I always try to have any cage setup before I bring home its tenant. A week should be good but two would make sure you had everything dialed in.
You can in its cage. Any aggression stories you have heard are false. Search the forum as this gets discussed a lot.
Have you picked a thermostat yet? The ones in the pet stores are junk so you are probably going to want to order one. Im a Herpstat guy. http://spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html Many people also like these choices from Reptile Basics. http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostats