My 10yr old's courage is running on fumes he has been bitten so many times by his new BP he is beginning to legitimately fear the strike and jerk in false reactions, I monitor all the interactions closely so it's been tough watching his enthusiasm crumble to dust these past few weeks. This snake was the sweetest thing at the pet store: relaxed and curious, not so much when we got him home. I've done a ton of reading and watching vid's in the last month and spent a ridiculous amount for a set up for a baby $30 snake but it's all done proper (and I discovered later he would have been happier in a $5 shoes box, ugh!) and the only problem is this little guy's badass attitude. Chompy doesn't strike at me but he does strike at everything else and when I am handling him (he only lets me handle him quickly for feedings, I use a separate tank since I don't want him eating substrata and I can sterilize it) he strikes at everything that gets near me (I hope he doesn't bite me or my hubby will tie him in a knot! So we gotta get a handle on this aggression quickly!) and he won't let anyone else pick him up without them paying for it in blood, he doesn't mess around. He is so aggressive it's almost goofy considering his size, he roots around in his aspen shavings and when I start talking and opening the lid his little head pokes straight up like a freaking cobras super tense and super watchful I jokingly think of him as a Lesser Dwarf False Rock Python since I read that Rock Pythons have notoriously bad attitudes Chompy must have one somewhere in his family tree. I have no idea why he doesn't bite me, the talking seems ridiculous so maybe it's the perfume tastes bad haha?! He eats like a beast 3 fuzzies a week choking them down sideways if that is how he latched on to it, he started at 2 but I realized within a couple of days of having him home that he was actually emaciated when I accidentally ran across pictures of starving BP's.. seriously there should be more info and pics on what starving and healthy BP's look like! So long story short Chompy eats twice a week 1 Fuzz on Mon and 2 on Wed, let me know if this schedule is bad he seems healthier to me but I am a newbie! I am a helicopter mom so I happiest fussing and worrying and strangely Chompy seems to like me talking to him as I open and maintenance his habitat, he doesn't strike at me and when I am done he quickly slithers around to check out what I've been working on esp fresh water he loves to dunk his head and swim in it! So what the heck? He seems to love his set up but hates being held. I don't know that this info even matter but here is a best guess from someone internet educated about BP's: he(she?) is about 6 to 8 months old and between 15 to 18 inches long, remember how underfed he was and I have no idea for how long that went on but he had a triangle body shape, it's softened a lot but it's still there.

Any ideas for salvaging this friendship my son wants so badly? I've tried a few tips from the YouTube channels like this one because Chompy acts a lot like these little guys (they are almost his size too!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7DQssbM0uk but Chompy made it crystal clear to me he doesn't ball for anyone with our limited snake skills lol! Our policy has always been to leave animals alone if they don't want to interact but even I am having trouble distinguishing whether this is a matter of Chompy learning to trust people or us respectfully leaving him alone because he naturally just freaking hates being handled.

Oh and also I was curious if Chompy would enjoy a tree like set up to exercise/climb around on since he seems to crave heights in his nocturnal ramblings or would this be a dangerous falling risk?