I'm a new BP owner, and the main quality of BPs that attracted me was their overall docility. I bought mine from a Petsmart in town--it was one of two they had. I handled both and decided I liked mine better. Since I've had her, I've brought her out on numerous occasions to interact. She's never struck at me, seems comfortable with being held, and is incredibly curious. At times she will move up near my face to check that out, and as much faith as I have in her, I still get a little nervous when I feel her tongue flick my nose or ear. I tell myself though that she won't bite unless she has a reason, and has always been fair to me before.

Today I wound up back at Petsmart to get a new bulb and more frozen mice. While there, just for grins I decided to take a look at the two BPs they had for sale. The gentleman told me right off the bat that one was mean--she had bitten numerous people, and not just at feeding time. He said the other one was very nice. He no longer took it out of its cage and handed it to me that she started striking at him. And I don't mean one or two, but she must have gone at him six or seven times within the one minute I was holding her. The employee was completely thrown off. Now I log into the forum to see the "Have you been bitten by a BP" poll, and I have to wonder....do you trust your BPs (or any of your snakes) to go near your face? Will a BP strike for no apparent reason?