Are we overfeeding?

[Annarose15]

Should I stick to the 7 day schedule since they are 14g over, or can I try every 5 days if he eats them?

So can a 172g BP eat a 40g rat every 5 days, or stick to 7 days since that's a fairly large rat for the young snake?

As long as he's eating it, and the food bulge is gone before the next feeding, I'd say you're fine offering the larger prey. However, since 40g is ~23% of his body weight, I wouldn't feed any more frequently than 7-day intervals. If you try to feed more often, he'll likely start skipping meals, have extra large defecations (which means he's pooping nutrients instead of using them), and have a higher risk for regurgitation (since he will always have food in him when you handle him). Oh, and feed him what makes him healthy - if you want a big snake, get something other than a male BP.