It's rough having a snake that won't calm down. But examining why it's being defensive is the first step to getting it back on the right track, and I think it's been covered in this a little bit but is still worth repeating.
1) Snakes are defensive when the giant wants to play. This is because they are still small and scared and see you as a threat. Handling frequently does reduce this, but not always altogether. Some snakes have bad personalities, some have great. Would NOT blame Vital on this - its hard to tell if a young snake will calm down since most seem nippy from the get-go.
2) Larger cages = more stress. Snakes like tight fitting nooks and crannies, and larger cages offer a lot greater area for the snake to be weary of. Reducing the cage size can help the little one feel more secure - more security = less fear = less biting. The flip side is smaller territory to guard = less stress = less fear = more security = less biting. You have the sides of the cages covered so I'm guessing its a glass tank? Let's look at that in the next point.
3) Snakes inherently fear the sky. Their main predators come from above them, reaching downward (birds swooping in for example). Glass tanks exaggerate this in the sense that they are usually higher sided, and force you to enter from a "higher" altitude. Reaching in from above a snake can lead to anxiety and cage aggression. A tub is a lot lower and you are able to come in at a more reasonable angle with your hand and reduce the fear at least slightly. Remember - FEAR is what leads your snake to act defensively which we perceive as aggression. Vision caging / Animal plastics / most PVC caging open from the front. This has ample advantages for your snake and you. If possible, change the tank style first. Even if you just go to walmart and buy a Rubbermaid and put it on a regulated heating source (UTH).
Feel free to shoot me a message if I can help. I'm not always monitoring the Giant forums at the moment (busy with too many things!) but I get message alerts directly to my phone since a good bit of folks tend to just message me.
Cheers!
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