It may be a fungus? Can't tell over the internet if it is or isn't, but common sense would dictate that any malady can affect temperament.

BTW, feeding in a separate container does not fool a hungry snake. Hungry kingsnakes may bite, period. Does not matter where you feed it. When you put your hand in a cage, it can be looked at as food. How is a snake with a little pea-brain suppose to differentiate?

Using a snake hook to remove the snake will cut down on bite attempts. When you use a hook to lift the snake, the snake realizes it isn't warm-blooded flesh and may relinquish the attack mode for a bit.

Also, there is no rule that says temperament must stay the same. As the seasons change, behavior will change. Spring time for females especially often means increased appetite to bulk up for breeding. Your separate container does not change that.

My advice is to look at the snake as an organism that does certain behaviors to exist in the wild. In captivity it may still have those behaviors. They are not puppets that just sit there and eat and understand separate containers and like to be held and bow down to our every desire for them to be anything different than what they are.
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Mark

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