First of all, I would like to mention I'm very green to all of this. I have a six-week old male ball python who came from, what I've been told, an excellent breeder. I bought him on Saturday and it is now Tuesday night. He hides all day in his favorite hide, which for whatever reason is a Kleenex box filled with rocks. He won't touch his actual reptile hide, except to lounge on top of it at night. Once the sun has gone down, around 7:00pm, Virgil (that's his name) likes to come out of the Kleenex box and search around his enclosure. He likes to stretch up and try to get out of the tank (that's what I assume he's doing, why else would he try to touch the top?). He doesn't show much interest in the corners of his tank, and doesn't try to slither up the walls. He likes to wrap around his fake grass and reach up as high as he can before tipping over. Then he'll curl up behind his hide (not the Kleenex box, but his actual hide), put his head on top, and watch me while I do homework. Sometimes he'll go back to trying to get out, sometimes he's been content to just watch me. I've been trying to keep him as stress free as possible, and he's getting his first meal tomorrow. I'm concerned as to why he keeps trying to touch the netted frame that closes his tank. Is he stressed? Is the tank too hot? Too cold? Does he just want out to explore? Curiosity? Hunger? I don't know enough to come up with an answer myself, which is why I signed up on this site.

Facts about Virgil and his living conditions:
~He's 6 weeks old, and about 18 inches long. I don't know how much he weighs yet because the scale I ordered hasn't come in yet.
~He's currently in a 10 liter tank that opens from the top. I'm going to try to upgrade to a 20 liter tank as soon as I can afford it, which will probably be in January, sadly. I got his current tank on a promotional discount since I bought it at a reptile show.
~I'm concerned that I'm not taking the temperature correctly, but I put both the thermometer and the humidifier-meter (whatever it is called) on the back wall of the tank, directly in the center. The temperature is usually between 78-80 degrees, and the humidity has been around 50-55 percent, right at the dead-center of the tank. He has a UTH on one side of the tank, where his Kleenex box and fake leaves are. On the other side of the tank is his reptile hide and his water dish and his fake grass. The water dish is as far away from the hot side as possible. The bedding is aspen.
~Both of his hides have been lined with newspaper until he grows larger to give him a snug feel.
~He's situated in a bookshelf, so it's dark on three sides, and open air above him for about a foot and a half before the next shelf begins.

Other small questions I have:
~Is a Kleenex box an okay hide for now? Why does he not like the hide actually made for snakes?
~Any other tips for a first-time snake owner? I've owned cats before, and have worked with horses for most of my life, but snakes are a first.
~How much should I handle a young python so that he becomes socialized without being stressed? Is starting at 5 minutes a day once a week and slowly moving up to 10 minutes 5 days a week okay (no handling on digesting days)?

Am I doing anything wrong??? I really, really want this snake to be happy. I've wanted to own a snake for a very long time, and since my roommate won't allow cats, I thought that a ball python would be perfect. He's been keeping my midterm stress down just by letting me watch him, and I want to return the favor and not stress him out. I want him to live a long and happy life with me, and I'm suddenly feeling completely lost.

Thank you so much for all of your help, and I hope I didn't ramble too much.