Strange Encounter With Ball Python

Question
Hello,

     Over a year ago I bought a set of adult ball pythons I am unsure of their ages unfortunately.I was told but the previous owner that they were both males one being about 3 and 1/2 feet long and the other just barely 3 feet long. But this last April and may one of them began acting weird (the larger of the two). He began hiss and spitting at me and rearing up when i would take him out of the cage to eat. This lasted until about June then he went back to his normal all around loving self. Until recently he has been acting strange and even went as far as to bite me this evening when I fed him. And i have never had a problem with the other one just this one and he was fine when i originally got him. But, I also recently found out that he might actually be a she or so the previous owner recanted him previous statement. That is also plausible due to their size differences. But i am unsure and I read that a sign that a female is pregnant is them curling around their bowl or sitting in it. Which he/she is doing a lot of lately. But I am hopeless confused about what is going on with he/she has also shed twice within a month which has never happened before and it is increasing in size rapidly but still is eating the normal amount. Its seem hopelessly agitated and aggressive lately and i am unsure of what to do. My worst fear already came true (the biting) and now I am unsure if it will ever be the same again or if i will have to get rid of it which i don't want to do at all. Perhaps you can help me figure out what is the matter with my poor ball.

Thank You

Answer
Hello Jessica,

It sounds like she is probably gravid, yes.  Perhaps she is extremely hormonal & doesn't want to be handled at all if she is carrying eggs.  However, it might be a good idea to get x-rays to see if she does have eggs.
Shedding twice in a month is frequent so that might have aggitated her as well.  Maybe you can get him/her sexed to make sure.
At their size, they might not be quite old enough to breed, either, but I am not positive.  How much do they weigh?
The females get very restless & irritable if they are gravid alot of times.  So we do need to figure out the sex for sure & whether or not she could be gravid if in fact, it is female.  Do you have a picture?

Tracie