So I just picked up a new BP- few weeks old, female. I have her in an Exoterra enclosure- double doors in the front with a mesh top. The enclosure is aprox. 36''x18''x12'' (WIDE LOW Exoterra terrarium).

I have had her just over 24 hours and I have been keeping her in the enclosure just minding my own business checking temps from every now and then.

I have two digital temp probes both in the rear corners of the enclosure, one on the cold side and one on the warm. I have a 100 watt ceramic heat emitter on the warm side as well as a UTH from ZOOMED on the warm side for this appropriate sized enclosure.

I have found that she is spending all of her time on the warm side thus far and has not really been too interested in the hides. I have one hide on each side, one being a "cave type" of hide with both a lid and a bottom section to it(cold hide). The hide on the warm side is a half moon log type of hide because i wanted her to be able to benefit from the UTH while being under the hide.

She hasn't really moved around too much and I did touch her back while she was facing the opposite direction which is my bad. She did make a quick hiss and I quickly drew back from the enclosure and left her alone. I plan on leaving her for a few more days before I plan on handling her but I do plan on trying to feed her soon. She hasn't even from what I can tell been on the cold side of the tank.

The temps in the corners of both the cold and hot are:
Cold (73 deg F)
Warm (85 deg F)

The temps have been sticking pretty close to those for now. I live in a basement apartment so it can be a bit chilly but I haven't run the A/C or anything.

I also decided to black out the sides and back with black cardstock in hopes of helping her be less stressed about the new environment.

My questions/concerns are:

BP's are supposed to spend most time in the hides, correct? so why does she spend so much time out of the hides?

Are these good temps? I am getting a infared thermometer to try and help see what kind of temps im getting towards the center of the tank.

When do you recommend the first feeding time and min time to wait to handle?

Is it okay for her to like the warm side so much?

Is there anything based on what I said above that I should be doing differently?

THANKS GUYS!!! look forward to your responses.