Mine won't eat when he's in shed, but when he's done shedding, he can get pissy because he's hungry and hisses at me. So you should up your meal size. Mine is maybe about 28 inches long 807 grams and eating between small and medium rats. Also I don't know what your set-up is but if it's a tank, wrap all 3 sides of the tank in dark construction paper or card board and half way up the front side to make him feel more secure, looks horrible but makes a big difference in how they act, at least with mine it did.