Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I think I'm going to jinx myself with this post, but...

He hasn't bitten me in the past two times of handling him. Of course, I did make tweaks to how I was handling him as well, so that may have helped a whole bunch.
I'm giving him a whole bunch more freedom to move around my hands, trying to support his bottom half so its not hanging, although that's kind of difficult with him moving around so much. Eventually though, he'll hang out in my hands.
Having two kids under the age of 5 though is hard on handling him though because of the jerky, excited movements they make.

Give it time, it will calm down with consistent handling. You learnt the key, thats to give them some space to move and not be grabbed at, pinched, or confined too much. My kids were/are a bit bad at handling snakes, even though older than yours. They have a tendency to grab them instead of just putting a hand in front for the snake to crawl onto. It never fails with young snakes. As soon as they feel that "pinch" to confine them, they turn back and snap!!

I held him again today with no ill effects.

I did notice that his eyes were a milky color last week, then they cleared up. I thought perhaps he had shed, but didn't see any old skin. Now when I handled him today I saw his skin was a little saggy. Do the eyes get milky colored before he sheds?

Anything I need to know about the process in particular? Is he going to get cranky during the process or right afterwards?

I have witnessed behaviour on both sides of the coin when in shed. Most get a bit cranky and defensive when their eyes are cloudy for good reason. They cant see, and dont want to be messed with. They are especially vulnerable in nature at this time and are just uncomfortable. It may take a few days to a week after the eyes clear up for the snake to shed. Be patient. Most seem to be OK once the eyes clear up. I have also had a few that appeared more mellow when the eyes were cloudy.