One thing you need to know about ball pythons is that their habits change a lot. Sometimes they are super hungry, sometimes they won't eat for 8 months. Sometimes they like rats, and sometimes they like mice. Sometimes they cruise endlessly, and sometimes they just hide 24/7. Nothing is set in stone with these guys.
That being said, I don't think you are feeding him often enough. I would suggest getting a cheap kitchen scale to weigh the snake with and weigh his food. You should feed about 10% of the snakes body weight.
During the warm and cool months, were you only offering him food every 4 or 8 weeks? Or was he fasting?
"mid 80's" for temps is really not enough info...Do you actually know the temps? Do you have a digital thermometer? What kind of hides are you giving him?
Ball pythons don't go into "heat"... they are reptiles. Also, their size doesn't dictate their gender. I have males that are tiny, and males that are bigger than some of my females. The only way to know the gender is to get the snake probed. Popping is kind of difficult on adults.
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