Snake suddenly showing aggressive behavior

[andeal]

Tagging is not feeding response, it's a scared response. Latching is a feeding response. Rats have a strong odor. Plus you & your hand looks nothing like a rat. You are a giant warm thing. BPs are notoriously picky eaters, who will certainly be able to tell whether a "warm, moving thing" is food. In the wild, their lives depend on it.

BPs and snakes in general don't like to be touched pre and post meal. It's when they're the most vulnerable. When they think they're about to eat, and strike at you, that's a very understandable response. They don't want you around. They just want to eat in peace. On top of that, taking out your snake out of its home, and putting it in a separate feeding bin, especially a semi-transparent bin with no hides, is going to add to the stress of an already stressful situation. Transporting the snake back to its enclosure after it's eaten, is also very stressful, and can lead not only to tagging, but regurgitation. I'd highly recommend feeding it in its enclosure.

What I personally do, is place, with feeding tongs, a plastic lid inside its enclosure, right outside its hide. My BP is then able to recognize it's feeding time. Then, with feeding tongs, I wiggle and sweak the warmed F/T rat right above the lid. That way she can eat without ingesting much substrate. Once the rat is gone, and the BP is back to hiding in her cave, I quickly pull out the lid (with the tongs), and leave her alone for the rest of the day.