Is it time for bigger food???

Two weeks ago i noticed some new feeding related behavior in Irwin, and more so this week. 2 weeks ago, about 14 days after his last meal and about 4 or 5 days after he pooped, i noticed that he was, what appeared to be, hungry. He came out to meet me when i checked on him - he never does that unless its feeding day and he can smell the rat. I easily booped him out of it and we had a very nice play-date but the next day i went out and got the biggest small rat i could find. He ate it as quickly or quicker than any meal he's ever had.
Fast forward to yesterday - again with the hunger routine - i feed him again today and he eats it even faster, and this time, he stayed in feeding mode after he was done! Now i know that this is not uncommon among snakes, but it has never happened with Irwin before. Usually after he's done he is just sleepy and content and curls up in his warm hide for a day, but today even a half hour after he'd finished, not only was he still roaming his cage, but when i walked by he tracked me, i mean really tracked me - not just coming out to say "hi" like before.
So is he ready for medium rats? or (and this is just a theory) is he finally getting comfortable enough around me to act like a normal snake? As of this week i've had him for 7 months, ( he is exactly 2 years and 4 months old) and although i haven't noted any other significant behavior changes, it occurs to me that maybe he's finally overcome some level of anxiety about his safety/security here and no longer feels the need to hide after he eats???
Now i like to feed more conservatively anyway, and it has been suggested to me and i am inclined to believe that a hungry boa is happier and more fun than a stuffed one, but if i am going to be spacing out his meals, i would at least like them to be satisfactory in size.
Unfortunately i can not tell you how heavy he is, only that is is over 3'8" (i measured him a month ago) but i have some screen grabs of today's feeding and the one 2 weeks ago for reference.


Today: (he has never come straight out like that before)
https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...52094692_o.jpg

Today: rat's midsection compared to his
https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...80&oe=586DAF3F


2 weeks ago: its blurry, but you get a pretty good idea of the size.
https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...17&oe=58A7836A

i wish i had good shots of the lumps they left, but not only was he out of frame, but i can tell you they were hardly noticeable.

What do y'all think??