First California King, he's nippy!

[chromey]

I've wanted to join this forum for a while now... I guess this gives me an excuse because I wanted some opinions!

We purchased a cali king from the Hamburg PA reptile show. Now, I'm used to my ball python and my hognose (though, the hognose does have a bit of an attitude sometimes, but it's all bluff) so we weren't expecting this snakes temperament. When we first got him he was fine, no issues getting him into his new enclosure and he was not at all jumpy or seemed in any way distressed. Fast forward a couple days and I go to check his bin... and I ended up with a very nervous snake striking out at me and tagging me on the finger. He let go immediately and didn't cause much damage at all, but it was still a little scary. Now I expect pets to bite, especially reptiles, just this change in behavior surprised me.

Since then he has been nervous, darting around when we open the bin, and striking at my hands and snake hook. I got a pair of gloves as a precaution. He was like this even two days after eating. He is about 2ft long and we were instructed by the previous owner to feed him on sundays a young adult thawed mouse, which he ate with no issues. He is not about to go into shed. I am unaware of his age.

The enclosure he is in now is a dark colored sterilite bin that I believe is a 30qt. Each snake has its own heat pad and thermostat, his is sitting at 88-90 degrees on the warm end. Could the fact that the bin is not clear and he cant see us coming to open it play a part in the problem? We are planning on purchasing a better made rack system soon, with heat tape and clear bins.

If I could get any input on this it would be great. We've only had him just under two weeks and I know that's far too short of time to tell if he is going to calm down. I am going to try gently handling him with gloves for a little bit each day that is not around his feeding schedule. My partner is actually slightly nervous with snakes, but loves my python. I'm not sure we could handle keeping a nippy snake in the long term.