Hun... Have you done a poll on the entire Ball Python community that says MOST keepers feed medium and large rats to their adults?

The majority feed weaned/small rats to their adults, sometimes even TWO weaned/smalls. I only feed mice and once of my girls(even with only 3-4 mice a week, skipping a week here and there too) is overweight and needs bumped down to 1-2 a week.

The fact is, is that the snake doesn't NEED or require that amount of food whatsoever. Their metabolism is very slow and overfeeding will just lead to fasting for months. Feeding smaller meals once per week keeps the snake feeding on a regular basis, which in turn means growing at a consistent rate.

There are many people who just feed mice, many who just feed rats, many who feed rats, mice, african soft furs, gerbils and the ocassional small child. Just because you and a few other people feed large rats to your Ball Pythons, doesn't mean the majority do. No one knows what these snakes' nutritional requirements are, so you have no basis in saying that feeding larger prey items is best for them. People with 35+ years of experience with these animals, who also only feed weaned/small rats to their biggest adults, hopefully know what they are doing by now.