I don't think it's that unusual. I picked up a 200 gram female from a guy who didn't interact with it very much. It would do the same thing. Just stiffen up and act like a stick. And after being picked up she would flinch at the slightest movement. Now after about 8 months she still "panics" for a couple seconds when I open her cage, but she is totally chill once picked up and never flinches at all.
Now I have a 150 gram Cinna Bee who is a total spaz. The first day he struck at everything that moved and flinched even when he bumped himself with his tail. Now, a couple months later, he is still pretty flinchy but is getting better. Never strikes at all now. We have limited our handling him to short episodes of usually no more than 10 minutes. As time goes by we will increase the time out of the cage. And we don't handle him while in blue until after he sheds, or for at least 36 hours after he eats.
0.1 Desert Yellowbelly BP | 0.1 Yellowbelly BP
0.1 Pastel BP | 1.0 Super Pastel BP
0.1 Champagne Het Hypo BP | 0.1 Spider BP
0.1 Lesser BP | 0.1 Pinstripe BP
1.0 Caramel Albino BP
1.0 Butter BP | 1.0 Pied BP
1.0 Cinna Bee BP | 1.0 Albino BP,
2.1 normal BP's
2.1 Western Hognose Het albino | 1.0 Western Hognose Albino Het Axanthic
1.0 Anaconda phase Western Hognose
1.0 BCI Boa |0.1 Hypo Het Snow Boa
0.1 Hypo Boa | 0.1 Hogg Island Boa
0.1 Striped Borneo Short Tailed Python
0.0.1 Jayapura GTP
Some just seem to be jumpier than others. My adult pastel freaks out every time I go in his enclosure and looks for somewhere to hide. Once you pick him up though he mellows out after awhile and just wants to explore. My male Mojave on the other hand thinks puffing up and hissing is going to scare me off. He too calms down once he's picked up. My Lessers are very chill and so is my big normal. Just depends on the snake.
I for one can surely attest to jumpy baby syndrome. Most of our hatchlings are snappy and generally super nervous when they're young. About half of them grow out of it with handling. A lot of times it's just the individual. I have some snakes that seem to really love seeing us and being around us, and others that are downright TERRIFIED every time we open a tub. Handling is the best recipe for helping the skittishness though. For like 10 minutes once a week. It's not too much stimulation, but it gets them used to your presence.
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