Now that the title has gotten your attention, I hope this isn't the wrong place to ask this, and if it is, please tell me so I'll know where to go and won't make the same mistake in the future.

I'm having a problem with my new ball python.
I've only owned two in my life, including this one, but I've done a great deal of research on proper care and maintenance, both from books and of course online, as well as asking breeders and experienced owners. I've owned and been around other animals (including other reptiles) since I was a baby, but I will admit that I am indeed new to snakes.
I can go into more detail about how mine are housed and cared for, if desired. However, this question is not concerning health, but behavior.

See, I got my first BP (male, a little under eight months old) a few months ago, from from a reputable breeder -- has only owned and bred for a few years but takes excellent care of his animals, provides the correct temperatures/humidities, only breeds animals of the proper size/age; no bad sheds, mites, scale rot, belly rot, or other health problems whatsoever.
All of his babies were handled regularly except after feeding or if not interested in eating for whatever reason (he never sells any unless they're eating very well from tongs) and as such these are some of the least-shy and most friendly, social BPs I've ever heard of, let alone met or been lucky enough to own.

After meeting mine, two people I know have actually bought one from the same breeder, one of whom previously disliked snakes -- my boy is quite the little ambassador for BPs!


And then I got offered a free female ball python from someone on craigslist.
Well, after having such an excellent experience with my little male, of course I jumped at the chance to have her and get a lady-friend for my guy, maybe even breed them myself someday.

This girl is 1.5 - 2 years old, and approximately 1200 grams. When I met her, she was very relaxed, even more docile than my boy usually is, and he's as calm as can be even when strangers and little children are petting and holding him. I was really pleased with her.

As it turns out, however, she has been fed in her enclosure for at least several months, if not much longer.

Now, I always wondered if the "never feed your snake in its enclosure, it'll become aggressive and bite you as soon as you open the lid!" was a bit of an exaggeration, mainly due to all of the owners who say they have done this for years with no problems whatsoever (you hear this about a lot of stuff, don't you? "I haven't had any problems YET"?)

Well, regardless of how successful anyone else feeds their snake in said snake's enclosure, I personally NEVER would, and (aside from worrying about substrate getting swallowed and hurting them) this girly is a prime reason of exactly why I would never risk it.

The moment I even walk BY the enclosure, she's coiling up her neck to strike, following me with her head no matter where I move, rigid as a board and snapping at the glass like a maniac!

If you think this is bad, opening the enclosure to mist it is a nightmare; I usually have to throw a pillow case over her head and watch her like a hawk to make sure she doesn't "peek" out from under it -- advice from my other BP's breeder who uses this method to get highly irritable females off of their eggs.

If I don't cover her head, she gives her very best attempts to nail me, whether my hands or even my face if I'm leaning a bit too close. She hasn't gotten me so far, but it's not for lack of effort; if anything, I've just been very careful and I have the reflexes borne of someone who makes most of her money by clipping the nails of foul-tempered cats and dogs.

The oddity? This is not, as far as I am aware, aggression.
In fact, she never behaves defensively or acts as if she's frightened or stressed; never hisses or balls up, just tries to bite me as if I tied raw pork chops around my ankles and danced in front of a rabid badger.

How do I know it's not aggression? Because as soon as you remove her from the enclosure (NOT an easy task, let me assure you), she's as chill and lax as an old limp water hose, not an ounce of the urge or intention to bite.

I contacted her previous owner with my suspicion, and sure enough, he's been dangling rats inside of her tank for ages.
Key word: tank.
I can even put her in a plastic tub (when searching for urates or droppings -- no way I'm doing that while she's still in there!) and she remains as docile as can be...because she hasn't been brainwashed to think "this specific type of enclosure = FOOD TIME" in anything but a tank.

I originally thought she just might be REALLY hungry, so I let snarf down three small rats (F/T, I would never feed live under any circumstances) and she finished those off in a matter of minutes and was still looking for more after the third, but my breeder friend advised me not to offer any more, to prevent her from having trouble digesting such a big meal and throwing them up, thereby wasting a meal and all of the energy used to constrict and then eat them.
Also, in his words, "a half-digested rat is something that no one should ever have to smell."

Even when there's no way she can still be hungry, she's a highly enthusiastic eater and as such, continues to strike at any warm object she sees outside of her enclosure (just about gave my cat a heart attack).

My breeder friend told me that regular handling can often help tame an aggressive snake, but I truly do not believe that this is aggression of any form -- just a very eager feeding response, with no more anger present than a dog who mistakes your hand for a tasty treat after you've been handling meat.

I plan to build her an enclosure reminiscent of the style of "vision" cages, and I assume that'll eliminate the problem (like when she's in a tub), but what about until then?

I'm honestly worried that she's going to hurt herself if she keeps this up, but I have no idea what I can do to prevent it or get her to stop.

If she were a dog or cat or something, I'd probably squirt her in the face with a spray bottle so she would at least learn to think twice about nipping at everything she sees, but I don't know how effective or advisable that would be with a snake, and I'd be worried about it being somehow harmful to her.

Any advice at all would be SO highly appreciated, you have no idea. Please help or direct me to someone who can, and thank you in advance!



P.S. Anyone know why she has those tiny white dots on her, like the one on the back of her neck? The breeder I know is baffled by them, said they might be scars from rat bites if she was ever fed live, but she does have a scar on her head from her previous owner having left an enclosure only half-latched, and she tried to squeeze out but got her head stuck and pulled it back in, scraping it.
That scar is jet black, as opposed to the little pure white scales here and there -- she's only got three or four of them, so I'm assuming she's not some really-really-REALLY low-white piebald or something ridiculous like that, but..any clues as to what they are, or why she's got them? I've never seen any other Normal BP with them.
Thanks again~!