First off I swear I'm not stalking this thread, there just happens to be a new post whenever I take a break

Quote Originally Posted by Eric Alan View Post
I don't consider a feeding response aggression towards the keeper. That's the difference I'm getting at.
Is it possible that someone misinterpreted a feeding response for aggression and then they themselves were hesitant to feed your snake in its previous home? From experience, this can lead to a snake with a good feeding response that is regularly hungry due to a nervous owner. Not the best combination when trying to build a relationship between keeper and snake... I've seen this be quickly "tamed" by experienced keepers and a regular, appropriate, feeding schedule (not sure tamed is the right word, as a snake with a strong feeding response is an amazing thing).
You'd be hard pressed to find any scientific evidence. After all, we're talking about ball pythons here - who's putting up research money for very many behavior studies on these guys? The move-related issues are real though, and so are the bites that can come from being in feed mode (albeit at different levels for different animals). Similarly, the misinterpretation of feeding response for aggression towards the keeper also happens (more so with newer hobbiests).

When it comes down to it, I always recommend simplification and that's what feeding in their own enclosure does. If my snakes are well fed and happy in their homes, who am I to mess with that?
I was considering the feeding response to fall under 'aggression' just because prey drive was often referred to as a form of aggression (albeit not social aggression) in neuro/psych papers I've read. Only realized it sounded different once you said that. But no, none of my snakes actually display aggression in the sense that they're mad at me. Same goes for my parents' snakes that I mentioned.

As for having a nervous keeper, she was put up for adoption by pet store employees who were frightened of her, so that may very well be where that started; and she was just a baby at that point. She's pretty mellow other than the food, so it probably won't take long for her to get used to a new feeding routine. I've really just been continuing in the way she was being fed before without really thinking about it since it seemed to work, but I'm going to try in-tank next time.

btw, this has been a very informative discussion!