Hello everyone!

I'm a first time ball python owner (currently have a Mystic Crystal) and I've been doing a lot of research talking to breeders, forums and observing what people are talking about in Facebook groups, Reddit and such. I'm getting a lot of 50/50 advice from breeders and people who claim to be experts about a few topics and wanted to see if anyone can clear them up for me because in the long run, I want my snake to have the best life. Do ball pythons like climbing? I bought a couple of cork logs and my little guy would climb them at night nothing crazy just exploring here and there. I recently threw them away because after 3 weeks I saw some mold forming on the bottom. Is there anything I can purchase that preferably doesn't mold (if it's cleared up they don't mind climbing objects). Also, I want to clear up what size rat I should feed my BP. I fed him fuzzy rats when he was 200g, he's currently 215g and I think I might start him on rat pups. Should I follow the golden rule size of widest part of the body to size of rat? Or just 10-15% of his body weight..Lastly, how often do you guys handle your snakes? I've been handling him 3-4 times a week from anywhere to 5-20 minutes just hanging out on my bed. I just love the little guy but don't want to over handle him or stress him out or anything.

Thank you!