Should I jump from large pinks to hoppers?

[dfree]

First off, I know it is common to know how much your snake weighs, but I don't. She did just shed yesterday, so this is what I do know. She is 15 months old, is 26 inches long, and her widest girth seems to be about 1 inch across. I have been feeding her 3 of the large pinks every 8-10 days or so. She seems fairly happy with that, and since her last shed (my son keeps all of them in his room) it appears she had grown almost 4 inches (is that even possible??) and has fattened up quite a bit. She has shed 3 times since we got her the first of June. I am almost out of the pinks, and need to order new mice, but don't know if I should go up one size to fuzzies or jump up to hoppers. Her head seems so tiny, that I worry that she won't be able to handle hoppers yet and don't want a regurge, as she has always been such a good eater. Any thoughts?
Thanks!!!

[Nanci]

Don't look at her head, look at her body at the widest point. The mouse should be one to one and a half times, in diameter, the diameter of the snake at the widest part.

[danielle]

Also depnding on the size of a hopper thats a big jump fo to fuzzies for 10-20 feedings every 5-7 days and then hoppers. My yearlings are all on hoppers, but I moved them up slow:)

[airenlow]

and since her last shed (my son keeps all of them in his room) it appears she had grown almost 4 inches (is that even possible??) and has fattened up quite a bit.

That is possible, but not very likely. The skin stretches quite a bit as it's being shed off. So, that's not the best way to tell how long your snake actually is.

[Caryl]

I'd buy fuzzies. You can feed two if one isn't a large enough meal. Digesting several small prey items as your snake is doing now is different than digesting a single large prey item. It's a matter of surface area for the chemical reactions. You ought to move her up after you've fed off your supply of pinkies. Mice at different stages of development have different nutrients.

If you're asking for purposes of planning your purchase, you could go with fuzzies or hoppers. If the hoppers are too big initially, they can be slice in half if you're not squeamish. As Nanci said, prey items should be no larger than 1.5 times the snake's girth at its widest part.

Another way to gauge if your prey size is appropriate is the "feeding bump." You should be able to see a visible bulge in your snake 24 hours after feeding. That bump should be smoothed out 48 hours after feeding. If there's no visible bulge 24 hours after a meal, it's time to move up to the next prey size.