Overly Defensive: What Do You Do?

[Annarose15]

Friday I am picking up my new female, a 2012 normal with a nice reduced pattern. I'm purchasing her from the shop I get my feeders from, so I'm familiar with the owners and their snakes- they even have some decent (if overpriced) morphs. All of their snakes are cared for the same, yet no one has the problems the infamously named Striker has....

Striker is the most defensive snake I've ever seen. She strikes at everything. She strikes at air. Even at glass when someone walks by. She doesn't usually bite the hand holding her, but this isn't a promise. If movement happens in front of her, regardless of how far away, she strikes out.

The owners handle her frequently in an effort to stop the behavior, but it hasn't helped in the few months they've had her. They even thought about sending her back to the breeder, but just decided to reduce her price.

How do you suggest I handle her to remedy this behavior? Or is she one of few BPs that are predisposed to being sassy?

I bolded the parts that I think are red flags and indicators for her behavior. If she is striking at glass when someone walks by, then she is exposed in a glass tank and likely doesn't have sufficient hiding places. Since that is extemely likely to make her feel threatened and therefore strike defensively (especially in a busy pet store), the owners handling her frequently is most likely just compounding the problem. When you get her, set her up with as little visibility as possible (smaller tub or tank with multiple hides and at least three sides blacked out, in a minimum-traffic area). Give her a few weeks to settle in with zero handling outside of the necessary feeding and cleaning process. Then, handle her for short periods of time in calm situations while sitting still (20 minutes on the couch while watching tv alone, for example). If she is chill with that, you can increase her exposure and handling time. If she is still defensive, don't push her. She might not settle down, but my money is that she's constantly stressed in her current environment and will relax if given a little peace and quiet.