I agree, I wouldn't worry. You say the hides are the right size, but they still may not be providing as much "back pressure" (feeling snug inside) as your snake
craves, especially since he's young & insecure. After all, baby snakes are easy pickings for other predators in nature. If all our snakes behaved exactly the same,
it wouldn't be as much fun watching them anyway.If you want to encourage him to use his hides, try loosely crumpling a paper towel & stuffing it inside each
hide. It will take longer if you wait for him to discover this on his own, so if you happen to pick him up, try showing it to him by putting his face near the 'doorway'
as you put him back into his enclosure. (most snakes will go right in)
But about "handling"...how long have you had him? & how many times has he eaten for you? It's best not to handle a new snake until he's eaten at least 3 times
easily for you (without refusals other than for being in shed). Also best for his safety to get him eating only dead prey (f/t- frozen thawed, or f/k- fresh killed), but
wait until he's eating reliably for you before you try to switch him over. Young rodents, mice or rats, pose far less danger than older ones to our snakes, & for the
most part, I advocate letting a snake's natural feeding instincts kick in before trying to feed dead prey.
And
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