So I got Pretzel the chocolate morph 5 days ago and so far, he's very shy and only really active at night. He's about 4 months old and just under 130 grams. His enclosure is a 116qt Sterilite tub with 5 hides (one humid), a large water bowl, and a base of about 2 inches of aspen bedding. The hides are organized into 3 levels, and receded into a bedding 'hill' giving him plenty of room to burrow as well. The humidity is staying around 70%. Right now, his hotspot is at 80F, because my parents wouldn't let me get his tub set up before I got him, and I ended up having to order a thermostat (which should be here by Thursday 2/4/16). The breeder was feeding him live and it's been 6 days since he last ate. (I tried to feed him f/t earlier unsuccessfully.)

Firstly, any tips on feeding and handling would be extremely helpful. I've handled him once because he was attempting to climb out when I opened the tub, but I had to put him back quickly when someone knocked on the door. He's gone back to being terrified of my every move since, so I think I must have set him down too hard or something? And as for feeding, I've read tons of tips on switching them from live to f/t, but my main question is how to tell if mice have gone bad? Once unthawed and warmed via hot water submersion in a plastic bag, the hoppers I bought at Petco on the day I brought him home smelled a lot, bled a lot, and fell apart every time I tried to pick them up with tongs. I've taken two showers, taken out the trash, and put everything involved in feeding him outside to be thoroughly cleaned later, and I still smell dead mouse. I wasted 3 mice trying to get him to eat, and still have 3 in the freezer.

Secondly, I've heard that there are genetic 'defects' snakes can have that have to do with their movement? For example, the Spider wobble and stargazing. I named Pretzel 'Pretzel' because as many times as I've accidentally scared him, he doesn't seem to be able/like to do the trademark BP coil thing, he just ties himself in knots. And several times when he lifts his head in the air, I've seen him wobble it back and forth a little. It reminded me a lot of the Bearded dragon headbobbing thing that they do as a threat/mating display, so maybe it serves a similar function? I don't have a lot of previous experience with snakes, so I don't know if these things are normal or not. Does anyone have advice or tips on what to look for to know if I should be worried?

Sorry for writing a novel... haha