FYI, & not saying I like the idea either, but you should know that many breeders under-feed hatchling & neonate snakes, so they don't grow too fast before they're sold. Picture being a snake breeder of any size, & needing to separately house all those offspring- then needing to size up their containers when they out-grow them before they're sold. I've bred some snakes in the past- never commercial about it, & personally I couldn't purposely underfeed any snake in my care, but when people do this for a business, it's different.
There may also be a preference by some buyers for a smaller (cute) "baby" snake too, plus their teeth are smaller, lol- but in terms of the snake's health & well-being, starting off with a well-started 6-12 month yearling is a safer prospect. As long as this BP is eating & healthy, he'll probably be fine.
Another advantage for breeders to underfeed offspring may be so they arrive a bit hungrier & are more easily fed by their new owners. Nothing is more disappointing for new owner than to get a new snake that won't eat fairly soon after arrival, even though that's pretty normal- they need time to settle in. Does this breeder offer any sort of guarantee? Unfortunately there's no way to know if this one got off to a slow start or if it's current size was just a matter of not being fed so much.
FYI: when you get a new snake- do NOT try to change it's eating habits until after you have fed it for at least 3 times, on the same food & offered the same way as the breeder did- so it's used to accepting food in it's new home before you try to throw it a curve with something new. New snakes of any age need time to settle in anyway, but especially young/small ones, because they don't have the fat reserves if they refuse food for a while, as they're more likely to do if you push a sudden change on them. Offer them what they already know as "dinner" for best results.
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