Look out guys! We've got a jumper! ...no, but really...what???

So I'm pretty worried about my little snakey. He's become a leaper. As in several times tonight while I was handling him he literally attempted to leap out of my hands (or off my leg, or onto my desk). The first few weeks I had him I let him slither around and explore (he's really exploratory and curious which is good). All was well until he'd climb to the seat of my chair or the arm rest and then literally leap off. He's hit the floor now 3 times just because he leaped so suddenly I didn't have a chance at catching him. At the end of the handling tonight right when I was about to put him in his cage, he legit jumped out of my hands and I just barely caught him...which probably freaked him out even more because of my sudden movements to catch him before falling 4 feet to the floor. He's a late '08 baby, so he's only about 10 inches long...so he's not exactly easy to catch. He's also so small that he slips right through my hands...and thats how he's been able to leap out of them so easily.

I've pretty much taken him out and held him for about 10-15 minutes every day, giving him at least 2 days after eating with no handling. We don't want any regurge....yikes. The last week or so, though, I've tried to leave him alone to let him get settled in to his new surroundings because I've changed his set up around several times so I could get it just right for him. His tank is all set up now, I've got temperatures perfect, substrate is aspen instead of yucky reptiturf stuff, and he's got plenty of hides on both the warm and cool sides of his tank. I also moved his tank location from kind of smack dab in the middle of all the activity in my dorm room, to a more secluded spot so there wasn't so much stress on him 24/7. Only thing to work on is maintaining the humidity in there because he ALSO had a bad shed almost a month ago, and I'm pretty positive he's in the "pink" (he's amel, so his blue is really hard to spot..I completely missed it last shed..which was his first shed with me) so he's probably getting ready to shed and I really don't want him to have another bad shed...that broke my heart. WHICH..speaking of I'm going to be posting a thread in the health forum because tonight I noticed these tiny black areas in the corners of his eyes...I managed to snap a couple shots of him before he practiced sky-diving off my desk..so I'll be including those there too (I'd post them here, but it doesn't fit the forum topic...don't wanna screw anything up)

He's been eating like a champ which is awesome (I also gotta go pick up a scale to make sure I'm feeding him enough...goin on 1 f/t pinkie every 5 days). So that's a good thing obviously. And he hasn't tried to bite me ever, hasn't even become aggressive in the slightest bit towards me, which is also good.

So all my instincts are telling me that all this change and stress is definitely freaking him out and making him so jumpy (literally?). My problem is I don't really know how to change my behavior when it comes to handling him (you know, how often..for how long, how should I hold him, etc). I know he'll most likely cool down once he's become more comfortable with his living space AND with me, but I'd just like to know how I can make it as smooth and stress-free as possible for him.

So my questions to you fine ladies and gents are:
1) What am I doing wrong that needs to be remedied in his handling? namely what things could I be doing that could cause him to rather leap to certain death than be in my hands? I understand he's probably just nervous and freaked out about being held, and I know there's nothing I can do to change HIS behavior, but what behavior of MINE can I change to help him like being held and not be scared.
2) Am I doing anything correctly that you can tell? Like, is there anything I'm doing that I should definitely keep doing?
3) How often and for how long would you suggest handling a baby like him? And what activities...couldn't think of a better word...but how should I ensure he doesn't leap out of my hands without having a death grip on the poor thing?...which will definitely make him not like being held. Also, what time of the day is prime to handle him? I know he's nocturnal...so I'm assuming night-time-ish? I can't really wait until I see him moving around to take him out because he's ALWAYS hiding. The only time I ever saw him outside one of his hides without it being feeding time or me bothering him oke: was around 5AM when I pulled an all nighter one night about a month ago.
4) Are there any tips/tricks that you know of that would only come from years of experience with many different personalities of snakes that could help make him more comfortable with his habitat and with his mommy? I love him! why doesn't he love me back!?!?! :crying:

I promise I wont eat you Ringo!!:eatsmiley

Thanks for the time guys <333

Health-related thread here (the weird black spots on his eyes...with pictures)

I say just give him some time Also I would lessen the handling time, maybe to about 5 minutes... Just so not to stress him out much. I'm guessing that him leaping away from you is his attempts to get away from you because he thinks you're some big meanie thing But lessening the time you handle him for now should help.... I also would hold him over something soft, like a bed or his viv in case he tries to leap again, at least he will land on something soft. I'd keep him out until he is calmed down before you put him back into his viv. If you put him back in his viv after he's been super flighty with you, he may start to learn that whenever he wants to go back home, all he has to do is be flighty...

Don't worry though, he's still only a baby and most likely frightened easily over most things he isn't used to. As he grows bigger and with the right kind of gentle handling, he will come to learn that you won't eat him and he'll calm down lots. It just takes patience

I know this wasn't very much, but I hope something I said helped! Good luck!

Our newest addition,Molly, is a leaper too! She isn't being handled right now because she just came home a couple of days ago, but when we first brought her home she was flying everywhere. All of our babies are handled while sitting on the bed so that if they do decide to flip out the worst that will happen is they'll fall into a pile of blankets. I also suggest only handling about 5-10 minutes a day (actually we only handle the babies about every 2 days). If you notice that after the initial spaz episode he isn't calming down then I'd just put him back. One of our babies always flips out when we get him out but within seconds of being held he's as calm as can be. However, if he's having a "mood" and still insists on flipping out, he goes right back in. That way I'm not stressed out and he isn't stressed out.

For mo, babies that size only get handled for just a couple minutes every other day. I Think he is telling you that he is being handled too much. Babies that are abit freaked will try to 'fly', so that is pretty normal but I say IMHO to just handle him a couple minutes every other day til he gets abit bigger and then very gradually add on handleing time I do this with all my babies and all but one turned out very calm and sweet. (the one that didnt was one I bought as a hold back at about 6months old and was never handled before I got her) Good luck with your baby