I too like a little attitude on a snake. One of my favorites to work with is my Spilotes, who thinks she's a cobra. She lifts herself up, spreads her neck, whips and charges. She's fine once out and on a hook, but it's an adventure removing her from her cage.
Bull snake hissing is loud and entertaining, imo. I had a bull snake for a while, and he'd hiss his darned head off, but didn't bite. I could hold him in my hand while he was hissing, and it cracked me up.
I think hook training is your best bet- most snakes learn to be much calmer about a cool, unscented metal hook approaching them than a warm, smelly hand. Once you can hook him out of the cage, see how he is outside. You may need to content yourself with hooking and tailing him. Snakes do sense fear, fear has a scent that most animals can recognize. They also recognize movements, and if you're confident, smooth and quick in your movements they tend to relax more than if you're shaky and hesitant. Shaky, hesitant movements give them more chance to line up a strike, lol. That being said, you can be afraid but not act afraid and you are usually ok with that. Gloves are a good idea- you can buy snake handling gauntlet gloves that keep your body heat from being sensed, and the snakes are less likely to bite at something that has no heat signature. It then becomes part of the environment.
Best of luck with him, keep us posted! If you need more advice, feel free to pm me. I've tamed more than a few snakes, and learned to live with some more aggressive ones.
.
Linear Mode
