Dont worry about being teased about not wanting to pick it up. My mother was scared to death of my snakes at first but now I have problems with her just taking them out of their cages without asking me.

On the topic of heating, UTH's are preferred as long as they're used in conjunction with some type of device to control the temperature. People debate the belly heat (UTH) vs back heat (CHE) which honestly to me neither is more beneficial. My issue (and reason I dont use them frequently) is with CHE's because they dry out the the enclosure they're used on and like you, I have a screen tops where some snakes the require moderate humidity and even more so when going through shed so I rarely use mine.

As for your snakes hide problem, someone here came up with a great idea for making home made hides. I'd love to make one myself but I dont have the supplies ready. It might be of use to you. You can see it Here

Good luck and welcome to the forums