In a single moment, all my questions and concerns about snake poop were assuaged.
I pulled up a seat, woke up the snake and held it. He did calm down after a minute and, while he
was moving continuously, wasn't trying to dart away. He did get a little zippy the further away he got from my hands, but nothing I couldn't handle.
After about five minutes, he stopped moving with his head under one of the wrinkles in my sweatshirt. "Aww, he's resting! So sweet." That warm feeling was soon followed by a warm trickling in my palm. He pooped on me.
Most of it got on my sweatshirt, and there was quite a lot of it. I guess I should have known... Anytime a baby creature stops for a moment, it's probably going to the bathroom.
So that was our first extended handling session. Note to self: Wear an old T-shirt next time. And a gas mask.