I have a thought for you. I don't have a T8, but want to get one this year. I keep my BP's in fish tanks right now but want to move them to T8's. To make them feel secure in the fish tanks, I have created tunnel systems out of polystyrene boards you can get at HD or Lowes. Where I live the thickest I can get is 3/4" polystryrene, but up north in Chicago I imagine you could find thicker which would be easier to work with.

The issue for you with the T8 would be fitting the polystryrene sheets in the T8, so you'd have to make this in sections that would fit together in the T8.

I have one of my BP's in a 20 gallon long tank. Basically I cut the polystyrene to fit inside the fish tank. I have about 6 sheets so it goes about half way up the tank. Then I get creative and carve out the inside space of the sheet so that there are natural hides that are connected by a tunnel. The tunnel leads from one side to the other and the exit hole is at the top in the middle of the tank. So when it is feeding time I'll see her head poking out looking for a meal. I'll try and post a picture at some point. You can paint the polystyrene so that it is easier to clean and looks nice.

The point here is by making these tunnel system, my BP's seem really content. They eat well and they use the tunnel systems. The good thing is too the polystyrene keeps in heat and humidity which is good for the BP's. A large sheet of the polystyrene is about $14 which allowed me to make tunnel systems for 2 20 gallon tanks.

If you made one of these for your T8 I'm pretty sure your BP would be happy and feel secure. The only issue with them then becomes getting your BP out when you want to handle it. That take some extra steps which is a pain, but I think the extra steps are worth it as long as the snake seems to like the enclosure. Hope that helps.