Questions about ovulation/gravid

Ok. Well this is my first season breeding snakes, and so far so good. I got my big pastel male and my really big reduced pattern/banded female locking up about every 4-5 days. About every 4-5 days i'll take the male away from her, and offer them both food. Unfortunately the female keeps eating and the male is refusing. I'm not sure if the female is gravid or not. She is getting larger in girth, BUT WHY IS SHE STILL EATING? I thought they stopped eating as soon as they realized they were gravid. She has been showing signs of being gravid, like laying on her side, staying close to the heat (all the time pretty much), etc. These two snakes have been together for about 4-5 weeks now, and about 2 weeks ago my female started into a shed, she was in that shed for about a week or a week and a half before she ever shed. When she shed however she didn't have a color change like some people experience, so i'm really unsure if she's gravid or not. Any advice would be really appreciated. Do you think I should go ahead and remove the male permanently? They still lock up about every 4-5 days, which is why I haven't removed him yet.

Again any help is much appreciated.