Was he just hungry?

[TheInkpen]

Hi, I just got my BP not to long ago, the pet store said that he had been fed in the last week. Circumstances forces us to handle him the day we got him but he was very okay with it. Since he took so well to handling we continued to handle him for the next two days. On the second day I got him a better hide than the one my friend gave me, it had two hides and a branch to climb up. Suddenly he would not leave it, we thought it was because he liked it but honestly it seemed abnormal. Every other day he was curious and liked to poke his head around the cage and climb on thermometers. Then today he did not move at all. I got worried and thought that maybe he was hungry. I fed him with the cage covered (He rejected the mouse when we had it exposed) and now he seems to be active again. Is this normal?
He is my first snake, I want to make sure I get things right.
Also I hear menu people say they only handle their snake one or twice a week, is it okay to handle them more?
Also, also, his humidity was too low (aquarium tank, heating pad, aspen bedding, and a heat lamp) so we started using coconut fiber. Now the tank is too humid. Any way to fix that? We are getting an infrared bulb to replace the heat lamp but i'm not sure that it will help.

[Crazy4Herps]

Congrats on your first snake and welcome to the forums!
That's perfectly normal. Usually they explore for the first day or so then settle in.
Daily handling (except for during sheds and before/after feedings) is fine so long as you ease into it. Start out with short handling sessions a few times a week. Hatchlings especially tend to be nervous, and you want to make this transition as smooth and stress-free as possible while still getting him used to handling.
Coconut fiber is great for frogs and tropical lizards, but is not a good substrate for snakes. Cypress mulch tends to hold humidity better, though in a glass aquarium it's going to take more than substrate to get the humidity up to par.

[crazyj83]

Behavior is mostly based on stress and husbandry, however hunger will effect them at times. As far as handling, i handlemine on a daily basis unless its the day after feeding... I also handle mine in shed just cuz i can...lol.. But seriously i can grab my guys and never worry about a strike due to alll the handling... I'm sure others will disagree with me and tjats fine, but to each their own.

[The Serpent Merchant]

A hiding ball python is a happy ball python. For them to be active during the day is actually a bad sign.

How high is your humidity? I seriouly doubt that it is too high (my cages stay at 60% all the time, some people even keep it higher) over the next week the humidity will go down anyway. The substrate will dry out. Once your humidity gets below 40% it is time to add some water to the substrate again.

How thick is the layer of substrate? If it is thicker than 1/2" then your UTH probably isn't even doing anything as it can't heat through it.

Speaking of UTH's do you have a thermostat for it? If not I would just unplug it as they can kill your snake when they are unregulated (they can also start a fire)

You can handle your snake as much as you want but I wouldn't handle until your snake has eaten 2 meals. They need to settle in first then you can handle them. The only time that you shouldn't handle them after the first week or so is 48 hours after they eat (they need this time to digest)

[TheInkpen]

My humidity can get up to 90% though. And i am getting a thermometer with probes, one for hot and one for cold. That is in the mail to be delivered by the end of the week.

[The Serpent Merchant]

It will go down. Trust me on that. A few days at 90% isn't going to hurt. Next time just add less water.

A thermometer while also necessary does not replace a thermostat.

[Slim]

I would suggest you keep the handling to a minimum until you've had a couple of successful feedings.

It's not a hard and fast rule, but it works more often than not.

[TheInkpen]

It will go down. Trust me on that. A few days at 90% isn't going to hurt. Next time just add less water.

A thermometer while also necessary does not replace a thermostat.

So I am pretty new to this, what is the difference? And what should I get to make sure he stays safe. I have a side of cage thermometer, getting a digital one. What is a thermostat?
Sorry if that's a dumb question haha.

[RestlessRobie]

None of those are dumb questions.

Thermometer is used to measure heat and humidity in your tanks I got mine at wallmart for about $15 and looks kinda like this

Thermostat is used to control the temp of you Under Tank Heater (UTH) I got mine from Reptile basics Here but there are other models and most people have a preferance.

As for not eating pics of your setup would be very helpfull If you have him in a tanks try covering 2 sides with either aquarium background or black contruction paper make him feel a lot more secure and feel free to ask if you have any other questions. Aslo keep handeling to a minimum till you get a couple good feeds in him but this has already been stated