Concerned about IJ

A low traffic area would be one where you an your dog aren't walking around in. Like a spare bedroom you would only need to enter to deal with the snake. If you don't have a spare room at least make sure he is in an area you will be in the least.

I know what you mean by low traffic, what you didn't know I meant was nothing has changed as far as that goes for 6 years. He has always been in the living room and has always watched me and the dog go about our business. What I meant, and was not at all clear about, is that there is no commotion or little kids running around screaming etc. Just what he's always seen.

Him not moving in cage could mean something but it also might be nothing. Carpets can be a more active snake but at the same time they are still snakes and snakes in general don't move around a lot. Also he could be moving when you ate sleeping or not at home and just going back to the same spot.

When I say he is not moving I mean not moving. At all. When I put him back in his cage he stays right where I put him, just stays there. He does seem to be moving a bit now though, he did move when I put him back after the vet and has moved slightly since again. I consider that good progress!

Handling him less is probably a good idea but you might still wanna take him out once or twice a week quickly just to check him over and make sure he is ok. If there is actually something wrong you wouldn't want to miss it and have it go on to long. How much did you handle him before you started to get worried?

I take him out every few days, he usually "enjoys" it. I will continue to take him out, just not as often or for as long.

By the sounds of it though if he is healthy, his behaviour sounds normal. It's just different then what it used to be. Keep an eye on him though just in case.

Yes, this is it exactly. He is normally active and happy, now not so much. I just worry, I come from a long line of worry-ers. lol. He actual is starting to get 'dusty' now, so going into shed mode. He will be cranky and not active because of that so I will just worry more.

If he is going into shed that is possibly what it has been all along.

No, it started way too early and was not at all like it's ever been. There is, or was (hopefully) something very not right with him.
If he was new to me I would put it all down to the shed that is just now starting. Knowing him (and the other IJ I have) as I do though, something just ain't right.
Thanks for you help :)

I'm sure you already considered that they are live creatures. Just because they acted a certain way before or followed a pattern doesn't mean they can just change without something being wrong.

Shedding at a time frame different then before, being deffensive when they generally aren't, not being as active as they have been. These could be subtle signs something is wrong or mabey just changing, but they are all also very normal situations that can and do happen.

Now you have mentioned that he isn't moving and when it put him back in his cage he doesn't move, do you mean literally nothing at all? Can he be placed however you want and he just "statues out"(for lack of a better term). And does this last days or is it he just doesn't move for minutes or hours?

When you do hold him is he completely lathargic, and by that I mean a limp noodle basically. Or does he still have muscle retention? If he is a wet noodle then you do have something to worry about.

How is the shed different then it has ever been? Beside that it just isn't when you expected it to be. Is he defiantly in shed or does it just seem like he is?

He "statues out" as you say, just stays there. He will move a bit, but not fully now. Earlier in this 'episode' he wouldn't move at all, for days. Stayed exactly where I put him. He is the opposite of a wet noodle, he gets very rigid and tight. He normally wraps around me and then moves around but now he just 'freezes' and doesn't move much. It's very hard to explain. Since he came back from the vet he has been slightly better and moved a bit in his cage, but it's still not normal.
It has nothing to do with his shed. This started, the psycho stage, at the beginning of last month...so about 4 weeks. He's just now getting a bit dusty looking, he should blue in a week or so I would guess. Far too long to write off as shed, I just mentioned that he is going to, not that it has anything to do with what started this or how he was acting a month ago. Make sense?
The sort of timeline is: 8/26 ate, 9/1-ish went psycho biting nuts, calmed down, 9/10 ate, became very lethargic/stiff/odd, 9/25 refused his rat. Only now is he is thinking about getting dusty prior to a shed. Those dates aren't exactly right, I'm working backwards without a calendar but they are close, he eats every 2 weeks. And the biting stage sort of blended slowly into the freezing stage...