Quote Originally Posted by mr~python
i would think it's the shedding, but it could be because he finally got warm for the first time.

i saw on AP a burm that was neglected with NO heat at all was confiscatated and once it was in a suitable enclosure with proper heating it became aggressive.
Pure speculation on my part: Usually, people who can't/won't/don't supply the proper heat and husbandry for their snakes generally also don't handle them often enough or properly to "tame" them. (Using that word very loosely.) I would guess that the low temperatures keep the snake (like the burm in the story you saw) docile simply because it doesn't have the energy to be more actively defensive. Once it gets into the warm, proper environment, it now has the energy to be as defensive as it feels it needs to be...and given the apparent neglect it's been through, it's not the least bit surprising that it would behave that way.

So, I don't think it's the heating that caused the snake to become aggressive...more that the proper temperatures simply made it possible for the snake to behave how it would have anyhow.

In B&H's case, it sounds like the snake was just being "moody" because of an impending shed. No matter how docile a snake seems to be, they will always have the potential to suddenly become aggressive. We shouldn't ever forget that they are wild animals.