BPs are great beginner snakes, in my opinion! They do require a little bit more tweaking of their environment than say, a corn, and can sometimes go on hunger strikes, but overall are pretty good.

The cage you have now is a good start, but you'll probably want to eventually get a professional type cage like a Boaphile or Animal Plastics. 4 foot is generally the recommended size for a BP. If you start with a baby, you'll want to close off most of the tank so they feel snug and secure, or just use a small tub. You can put lots of decorations or crumpled newspaper in as well to take up space.

One thing to know is that BPs are not very good "display" snakes. A happy BP is a hiding one, and if you see yours out and about a lot, there's something going on, ie, they are hungry, too hot, sick, etc.

You can modify the lid of a tank by placing an acrylic panel on top with only a few holes for ventilation. Typically, you shouldn't need a light for heating, unless the room gets too cold. An UTH regulated by a thermostat is all I use for my snakes, and everyone seems happy with that. You MUST use a thermostat with a UTH! They can get hot enough to burn without it.

Don't buy from a pet store! If you have reptile shows in your area, you can get a much healthier snake for a better price.

I am a fan of F/T, mostly because as a vet tech for an exotics vet, I have seen first hand the damage a single rodent bite can do! It's just not worth the risk of maiming or even possibly killing your snake (I have seen bad bites that if they had been a centimeter to one side they would have punctured the snake's brain and killed it.) Plus, instead of going out to the store every time you have to feed, just go to the freezer. Frozen is usually cheaper than live as well.

For the over-handling question, it all depends on the snake. Don't handle at all for the first week, and only handle minimally (to clean tank for example) until it's fed reliably 3-4 times. Then you can start with a couple times a week and see if it does alright. If the snake stops eating, that sometimes can be a sign of over-handling. I have friends that have their BPs out for an hour or two every day, except 2 days after feeding, and it's fine. They have another one that they can only handle once or twice a week though, otherwise he stops eating. It's weird.

Please feel free to ask any questions here. We welcome people who actually want to know how to take care of their snakes!