Started trying to bite

[Jasii]

My baby is 6 weeks old. I bought him when he was just over 4 weeks old. I held him almost every day for the first week. He bit my wife at week five. We went on vacation for a week after that. He was fed every day while we were gone. When I came home, every time I reach in his enclosure or touch the outside of it, he tries to snap at me. What should I do?

[Fatal_S]

It's very normal for reptiles to be bitey, especially ones that are small, wild caught, or facing big changes (a new home). Usually it's a good sign that they have energy and are feisty, but obviously it's not ideal for a pet. If your pet is small enough that a bite won't hurt, you could let it bite you so it can see that won't do anything. With some of mine the more aggressive they act the more I bother them until they realize it's counter-productive. For others they're biting because they're really scared - in that case I'll sit nearby and wait for them to calm down a bit before approaching again, repeating until they stop freaking out. And for some it can just be a food response - things coming into the tank are often food, so I'm gonna bite it all. Then I'll try to either create a signal that means food time, or I'll do feedings out of the enclosure. Really each reptile is an individual - try to figure out what they're saying by their behaviour, and respond accordingly.