From where I sit (& not actually seeing set-up): it sounds like he is wanting the warmth. I'm fairly certain that it doesn't smell like food. And "neurological"? -no.
"Over-reacting"? It's not over-reacting when you pay attention to details & want to make sure your husbandry is spot-on, & not causing harm. It's not "over-reacting"
to want to know why your snake is doing whatever he's doing that you don't understand. (Please don't let anyone's snark keep you from asking necessary questions.)
Soo… Shall I just leave him to it then? Is this just a case of ‘ball pythons do weird s***’?