Hello all,

I recently purchased my first baby ball python (male albino/pastel morph, about 2 months old and 16-18 inches) as a pet for myself and my girlfriend. He was pretty active and inquisitive at the expo, and seemed more comfortable being handled than most of the other babies. I'm really excited to raise my new buddy and I want him to have the best home possible, but I'm a little concerned because he refused to eat last night (I know this is fairly common for BP's especially after being moved into a new enclosure but it's still stressful for me). My current setup is:

-20 long terrarium (I know this is a bit large for a baby but I have a lot of foliage and plenty of hides and he hasn't pressed on the glass or tried to escape since the first night).
-1 undertank heating pad
-1 overhead blacklight for heat (I leave this on 24 hours, otherwise the ambient temperature drops to 70 on the warm side)
-1 water dish
-3 hides, one on the hot side which he hasn't left in 2 days and two others which he hasn't entered
-1 temp/humidity monitor on the wall in the warm side

My main concern is his feeding and the temperature/humidity. I'm really having trouble getting the ambient temperature above 80 on the cold side, even with the heating pad and lamp on 24/7. I ordered a thermostat the other day to hopefully make the heat pad hotter but I have no experience with this and I don't want to mess it up so any advice is great. The heating lamp raises it to about 80 and about 5-10 degrees hotter inside the hide, but it sucks up the humidity making it hard to get over 40% humidity (I believe 50% is more or less ideal). I moved the water dish underneath the lamp and covered about 2/3 of the lid with plastic wrap but it doesn't seem to be helping. As far as feeding goes, I tried offering a warmed up f/t hopper mouse last night and he wanted nothing to do with it. The breeder fed him live food but I really want to get him on f/t as soon as possible, so any tips as far as this goes are much appreciated.

In summary here's what I need help with:

-Using a thermostat to raise the temperature without burning the snake or screwing up the humidity
-Keeping humidity consistent without losing temperature or having to mist multiple times a day
-Getting him to eat, preferably f/t although he's only eaten live before

I really want to make him as happy, healthy and secure as possible so any help is great! Thanks!!!