While tank can be and are used successfully used, they are far from ideal due to the amount of work it takes to maintain a correct environment in them.

Among the problems with tanks are correct heat and the worst to maintain is humidity.

You could indeed keep a hatchling in a 5 gallon tank, but be prepared to spend a lot of time fussing with it and tweaking it to get it right.

If you aren't getting your snake until the fall, now is the best time to set up the tank, if you choose to use one, so you have plenty of time to add the equipment you need and tweak the setup until you have it right.

Gale