New with Questions

[EMSPrincess]

I definitely had the same problem as you with my first snake (handling-wise), but I didn't even realize how well it worked out until after it happened. The guy we got our normal from hadn't held him in two months, hadn't been able to get him to eat for a month and a half, and just in general did not know how to take care of the snake (not like I did either when I first got him lol). But as it turns out, I was so pumped to have a snake I held him even though you're supposed to let them settle (he was in shed too, oops), stuck him in my shirt to hang out when I was doing homework, and researched like mad to figure out why he was a problem eater. Entirely separate, I figured I'd put him in a bath to help with the shed, and literally within two minutes he had dumped a mouse that he'd been holding in for a month and a half. That night I was able to get him to feed on a proper-sized thawed rat. Turns out, he will absolutely never go to the bathroom in his tank, only the bathtub with warm water. As a result, he'll refuse to eat until he has eliminated his waste, which was the problem as to why he wasn't eating - the guy had NEVER given him a bath before. I've also noticed he'll tend to have better digestion if we hold him once a day - don't know why, but that's the way it is.
So for us, handling and eating (and warm baths) went together great, all within a day of getting our snake. Hopefully that won't happen to you but if it does try the warm bath, it works wonders