It sounds to me like he has pain, on & off, & the only way he can deal with it is to bite at himself. Internal parasites (worms) can migrate through a snake's body, & get into organs, causing them to fail. Even into heart & lungs. They wouldn't show up on x-rays either.I wish there was some better explanation I could think of, that it could be...???
There's nothing worse than watching a pet (or person, for that matter) that you care about that's suffering & needing help- but there's only so much you can do.
I hope a feeding helps for now.