Ok, let me get this straight...
You do not feed in the enclosure because you don't want them to associate their homes with eating, thus reducing the chances of getting bitten while reaching in to get them...
So you in turn HAND FEED them on a filthy floor so that they associate your hand as a food delivery system.
Seriously!?


Further more, even though they are "just snakes" they do appreciate a nice warm, clean cage to eat in. I feed every one of my ball pythons in their tubs and have yet to be struck at as a feeding response. But then again, I don't go sticking my hand in there when there's the scent of freshly bought feeder rodents in the air.
And to answer another one of your questions, yes I have had a ball with attitude. He would puff up and hiss every time you opened the lid to his tank, and then strike at you after you lifted the hide. You know what I did? Picked him up anyways! He never managed to tag me, but my ex was bitten several times by him. But he was an idiot anyways. Oh, and bites from a ball don't hurt, just so you know.
It's probably not that your snake is a meanie, he's just grouchy. I'd think that if you took me out of my warm enclosure, strangled me a bit, and then put me on cold concrete and expected me to eat out of your hand... I'd bite you too!
