How to calm an overly eager eater

[Cheesenugget]

My Children Python is almost 2 years old. Since he was a baby, he loves to eat. Never turned down a meal, even during a shed. He also has a nasty habit of being cage defensive, meaning even if you let him be, and your hand is in his enclosure, he will come out and start nipping at you. Bender is his name, and he truly lives up to it (I named him this before learning about his personality). In light of this, he had calmed down a lot as he got older and I was always able to handle him. I think he is a sweet snake when be is not trying to kill you lol. At his age, he is on a 10-day feeding schedule and 1 mouse. And around day 3-4, usually after a poop, he is found perched on his cork bark waiting for more food.

Lately, he has been more hungry than usual, or so I think. He had been striking at the glass just for passing by his tank, so I had the sides covered. He also strikes at the mesh lid, if I was moving stuff around the top of the lid.

Nothing changed in terms of husbandry, enclosure, hides, environment, etc. It seems like he is getting more hungry than usual. Is it a breeding thing around this time of the year? He is a male so I was expecting that kind of behavior more from the females. He never refused or showed lack of wanting food in the past though.

Anyways, today was the weekly cage cleaning and as usual, he was waiting for food. And as usual, I gently throw a towel over his head to tell him it is not feeding day. However, being a noob that I am, I thought he had calmed down and decided to pick him up. I should have waited because he coiled my hand and bit my finger in an attempt to eat it. No big deal, I waited for a few seconds and about to turn the faucet on him when he stopped biting. However, he still had me coiled and it stayed that way for at least 30 min until I just had enough and sprayed water on him to scare him off. I tried placing him on his favorite spot in the cage, have him go to my other hand or another place, and waited out but nothing. I tried to unwrap him from his tail and he attempted to bite my other hand.

So long story short, should I feed him more to calm his feeding response down? My number 1 concern was him hurting himself when he strikes the glass or the lid or me.

The images below are taken when he had my hand coiled and would not let go.

Jeesh, even my kings are not that crazy over food.

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