Is your thermometer/hygrometer the digital kind or the round analog kind? The analog kinds can be so inaccurate that they're useless, so you should get the digital.

Investing in a temp gun (around $20) is important imo, so you can measure accurate temperatures wherever you want in his tank.

Ball pythons don't really need to be socialized extensively like that to be a good pet- even just 10~20 minutes for only two days a week would be fine. If he's shy now, it's just because he's a hatchling. They're easygoing snakes (99% of them...), and naturally become calm as they mature.

If your kleenex box is the only hide on top of his heat pad, that's probably why he's there. They spend the majority of their time in wherever the warm hide is.

Ball pythons also like hides with only one small opening and where their entire body can be hidden otherwise, so you wouldn't be able to see anything except maybe their head poking out. If your reptile hide doesn't look like this, it might be why.

They're nocturnal, so they become active at night to explore and push at the top of their tank or do whatever else they want. It is normal. If he was doing it for many hours even during the day too, then it might signal an issue.

Your heat pad is hooked up to a thermostat to keep it from getting too hot right?