Paper towel substrate question

[Bogertophis]

How are you heating his enclosure? I ask because if it's UTH, maybe he's just trying to get closer to the warmth...?

Never use tape or other sticky items to hold paper towels in place...trust me on this, the humidity & warmth will loosen the tape, your snake will rub against it some
night when you aren't looking, & then he'll cement it firmly to himself by using his heat source. So just don't...

It's asking an awful lot of paper towels to lay flat while a good-sized snake cruises over them, & forget it when the snake actually wants to get under them. They might
stay down if you have heavy things in all 4 corners, but snakes are adept at moving those too. You need some real substrate or something stiffer (like the textured or
corrugated wrapping papers available from such places as Uline.com). I use layered paper towels in most of my cages, but with a mix of shredded paper & Carefresh
over top, & very few of my snakes ever destroy that...BUT, I'm not keeping BPs and this substrate mix is too "dry" (hygroscopic) for BPs, as they need humidity. There
are better things for BPs...various coco-husk products & even orchid bark are what most like. OR, if you want to keep using paper towels, try layering it on the floor as
before, but then taking some towels & cutting or tearing them into strips & tossing like a salad, for fluff he can easily hide in over top of the bottom layered towels.

Honestly it sounds to me like he doesn't have adequate hides...is that a possibility? If hides are too big or too open, snakes don't feel secure & try for anything they can.
He is now in a bigger cage with a view (glass!) compared to the privacy he had in a tub, so you might also try covering the sides & back, even part of the front glass with
dark paper or scenery. While you're at it, it's easy to add an insulating layer of various suitable materials so the heat stays in the cage better thru cold months.
If you doubt that this is a privacy issue for him, try temporarily covering most of his tank with a beach towel, & see if he still digs under the towels.