (I have researched IJ and Darwin because Yafe is a hybrid of the two), they can generally handle more heat than a BP, for example, and need it to digest. On top of Yafe's perch it is around 92-94F and the ground below is 90-92F. He moves around when digesting, but ultimately spends the 2nd-4th days after eating on the 85F +/- spot. However, he's eating medium rats now and he's about 1,100G. So only about 13-14% of body weight. Additionally, he absolutely will spend the first 24 hours on the warmer spots.
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