Snake is nipping at me! And general feeding help please (:

[annarawrr]

Hiya everyone, I've had my plumbeous water snake Preshuz for just a few days now and I've fed him twice. Both times using fish from the pet store, first two fish in the first session were less than an inch long, and today he caught and ate FOUR fish in his feeder tank that were almost two inches each! He's only about 18-20 inches in length and slimmer than my thumb, my question is should he be eating so much? At the very least I'm glad he has a healthy appetite.

Another question, how should I remove him from his feeding tank? He struck at me twice but didn't bite when I tried to pick him up after he ate two fish today, so I let him eat the rest. He seemed a bit restless and I didn't want to risk more nipping because his venom might (and in my case probably will!) cause allergic reactions, so I just drained the water and tipped him back into his main enclosure. I know he's new so he may be a bit jumpy with me, but I've handled him briefly three times (including shortly before feeding him today) and he's never nipped. Maybe I'm removing him too soon? Did he mistake my finger for another snake or fish? Any advice or comments? (: