Ah, thank you. I get the two mixed up sometimes. No, I do not have a thermostat at the moment. I've been looking online and seen a few suggested ways to control the intensity of the heat pad. I'll be making a run to Home Depot this weekend for sure.
They're not used for heating, but I have two lights on top of the cage that add a little ambient air temperature to the aquarium, but not very much.

My bag of pinkies arrived today and I'm excited about feeding him for the first time this weekend. I was thinking of trying to handle him the day before I gave him the mouse. Should I wait until the day after he has fed to begin trying to handle him instead? Obviously I want him to experience as little stress as possible, so what is the best way of initially picking him up? Thats the part that makes me nervous. He's going to be hiding and I'm going to have to search for him. Is it ok to pick up his hiding places in order to get him? Or is that stepping over a boundary? I don't want to be chasing him around the tank with my hand, that seems too stressful for both of us.