Hello everyone,

I have never owned a snake before and am in a bit of a pickle...

After one of my cats brought home a garter snake last Fall I fell in love with the creatures and decided on keeping a Ball Python as a pet. I researched all I could about these snakes and have done the best I can to establish a good habitat to meet all its needs. I purchased a hatchling (hatched August 2016) from a local breeder last Thursday. It spent a few hours on the hot side under the hide before migrating to the cold side. It has not left since. Today is Monday. She DOES move around quite a bit at night when I turn off the hot-side lamp, but there's more...

As you can see in the pictures I have attached, this is a 20-gallon tank. I have secured aluminum foil around the OUTSIDE of the tank on the back, both sides, and the top (with squares cut out for the lamps), leaving ONLY the front open for viewing. I have a hot side with a UTH and a 50-WAT overhead heat lamp. Hot side temp is kept at approximately 90 degrees. The cold side also has an overhead nighttime heat lamp that I keep on constantly even during the day (the hot side lamp is turned off at night). The cold side is kept at approximately 80 degrees. The tank also has a heavy flat-bottom water dish in the middle of the tank. Foliage and vines run throughout. I have been having a bit of trouble keeping the humidity levels up, so I've been misting the tank about 3x day. If I don't do this, the levels tend to fall to 30% which as I understand is too low.

At first, I thought my BP was insecure at the size of the hot-side hide, since she is just a hatchling. I moved it around a bit and hung some of the plastic plants so that they hung somewhat in front of the opening, thereby providing a bit of privacy. This does not seem to have helped. Perhaps I need to replace the hide altogether until she has grown??

As I mentioned before, she migrated to the cold side and hasn't really left except at night. Even when she is on the cold side, she likes to lay ON TOP of the hide and NOT under it. In addition, during the last 24-48hrs she has climbed high up into the vines of the cold side, just under the cold side heat lamp, and seems to be basking there. She's been doing this both during the day and during the night.

Am I doing something wrong here? I'm afraid she is too cold, or that the tank is too big for her to feel secure, or that something else is off that I am missing here. I'm brand new to keeping any kind of snake, and I just want to make sure I'm giving this snake the best possible life -- food, security, comfort, etc.
Is this just a quirk of my particular BP and I'm being paranoid? Or is this some symptom of something I am doing wrong?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I look forward to reading your response!
THANKS!

P.S. I have not yet handled her or tried to feed her. I have left her alone so as to adjust to her new environment, but I will need to try to feed her within the next 24-48hrs. Her last meal was on 1/27 according to her breeder card.