Snakes rely on vision to see the motion of their prey, but they don't truly identify it that way...they have to make a snap decision or risk losing- it escapes!
Snakes often get confused when there is the SCENT (their best 'subject') of rodent & then sudden motion...they go for the motion, right or wrong. Oops!
It's not personal...your snake does NOT want to eat you, & if he got a hold of you instead, he'd likely let go in utter disappointment. It's up to you to better
communicate to your snake...they understand scent & touch (<the reason some like to use "hook training" or similar methods), but vision is tricky for snakes.
Snakes such as ball pythons have one more thing they use, & that is the warmth of 'live' prey. Your hands give a nice heat signature, so when your snake is
smelling prey & you move your hand around within his reach, it's not going to end well. Use sufficiently-long feeding tongs, always. Either blunt BBQ-kitchen
tongs, or the jumbo tweezers or non-locking hemostats that many of us prefer.
This all just takes practice, & BPs are best fed in the evening hours; many snakes like some privacy when they eat also....because they themselves are at risk
from other predators (instinctively) while they are constricting & swallowing prey out in the open. Most BPs prefer to snatch food from tongs when they are in
their hides & just peeking out the doorway...that is what that means, btw...that's a BP ambush waiting for prey to happen past.
And yes, feed BPs in the cage where they live...no good reason to handle a snake to put in a side container, unless you like getting bit? If not before, then
after, while they're still pumped up.
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