This is long so thanks in advance for reading it!

I got my first retic from this guy (first mistake lol)... She is 11 months old and a little over 6ft. I got her home and got excited so the next day decided to handle her, take her outside (second mistake). She was stressed, cold, and hungry. I failed to respect my snake and do things properly so she bit me... in the face from my top lip to my chin, that was attractive! It healed up nicely, no scars... Reflexively I threw her in the grass in the yard (third mistake). I trapped her in a rubbermaid tub to get her back in the house but I am afraid that I taught her if she bites me I will let her go. This is my first bite, ever, after years of keeping snakes.

That was Monday, July 13th. I left her alone until Friday when I took her to the pet store (I let her crawl into the rubbermaid tub on her own) where I buy rats because I wanted to make sure I got the correct size. The guy at the store without letting me know what he was going to do, grabbed her by her head (I told him that she had bitten me) to to pick her up. Needless to say she was pissed (fourth mistake)! She wouldn't eat and when he placed a screen inbetween her head and the rat in order to get the rat out she snapped at him. I have changed her water and turned her hide over when she flipped it without any aggression incident.

I said all that to say I am very nervous, one because of where she bit me. I mean I expected to get bit at some point in my life working with snakes, arm, leg, neck but not on the mouth! Two because of what the guy at the pet store did and three because she still has not eaten... I know the longer I go without handling her the worse this is going to get but I also do not want to stress her out anymore than she already is. I DO NOT want to get rid of her, I am in this for the long haul and hope that this is my first of many retics to come! Any suggestions!?!

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