New BP handling

So today I checked inside Clyde's warm hide for urine/poo and after I scooped it out I figured I would hold him for a bit. I was sitting in my computer chair with him balled up in my hand and I turned away to look at the TV and out of the corner of my eye I saw him leap towards me...nearly out of my hand. So I set him my bed and he just sat there not moving. I stood up from my chair and he took another leap at me. After that I just put him back in his enclosure and left him alone. Is this normal in the early stages? I see people always comment on how docile BPs are and how they almost never strike at you. He did just eat a large meal Friday...could this have anything to do with it? If so what's a good way to handle him regularly when he is on a 7 day feeding schedule without messing with digestion etc.?

Thanks to everyone for all the awesome feedback. It's great to know I have good resources in my BP owner adventures!

Most aren't that jumpy, but some are. If your cage temps/ humidity, hides, and feeding aren't right that could cause him to be jumpy. Further if he is new/recently had a major cage change he might be stressed out from that.

So make sure everything is good, if so then you might just have a high strung BP. Most will calm down in time.

How long have you had him? What are you housing him in and what are his temps? Sounds like defensive striking, like he's stressed or nervous.

he stays in his warm hide which stays around 91-92 in the day and around 88 at night. He's in a 20 gallon long tank with warm hide and cool hide. Aspen substrate. I have only had him 3 weeks now

Most likely the 20 gallon long is making him feel insecure because it's too large for him if he's still young. The hides could also be a bit large since they tend to like them to have a relatively snug fit. You could add some clutter such as balled newspaper in there to not make the open space feel so daunting for him. Good luck :).