Hi-
From what I gather, some of them don't want to be picked up or held much when they're shedding. I've seen my guy shedding, and it just looks uncomfortable. Ours does not stop eating, although there are times that he will (without shedding) stop eating for a day, but then picks right back up to his normal appetite.
He also had a white snout for about a week, and this evening his face was shedding. I fed him, and he ate like crazy, but the shed pieces flopped around on his mouth..lol
Then I gave him a
bath, and he happens to really enjoy baths anyway, but he wanted the spa treatment because of the shed, I think. He really wanted to absorb the water. After a while, I rubbed his face in the direction of the scales, and the shed seemed to come off easy enough, then he let me rub around his eye because that too was shedding, and he seemed to enjoy the rubbing. Then I took a soft toothbrush that we use just for his shed times and brushed him lightly with it. His one arm and face are shedding right now.
The only time Ive really noticed a difference in mood with Rin, was the first time we ever saw him do a full body shed. It was massive, and my husband tried to feed him, and when I got home from work, he looked up at me like, "WHAT IS THIS NOVICE DOING?? PLEASE HELP ME!" I was afraid he was going to bite he looked so uncomfortable, but I put him into the bathtub and he soaked up the water and calmed down. He was not in attack mode by any means, he just looked uncomfortable, I guess kind of comparable to how we might feel when we get a sunburn..just miserable.
Sounds like your guy will do just fine with his sheds. Give him lots of warm baths and see how he likes it. If you offer a washcloth to stand on, and another rolled up under his chin, he might just want his zen moments in the tub while he sheds.