New owner; I need help handling!

[illuyaka]

I have an 8 month old Children’s Python who I’ve had for just over two months now and I’m struggling with handling. She eats and poops great and is very active but I’m a naturally anxious person and stress over scooping her… I’ve had a few successful handling sessions but I recently spooked her and got struck at and I’ve lost my confidence.

My trouble usually stems from the fact that she is usually tangled up in her tree which means its tricky for me to pick her up smoothly in one motion. She gets fidgety and defensive when I try reach in for her but when I back off she sometimes comes over to investigate my hands.

I think my main fear is if I commit to picking her up and she bites me, is it going to ruin our relationship? I’m super scared of messing it up with her!

 

[Mack86]

Hey,
Try a hook. If you were a little snake and a huge giant grabbed for you , you'd be scared too. A hook will help because your hands are away form her and they associate it with handling time.

 

[Sdaji]

Don't stress. If she bites you she bites you. It's not the end of the world, or a bad day, or... anything worth worrying about.

It's normal for young snakes to strike a little (for very young pythons it's normal for them to strike/bite a lot). They just grow out of it. If you're freaked out about it happening once, you're really going to be freaked out. It's sort of like thinking if your kid spills a drink once they'll end up doing it all the time and as adults they'll do it constantly so you can't give them a glass of water in case they spill it and ruin their whole lives.

Don't stress, it's not a big deal.

 

[dragonlover1]

I have an 8 month old Children’s Python who I’ve had for just over two months now and I’m struggling with handling. She eats and poops great and is very active but I’m a naturally anxious person and stress over scooping her… I’ve had a few successful handling sessions but I recently spooked her and got struck at and I’ve lost my confidence.

My trouble usually stems from the fact that she is usually tangled up in her tree which means its tricky for me to pick her up smoothly in one motion. She gets fidgety and defensive when I try reach in for her but when I back off she sometimes comes over to investigate my hands.

I think my main fear is if I commit to picking her up and she bites me, is it going to ruin our relationship? I’m super scared of messing it up with her!

As Sdaji says it is a normal thing for little ones to strike out, they are scared of the giant thing trying to grab them. But don't be afraid, it will not hurt and probably won't even draw blood because the teeth are too small and soft. You are only afraid because it is so quick, but your little worm is more scared of you.
Don't try and grab her in 1 movement, just be gentle and gradually move her out. You'll find this works better