Everything sounds pretty good as far as you've told me... Your friend may just have a jumpy/nervous animal and it will just take time for her to get over it. I know my female is a little on the skittish side, but she has tamed very well over the last year and a half. She used to hiss a little and rattle her tail a lot, but that was when she was smaller (around 3.5-4 feet). Once she grew close to around five feet, she really mellowed out and became very familiar with the smell of my hand. I actually have NO problems feeding her in her normal cage, because she checks my hand first, then decides if it safe to eat (provided she smells the mouse).
My male on the other hand, doesn't care and just wants to charge, especially when he's hungry, and may actually bite me when my hand goes in the cage (always thinking it's feeding time and he IS a garbage gut), because he IS fearless, but NOT defensive. The way I avoid being bitten and give him a sign, is that I put my hand in the cage and grab the mid section of his body right away (before he knows what's going on), and proceed to gently pick him up. He has become so used to this, that it immediately shuts off his feeding response and he is as tame as an earthworm! I even do this when I know he's hungry, and it still works. I guess I've done it for so long, that he's literally trained for this...(a grab at his mid-section means handling time ONLY - NO FOOD!!!)
But I'm pretty sure if you just give that little female some time she WILL come around, especially when she gets some size on her.
The only bad thing (in my opinion), about Indigos, is that they are far more restless when being handled than most other snakes. They like to stay on the move a lot, not like Ball Pythons, which can just lay there all day long. But DO continue to handle her, (once a day is good), but make sure you don't handle her for too long at a time (until she gets older), that way she will always be comfortable (versus being stressed or too warm from being held for too long). You have to also remember when holding her, not to force her to sit still - if she wants to glide out of your hands, let her - never restrict her movements - if you do it can scare her a lot (they think they're about to be eaten then).
Here's a pic of my 7 foot plus male, when he was only around 30" long, back in early 04'. Now he's a BEAST, but a VERY friendly beast that I have taken to local schools for educational purposes and many kids have handled him, and he doesn't mind at all (now that he's older)!



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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

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