All I can say to this thread is... woah. But beyond that, I will come up with my own 2 cents.

1) On the striking issue. I agree with the poster that said to slowly move your hand behind the snake and stroke his back to say, "Hey, it's handling time." Of course, that's after things have settled down and he's gotten in to a routine, e.g. what time lights go on and off for "daylight", his temps (90/80 gradient), his humidity (50 - 60%), and feeding. I liked the advice on smaller tank and more hides - you could also post a picture for more advice on tank set up. You could save the larger tank for when he gets a lot bigger.

Maybe only try taking him out after a week or two, or even three, when he happens to be "out and about" already. What we do when we take out Mr. Snake is talk to him first to let him know we are there. Then we open the tank, another sign we are coming in. We put our hand in far from where he sits, slowly moving our hand toward his backside (wherever his head ISN'T) and stroke him gently, while we ask, "Can we take you out?" Then we lift him slowly with two hands out of the tank. We don't control his head at all, but you might do that given the situation. And keep handling sessions down to a minimun at first, only a couple minutes, possibly twice a day and at the same time to establish the handling routine.

2) On the UTH. We just got our BP (first snake, by the way) about a month ago. The UTH came with the "critter tank" 20 gal set up kit. We found very early on that it got the glass on the bottom of the tank too hot. My husband, handy guy that he is, cut the line and added a dimmer switch in the middle to turn it down some. Mr. Snake gets most of his heat from above from a CHE anyway. But, of course, that now needs a dimmer too since temps are on a 93-95/82-87 gradient. We ended up covering the UTH with a ceramic casserole dish that is under the CHE anyway to keep our humidity from dropping so much. So he'll get warmer water, but no burns. We still keep the dimmer down a little to be sure the ceramic doesn't get hot though.

Maybe your UTH is a different brand and doesn't get as hot. Who knows? Are both UTH's only "warm"? One thing to note, what is warm or hot to your hand is different than what is warm or hot to, say, your elbow. When you become a parent, you learn to test the bath water with your forearm or elbow b/c hands are used to very hot water (e.g. from doing dishes) and can give the wrong perceived temperature - and kids can end up with minor burns or hurting. Try touching the UTH with your forearm if you can reach it, or your toe or something. You might feel differently.

3) On the thread in general. I know it's hard being new to the site and getting all kinds of "harsh" feedback. But I think that people are genuinely trying to help and protect your snake. I have had my own moments (kissing snake thread was mine!) here, as well. But don't take it personally. Hang in there and take care of that little guy!