I just rescued a smaller Ball, about a foot and a half long. He (or she, don't know yet) was under-fed, cold, and just entirely neglected. It took a tiny fuzzy the first day I got it just fine, and I've been trying to hold him about 10 mins every or every other day (except 2-3 days after feeding). He gets quite jumpy while being held, if someone walks by 10 feet away he'll jerk back and coil a little bit, and twice now he's struck out. Once at my dog, a German Shepard that was about 5 feet away just laying on the floor, and once while around my wrist he struck at my other hand, which was most of an arms length away. This is the first experience I've ever had with a Ball, any suggestions or ideas?

His tank has a nice size water bowl, a hollow rock hiding place, pad heater on the bottom, and a make-shift heat lamp. He is still quite very thin, but other than that no signs of any issues.