I think ball pythons do really well when handled a lot compared to other species. As long as the snake eats regularly, you can handle it that much without issue.

First off, don't feel guilty. These are common mistakes for new keepers. Mistakes I made myself when I got my first snake. I got her from petsmart. I had her in a vertical glass tank with an unregulated heat mat and a lamp. I had one enormous hide and no digital thermometers. Finding this community really helped me fix my husbandry. I thought I did all the research I needed to before bringing home the snake, but there is just so much bad info out there.

Glad to hear you have a thermostat! That is very good Ditch the dial thermometers (analog with the needle). You will need at least one digital thermometer with a probe. I use these in my enclosures. Basically you want something that will take the ambient air temp (indoor) at the unit, and the hot spot temp (outdoor) with the probe.

There will always be a little difference between what you set your thermostat to and what the temp right on the surface of the enclosure is. For example, I have my thermostat set to 96ish to get a hot spot of 90-91.

They like to move the substrate, its not a big deal if he moves it around. generally you don't want it too thick because it can trap the heat. An inch or less is good.