Tom,
I don't have a masters degree in herptology, but I believe what you are refering to is the surface area to mass ratio and how that relates to digestion.
But im like you, I push them a bit too, I like my snakes to be "big boned", not scrawny little starved stunted little runts. But yet not obese adults, the way I have always viewed raising any reptile for that matter is I can push them when they are growing because they put it to growth, then when the reach full size I can back off the feed and put them on a maintanence diet, or if they have been off feed for some time during breeding or gravid, then they can be pushed to get weight back up if they have the appetite for it. But like someone else posted you have to know and read every individual animal because they really vary individual to individual on how they respond. Sometimes it's based on previous experience and sometimes it's evolving, fluid, experimenting, and learning on the fly.
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Jeff Benfer

1.0 pastel Python regius
1.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
1.3 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.2 double het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
2.2 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
0.2 het Christmas albino Thamnophis radix
1.1 double het cherry erythristic, albino Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 melanistic Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 triple heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 Okeetee Pantherophis guttatus

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