Wiggles bit me again. I grabbed him from behind to keep him from entering the forbidden gap (see post #59), and he swung around and bit me on the base of my right middle finger. Unlike the last time he bit me (#14), he wrapped and held on. I would describe the feeling as mildly irritating, certainly nothing to fear, kind of like a mild jellyfish sting. I don’t know why he wrapped. It was clearly a defensive bite. He just doesn’t seem to have his striking technique down. When he’s hungry, he bites and releases. When he’s defensive, he bites and wraps. It’s a good thing he has me to look after him. I don’t think he’d fare very well in the wild.
Anyway, as a result I’ve modified my approach to Wiggle’s recreational time. I no longer allow him to come out of his enclosure on his own. Now, I open his enclosure. If he comes to the threshold looking for a way out, I gently pick him up and put him in his favorite hide on top of his enclosure. If he’s at all stressed by my picking him up, my thought is that he’ll recover quickly there. He usually spends a few minutes there before coming out to explore. After an hour, I gently scoop him up and put him back. Allowing him the freedom to come out of his enclosure on his own was supposed to reduce his stress, but too often, it led to distressing situations. So, I took away that little bit of freedom. I think he’s better off for it.
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