My BP has been in the same 40 gallon tank her entire life. I have always given her a natural look with thick substrate, real and fake plants, hides, and some driftwood to crawl through. It most certainly can be done you just need to offer plenty of cover and concealment for the snake to feel secure while moving about.

I don't believe there is an issue with that wood especially if its well dried.

Switching from f/t to live should not be an issue. It usually goes the other way. Why feed live? F/T is much safer for the snake. If you raise feeders or can only buy them live there are easy ways to dispatch the rodent and feed fresh killed.

Once you have a snake that is taking a good size rat you will not want to be dealing with live ones. A rat can really do some damage and its not something that most keepers care to test.