New ball python Tub setup/heating issues help requested

[Pewterfly]

Hello,


I just got a new 3 month old male ball python. I have only had him for 1 week as of today, and I've improved my setup but I'm still having issues. Recommendations for heating requested.

Parameters:

Tub: Sterilite 15 qt, 17x12x6 with latches ( holes soldered into sides and top, styrofoam rectangles taped to all sides for insulation)
Temperatures: Ambient: 78 cold side, 81 warm side. Basking spot: 90, but ONLY inside the warm hide (not outside of it...I think it works like an oven, as it is directly above the uth)
Humidity: 75 for past few days without me even spraying anything, but has been between 60-70 (water bowl is not over uth)
Bedding: aspen (not wet)
Hides: two small, snug, identical caves. one on cool side, other on warm side above uth
UTH: 10-20 gallon small zoo med UTH under warm side (thin sheet of picture frame glass between uth and tub), 5-10 gallon mini zoo med UTH attached directly to side of tub (forms a right angle with the other UTH on the bottom)
Water bowl: Large enough to soak in, water temp is around 77, not filled too overflow
Other: bendable "vine" for climbing
Thermostats: 2 hyrdrofarm thermostats, one for each UTH. Set to around 87-90. Probes are taped to the middle of the backs of the UTH pads with normal duct tape.
Thermometers: Three digital with probes. One probe for ambient cool (78), one for ambient warm (80-81), and one for the floor beneath the substrate in the warm basking spot hide (this one reads 90)


Issues:

Temperature gradient: mostly concerned with my small range of ambient air (78-81). I can't seem to keep the ambient temperatures any higher with only UTH's without heating the bottom of the tub high enough so that my BP could potentially burn himself on it. I've considered getting a ceramic heat emitter, but that would require cutting a hole in the plastic lid of my tub and taping a heat resistant screen over it to both allow the heat into the tub and prevent the plastic from melting. Problem with this is that it seems that the CHE's get really hot really fast, so using a thermostat to keep it at 90 would probably have it go on and off every few seconds which seems like it might burn out the bulb. Also, I tested a bulb near a screen mesh and the mesh got really hot, so with a tub my snake could easily reach the mesh and burn himself. That being said, if I kept it at 90 that probably wouldn't burn him, but then I'm not sure if 90 would be hot enough to actually heat the ambient air enough. Confusing stuff.

Feeding: I tried feeding him frozen on 3 separate occasions in the past week. I waited 3 days between the 2nd and 3rd attempts because I didn't know you shouldn't bother them daily with food. Needless to say, he didn't accept the food no matter what I tried (heated it, brained it, chicken broth, different sizes of mouse, etc.). Yesterday I finally tried a live hopper. He took it almost instantly, so I'm glad. Hopefully I can get him to change to f/t soon. That isn't the issue though. The main issue is the fact that, since I've gotten my BP, he has remained in his cool hide 90% of the time. He won't even go to the warm side now to digest the meal he just had. The only time he's not in his cool hide is when he comes out at night to explore. The hides are identical. I don't understand why he refuses to go into his identical warm hide. It's not "too" hot by any means, I even turned it down to like 87 for a bit. Tonight I tried swapping the identical hides to see if he would follow the "cool" hide when I moved it to the warm spot. Any thoughts on this? 78 seems far too cold to sit in for an entire week without any basking.

RI ( don't think so, but just asking): I noticed that respiratory infections have a main symptom of "squeaking" sounds while breathing. I just figured I'd ask, because my BP doesn't squeak constantly, but only when he hisses at me. He doesn't have a foaming mouth or anything. Other than when he hisses, he makes no squeaky noise.


So I realize this is a lot, but I was wondering if anyone could provide me with advice on any of the various issues I have suggested. Perhaps these issues are all in my head and they shouldn't even be considered "issues." I'm just a perfectionist so after reading all these things about "ideal" conditions for ball pythons, I don't feel satisfied without having a perfect setup.

Thanks

[Pewterfly]

UPDATE: I switched the IDENTICAL hides to see if he would follow his "preferred one" from the cold side to the warm side. He DID.

I don't understand why he prefers that hide. They are the EXACT SAME PRODUCT. I examined it to see if there was something wrong with it, but couldn't find anything. Perhaps there is some weird smell on it? IDK, I'll try washing them off.