It can be frustrating when people tell your that your instincts are wrong, especially when you're trying to do the right thing. I'm a newbie, so I know. In the end, your scaly friend is 100% reliant on you, and that is why the experts here are being short with you. I doubt they're trying to be personal, they just want to give you realistic advice on what will and won't work. Walking away isn't going to make anything better for Cookie or you.
What helped me was to try and think like the snake. He's a tiny guy with instincts evolved from the African Savannah! Everything huge and noisy there will eat or squish him. There is absolutely nothing he likes better than a quiet, dark, warm safe place to grow. You can be a part of that safe place with quiet rare handling, but the confidence will come from him feeling secure in his enclosure.
I'd try putting a blanket/beach towel to cover the entire enclosure. It'll bump the ambient temp a few degrees and will dampen out the light and noise of the room around him and help keep in humidity.
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