I find that if I feed a meal approx the girth size (of my larger snakes) the tend to want to skip a meal every once in awhile. Where if I feed a couple weanlings (40-50grams) instead, the snake will eat every week and not skip those meals. Which in turn makes a more consistent feeder. I am not saying that a meal of girth-size won't make a consistent feeder, this is just what I have experienced. In turn it costs me less to feed off weanlings, than to raise rats to small-mediums. So its a win-win for me. Now with hatchlings I do feed one prey item of girth-size, they seem to take these every week with no skipped meals. I switch the practice at the 600-700 gram range. Again this is all just my opinion.