I recently got 2 female BP's from the same clutch. They are both possible het pieds, so basically normals. Their personalities couldn't be any different. One is amazingly calm and curious. She is an amazing snake to handle and will even tolerate a soft touch near her head without jerking back. My other female though is very skittish. When I got her, she showed a lot of defensive behavior, so I expected that when I brought her home. The guy I got her from told me that most hatchlings eventually clam down in time once they get settled in.

My question is, how long does it usually take for a snake to calm down and settle in and not feel defensive all the time? I've watch Justin Kobylka's videos and he commented in one I believe that by 6 months they usually settle down. I also know by reading other posts that some people have BP's that just stay defensive and are snippy.

She is in a 10 gallon right now with a cave system I made out of extruded polystyrene. So she has 2 identical hides with a narrow passage connecting them. Her hot spot is 91 and her cool side is about 78. Humidity is 90% (wet towel on top) She eats well, once a week, Rat fuzzy's right now. She is 91 grams, born on June 15th.

I give her 2 days after feeding days to handle her. When I go to pick her up she will hiss at me and try to lock onto my hand. I sometimes put a towel over her so I can get her by her body and pick her up. When I have her in my hands she is ok. She will only hiss if she gets spooked by a sudden movement, which I try not to do. She has struck at my hand before when I've tried to get her out of her cage.

I've seen Justin K cover an aggressive snake in his hands to try and call its bluff. Is this good to do? I haven't really done that with her. I just try to stay still and calm with her and let her explore some and then after 10 or so minutes I put her back so that she has a "positive" experience with me.

Any tips or input you have for getting her to stop hissing and striking would be appreciated. I would love for her to chill out so I can handle her with more confidence and let my kids hold her too (supervised of course).

Thanks!