This past March, I was given a female ball python from someone who could no longer keep her and as a new owner I have some questions that have been bugging me. I've researched the matters but there are conflicting opinions and "facts" about them on various sites, so here goes...

I know she's minimum 7 years old or more because that's how long the previous owner had her and she was also given to him before that but he didn't indicate how old she was at the time.

I'm not sure about the setup she came with. The terrarium is glass with metal mesh top, and based on pretty much everywhere it seems to be lacking in both humidity and heat. The heat source is a ceramic heater, which I've been told can cause the humidity to drop and various places seem to have different theories on increasing the humidity. I'm worried she isn't warm enough because she has a tendency to hide under her "hide" and against the glass near the heater. She has one hide, a cardboard box, a flat rock and a large ceramic water dish that I refresh daily.

She's calm and gentle and has no problems being held and prefers me to anyone else in the house and likes to drape around my neck, but I'm worried about stress as well since her temporary place until we finish preparing the new one is in the front room of the house which constantly has people moving through it.

I'm also unsure about feeding, though I've done research but it hasn't helped much. She has NOT eaten since I got her, though she had, I'm relieved to say, perfect shed just a week ago unlike the first one she had when I got her which took me a few days of carefully handling her and a warm gentle washcloth to remove completely and an unpleasant experience trying to carefully remove a stuck eye cap with clear tape when she wouldn't sit still. Many places have said they should not want to eat until the weather is warm (around may in my climate) and should usually be ready to eat soon after a shedding cycle is finished.

All in all I'm worried about her habitat and general care. I love snakes, she's the first one I have ever owned and she is incredibly sweet and has a fondness for my hair. I want to take good care of her but we don't have the money for some of the more expensive "solutions" some sites suggest, so what I'm asking is this:

What kind of general care advice can you give me?
How can I improve her habitat setup?
What is the best kind of heat source I can set up for her at a reasonable price?
Anything else helpful?