My new BP doesn't seem to be settling

[calislytherin]

I might be overreacting but let's see.

I brought my girl home 6 weeks ago, she's already 2.5 years old but had lived with the breeder her whole life up until then. She weighed 1500g and was eating F/T weaned rats weekly (I thought this was too small so just planned to take her up a size). She had a vet checkup shortly after I got her and is in general great health.

When I first went to collect her, I held her for about 20 mins while the shop assistant helped to build my flatpack viv. She was calm and curious. When I brought her home, I left her alone for a week then tried a feed. She didn't take it. Since then, I have offered food once a week to every 10 days (trying weaned and small rats) but with no luck so far. I let her have a little explore outside her viv on maybe 3-4 occasions but have tried to keep handling to an absolute minimum until she eats. Some of you may have seen my post last week, she did escape and was hidden somewhere under our kitchen units for about three days but she's since back in her usual routine of hiding all day and poking her head out at night.

The last few days I've noticed she has been moving the substrate around in her enclosure at night, looks like she's been burrowing and sort of piling it into mounds/barricading herself, as well as moving one of her hides. The last rat I left in there overnight, she moved it further into her hide but didn't eat it. She popped her little head out last night so I opened the door and she slowly came out. She started to head behind the TV unit and as I gently tried to redirect her, she literally moved like lightning (virtually whipped her tail) and shot underneath the unit. I will admit it startled me a bit. I didn't know they could move that fast. I'm thinking she may have hidden here for a while when she escaped as she clearly knew where she was going. I brought her out but she was extremely restless so I just put her straight back in her viv and she hid. Could the escape experience have been scary or distressing for her?

She is my second BP and I'm finding it a very different experience than the first 6 weeks with my baby (who I got as a hatchling). He took to regular eating after 2 weeks and handles extremely well. He moves calmly and curiously and seems to enjoy exploring his enclosure and climbing. I know that it is advisable not to handle until a new snake eats for you, but I am worried that the longer I go, the more skittish she seems to be becoming. She retreats and is frightened very easily which didn't seem to be the case when I first collected her. Last night I also noticed her skin seems quite loose.

More experienced BP owners – is the handling something that I can easily work on later down the line? Should I keep leaving her well alone until she eats? What more can I do to get her to eat? At what point should I take her into the shop and see if she eats for them? Have you noticed a difference in having a snake from a hatchling vs getting them as a grown up? Are some snakes always just going to be less social/more skittish?

Enclosure info: 4x2x2, coconut fibre and sphagnum moss, 90 warm side, 80 cool side, humidity 60, two hides, fake plants and vines for clutter.

Thanks everyone on this forum for being so helpful and knowledgeable!