[adamanteus]

Over the years I have had countless 'rescued' Royal Pythons and I have a theory that none of you will like or agree with.... they don't like human contact at all.
They are a very placid and quiet species, and they don't show their stress levels through flight or aggression as many snakes do, but that doesn't mean they aren't stressed.
I have found that when they are given dense cover in which to hide and a bare minimum of contact (even visual contact) they always thrive.
I think that because this species is so 'easy going' people handle them and bother them way too much. In the correct environment, left in peace, they invariably do very well, and happily eat frozen/thawed rodents.
In my experience.