You remember all those posts about retic feeding responses, and "fine once out of the cage," they weren't kidding. This is going to be part of the learning curve for both you and your snake. You need to learn to recognize when he is in feeding mode and the snake needs to learn when it is not feeding time. As with the other posts hook training, or a gentle pat/slap on the side of larger snakes often lets them know what is going on. Retics are fun like that, watching them is sometimes like watching a shark in a feeding frenzy. Mouth first questions later.
On the other matter of your post. I generally feed young snakes more often than once a week. At four feet I would go with a small/medium rat every five days or so. Even when well fed be ready for an enthusiastic greeting when you open or come near the cage.

Good luck and keep learning,
Josh

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