Have been reading your Story of Bella with great interest, even though I have zero experience with reptiles. I'm curious about his reaction when you try to get him out of the tank. Are you above him, and reaching into his space? Maybe he doesn't like being 'come at from above'.

You say he really appreciates his time out of the tank. If he had a way out of his own, say, a branch to climb, do you think he'd readily come out? It sounds to me like he simply doesn't like being grabbed at, or reached for.