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Sound advice there... Cage protective would be my guess there.. If it is kept in its enclosure for majority of its life, it will have become fairly territorial. Getting a good quality snake hook is the way to go, this way you can get it out of the enclosure keeping it at outside arms length, and well outside striking range..
I find that most young snakes are snappy, but constant, regular handling usually tames them down a lot. I try to handle mine for 1 hour a week.. Usually the day after feeding... At that point, they are usually quite content, and not as inclined to strike...
Its funny you should mention that the bites are surprisingly painful.. A friend of mine last month bought a 5 year old Olive Python, despite my advising him that it was a BIG snake, and he'd be better off getting a hatchling or yearling so he could learn the snakes mannerisms and its temperament before it became a very large snake... On the 3rd day of having it, he decided he wanted to get it out and have a hold (again, I'd advised against this... Too early) opened the glass and basically went for the snake much like he does with his 2.5ft childrens python... Well, the 5'8" python spun around and latched onto his forearm... Made quite a mess of him... He is now very fearful of the animal, despite the whole ordeal being largely his own fault... He will not handle it, generally pays very little attention to it, and regrets buying it in the first place..
I'm trying to tell him (now that its been there about a month) that it is time to try handling again.. He wont fearing another bite..
Moral of the story is he will never know if its likely to bite him because he won't try and handle it... And the only way to ever tame it down a bit is to handle it as often as you can..
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