Concerned about IJ

I have an '06 male IJ who has been fine for years, no issues (except his nose lumpectomy years ago) at all but now I'm worried about him.
Two or so weeks ago he went from an incredibly docile handle-able snake to vicious. He repeatedly struck at me and even lunged out of his cage door to try to get me. That went on for a 2 or 3 days but I kept handling him (gloves and long sleeved shirt, he would settle so I would un-glove) and he calmed back down. Then he totally did a 180 and now just "freezes" when I touch him and he is not moving around his cage at all. He refused dinner last night too. I did open his mouth to see if anything appeared wrong and it looked fine.
He's in a 4' Boaphile, cool side is ~78, median is ~82-84 and the top of his warm side hide/rack is ~89-90. I haven't seen him drink since this started, he did refuse a meal last night which is totally unlike him.
I'm half thinking of taking him to the vet but am not sure what, if anything, that would prove.
Any thoughts or ideas? He really has me a bit concerned, he has never been anything close to like this in the 6 years I've had him.

My male Dumeril had the same sudden attitude change awhile back. Noticed his tongue wasnt coming out of his mouth and felt a lump on his bottom jaw. Took em to the vet and he had an abscess in his mouth and that was causing him to be mean. Got it cut, drained and with some medication treatments he's back to being friendly.

Not saying thats whats wrong with yours but it could be something inside of him making him like that so Id take em to the vet for a check.

Thanks.
He, years ago, had a nasty lump on his nose...same sort of thing as you had w/yours...surgery and injections. He was fine through it all, just looked horrible.
I will probably call the vet tomorrow, it's just such odd behavior for him.

The not eating could be caused from the breeding season coming. What is your substrate? How is the humidity? He could be going into shed or getting ready to shed.

He's on newspaper. I don't monitor humidity for my IJ's or the Corn, just for the Brazillian Rainbow Boa but it is a 'normal' level. When it gets drier during the winter I pay more attention to it. He should be due for a shed in a few weeks, not yet though. He is pretty regular about that and I just checked the calendar. No dulling going on yet, still is nice and bright.

ok, only because i know when my JCP is ready to shed she is hands off for the next 10-14 days. Maybe he is just having an off day.

Well, he's back from the vet and there really is no answer. He seems physically fine; not dehydrated, clear mouth, no swelling or irregularities, no hard or soft/puffy/odd organs...the vet is stumped. He's getting to defecate but that is not hard/impacted at all and he will be going into shed mode in a week or three (if he holds true to his 'schedule') but that wouldn't account for all this oddness either.
The wants me to give him a call Monday and give an update, I'm not sure there will be one though really. He wants me to offer a rat on Sunday and see how that goes. He may want to do bloodwork at some point if things don't get back to normal.
He's back in his cage and he is in the exact same position that I put him in, hasn't moved at all. Ugh.

There might not be anything wrong. Sometime snakes attitudes can just change.

You can keep taking him to the vet as there could be something physically wrong with him causing the behavioural changes. At the same time the vet might find nothing wrong again because there might be nothing wrong.

Where is his cage kept? It should be in a no-low traffic area. How often do you handle him now and how often before the changes? What is the behaviour like in the tank when noone is bothering him? And what's it like when you are near the tank or working in the tank?

He's in a low traffic area...everywhere is a low traffic area, it's just me and my dog walking around ;)
I haven't handled him much since he moved to his 'freezing' 'still' stage, I am trying to leave him alone and hoping he will just get over this unwelcome stage. He did move a bit since being back home from the vet, not much but a bit. He's wrapped around and squished behind his igloo on the warm side, I'm glad he's there, don't have to worry that he's too cool.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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...