!! EXTRA INFO !!

For a bit of background I'm a new snake keeper with a rescued Red tail boa she weighs about 15lbs & 7feet long, I've posted about ideal feeding times for her I'm currently feeding her a large rat every 3 weeks as I'm trying to help her lose weight from her old feeding routine that was wrong


I just fed my snake her normal large rat & instead of swallowing it head first she took it back first folded & swallowed it... I'm just glad it was a large rat instead of collosal she was on before from panic & searching how to help I haven't found much it's commonly butt first never back folded like a taco... She's swallowed & returned to hiding with a small bulge & I've upped the heat to allow her to digest it as quick as possible


I read not to intervene & let them figure it out but can they actually hurt themselves? Also how should I go about avoiding this in future as when they coil on the rat they seem to eat whatever they happened to bit first I hang the rat head first & she always grabs it right away (boas right? Lol)

Also for diet Ive notice when she's resting she as quite a bit of fat so I'd like to know what I should/or could feed her & how to go about that, I know some feed fish as it's healthier but how do you go about getting fish & prepping it or giving it to my snake, are fish from a grocery store what people use? Should I look for a speciality reptile shop?