|
You only recently got her didn't you?
Most young snakes will retreat at a fast pace when you reach in to pick them up. They mostly associate something trying to grab them or come at them as danger and follow their instincts to retreat and try and hide. So yes, I guess it is a stress response.
She should settle down when she gets older...the best thing to do is leave them be for at least 2 weeks after bringing them home and make sure they have a good feed or two before attempting to handle them, especially if they are young. It's in a new scary environment which isn't familiar..that's why it's best to let the snake be and not handle at all for a couple of weeks so it learns it's new cage is a safe place.
A good indication of whether a snake is over stressed or not is if it refuses food or eats well. That's also why getting a couple of feeds in before you begin regular handling is a good idea.
If it is older and if it has been cooled and is still in cooling, regular handling IMO is a bad idea anyway. Their metabolism is slowed down and they are in 'sleep' mode, best to leave them alone. There is no way we would touch unless absolutely necessary a snake in cooling.
So IMO it's best to just wait and see what food response you get if you haven't already...if a snake is eating fine there isn't any reason not to handle it (being mindful of the snake and not overhandling), but if a snake isn't eating or refusing food, this is a sign that it is possibly stressed and needs to learn it's environment is a safe place to be and to eat, without worrying about being picked up all the time. Refusing food is usually a good indication of stress (taking out illness and cooling factors)
Listen to your snake is the best thing.
|