I would have left them ... chances are, they'd be separated by the morning and 10 hours or so in a dirty wet cage won't do any harm. Ball pythons get NASTY when breeding, it's just part of the game. Sometimes, keeping cages too clean during breeding season works against you ... some pairs actually breed more actively in dirty cages. Keep em too clean and they just don't get in the mood.

I use paper as a substrate, so for the wet, I would have just carefully added more paper or paper towels around them to soak it up ... I definitely would not have moved them mid lock ... all kinds of things can go wrong.

-adam