Re: First Bite and I am FREAKED
This might be a bit off topic, but I would suggest you might get another BP. Might sound off but hear me out. I got my first BP when he was about a year old. And when I got him I didn't know any better so all of his behaviors and actions seemed normal to me. He was a picky eater, but eventually ate some F/T rats. Like any new BP owner I was hyper-sensitive about him eating and I think my energy rubbed off on him at feeding time.
About 3 months after getting him, I got 2 baby (75 g) female BPs. Both were sisters, but one was VERY nippy and the other was very CALM.
I have kids about the age of your daughter, and one of my goals in keeping BPs was to get them involved.
With the 2 baby females I got, I found they adapted to life in our home much easier than the male did. The reason being I think is that raising babies up they get used to you and the type of caging you use. The male I got lived in rack for a year before I brought him home and put him in an exoterra cage. That was an tough adjustment for him.
A year later, my male is a poor eater and a bit sketchy with being handled. He's been that way since day one. Both my females though, are great eaters (F/T) and are really good about being handled. Even the nippy female grew out of that, and I trust her with my kids holding her. I can see the difference between getting and "Older" BP that was a bit set in his ways, and a BP baby that you can condition somewhat.
So if you got a baby BP and held it regularly and got in on F/T at a young age, I think you'd have the experience you are looking for. Your first BP can still be a great family pet and it might be that you take care of him and handle him mostly, that's what I do with my first BP. My kids don't hold him as much, cause as I said, he is sketchy. I don't think the breeder I got him from handled him much as a youngster, I think he was just left in his tub most of the time.