No worries. The baby probably just isn't used to you yet. One of my adult males rattles his tail and curls up, ready to strike, when he's upset (either from being spooked, in a bad mood, etc). Babies just need to be held for short periods weekly to get them used to being held. Corns are like people in the sense that they all have different personalities. And they do have bad days, when they don't want to be touched. What I do, is I have my snakes in a very quiet place, so they have all day and night to relax when they're not being handled. He/she could just be stressed from a noisy area or coming to a new home. Typically I let my new snakes rest by themselves for the first 3 days, feed them a small meal on the 4th day, and give them until the 7th or 8th day to begin handling. Handling a baby too much can stress them out, and cause them to be a little aggressive. Think about it from their point of view, you're a monster compared to them, and their natural instinct (before getting to know you) is that this monster is trying to eat me. Babies especially think this way. Just give him/her some time to acclimate to their new home. Then try gentle handling maybe 3-4 times a week but only for short intervals (15 minutes tops). Although you may want to handle them more, and it's hard to resist, you must for the first few weeks until they get used to you and calm down. My four adults are all very tame and sweet. One of which began as a very snippy little baby that wouldn't let me get near him (which is the one that rattles). One trick I use, is when they curl up and are getting ready to strike (which doesn't hurt when they bite), I use wood tongs I got from a pet store to lightly touch the snake's back end. This in a way trains them to let them know it's you, as well as gets them on the move. They will want to avoid the tongs (not sure why, unless of course, there's food attached). When my male tries to slither away, I'm then able to pick him up since he's then out of the striking position. Not 100% sure why this works, but it has always worked for me when any one of my snakes are in a bad mood and I need to pick them up (rather it's to clean their cage, to put them in another container to feed, etc). It's similar to the method that the crocodile hunter used to use when handling wild snakes, prior to his death. I don't recommend this technique with a wild snake or a venomous snake, as you can get a hold of the snake this way, but it doesn't stop them from biting you once you have picked them up. I hope this helps a little. Just continue gentle handling. Let him/her slither inbetween your fingers and move slowly with your snake. Fast movements can startle them. Just keep your hands moving slowly, so if they want to go from one hand to another, they can.
