Pretty much everything is going to affect how much of a prey item is utilized making it nearly impossible to come up with a solid, long term guideline based on weight % alone. You've got stress levels, parasite loads, temperature ranges, prey type, prey age(fat content), activity level, etc. In conjunction with whatever numbers we come up with a picture guide showing the range of body types and prey options modeled after their wild diet would be most useful to new keepers. Maybe throw in some pictures under different circumstances covering a yearly cycle.
Example:
These snakes feed primarily on small rodents in the wild with males showing at least a seasonal tendency towards birds.
Followed by pictures or groups of pictures within each category:
1) snake is underweight
2) snake is overweight
3) snake is of average build
4) fasting male
5) building female
6) pre laying
7) post laying
8) neonate
9) yearling
Then folks who aren't sure can occasionally check the picture guide to see where their snake lies on the spectrum and adjust food intake accordingly. With so many keepers and pictures flooding the net, it's not always easy finding examples of these animals in the wild, let alone enough to get a decent idea of what their average body build should look like, but that's what I always strive for - a healthy, natural median. I'm not modeling my animals after the starving snake on death's door or the animal that just cleaned out a whole colony of rodents.
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