Pink belly is a first sign of shed. I can normally handle my female all the way through a shed but thats only due to the fact of we have had her from day 1 and have gotten her use to us holding her. With your bp being older, it my be set in its ways and could be kinda grumpy during shed. Good luck, keep your humidity up and take pics after shed. Its the closest to a new snake you can get without gettin one...lol