Quick feeding question?

[BigCeC43]

Is there any specific way to tell when to move your BP up to either larger prey items, or more in one sitting? The only thing I've really read is that the rodent should never be larger than the girth of the snake. I want my snake to grow big and healthy so I'm eager to feed him, but I don't want to overfeed him.
Unfortuanetly, I don't know his exact age or weight. I do know he's 18 inches long and reletively skinny compared to some I see in pics here. I was told he's less than a year old which I think is true, I just don't his DOB. When I handle him I can feel his spine protrude a tiny bit (I think it's his spine). I believe this is a sign of under feeding, but I'm not sure. You can see him in my avatar or my gallery. Right now he's been eating a hopper mouse (reletively small white mouse w/ red eyes every 6-7 days. I've only feed him twice since I've had him b/c he shed the first week I got him.
Please comment if you have any feedback on when to progress him up, if you think he's underfeed now, if it is the spine I'm feeling, etc...

[Purrrfect9]

Aww! He looks like a little tiny scoot in your avitar! very cute! Hmm, as for feeding more, I would slowly progress him up a size as his girth grows, and then after he's been eating adult mice for a while (oh,.. say 2 months, but it really depends on the growth rate of your snake) you can feed him a second adult mouse if you wise. I got my first BP, which was a May '06 hatchling, for christmas last year, and at 7-8 ish months old I was feeding her 2 adult mice every week, then I switched to rat pups every week, and now a year and a half later i'm feeding her small adult rats every 7-10 days. It's really a judgement call on your part.

[Sunny1]

What you read is pretty much the general rule as far as feeding BP's, nothing larger than the widest part of your snake. So for now, I think that a hopper mouse is probably good for him. I know that you want him to grow, but that is just going to take patience!! You run into so many more problems when you try to feed them too much, they can eventually go off feed for awhile to "catch up" to how much they have been eating, and they can become overweight. Also, in the wild, they don't get this regular feeding schedule that we provide them in captivity, so even with a hopper a week, that is plenty for your BP to grow. And I don't think it is being underfed unless you can visually see the spine protruding out while it is at rest, but someone correct me if I am wrong. And every BP grows at their own rate, some will be bigger than others even if they were born at the same time. So I wouldn't really worry about comparing your snake's growth rate to others on here. One last thing, you can always try feeding your BP during shed. Some will eat, some wont. My BP will eat during shed. But if it doesn't eat during shed when you offer, I wouldn't worry about it and just wait til the next week.

[BigCeC43]

Thanks for the comments. I think I'm on the right track, just needed some reassurance. I'll keep doing what I have been since it seems to be working well.