a BRB was our first snake. don't let the reputation of the newborns being nippy turn you away, with handling and age, the tendency goes away. ours continues to be a fascinating and ever changing wonder for us and our kids. their high humidity needs makes them good candidates for a live plant, bio-active set up that is pretty well sealed up. the trouble a lot of us struggle with is that the set up readily available at chain pet stores is great for high heat desert critters but terrible for critters that like both heat and humidity. a BRB's need for humidity, especially when very young, is more extreme than a BP's but it was a good precursor to a BP for me since learning how to heat a virtually wet enclosure made creating a moderate humidity, higher heat enclosure for our BP's easier. BRB's are nocturnal, ground/hide dwelling snakes, they like it about 78f. an thermostat controlled UTH or flexwat tape can easily do the trick. use a temp gun, scrap relying on thermometers and definitely avoid heat lamps/CHE's. if your room is cold, then insulate the top and sides. our BRB is a beautiful snake with a great disposition, it has never struck me or our kids. I recommend handling a pet snake at least once a week for say 15-30 minutes minimum to keep them accustom to being held. I hold mine till it warms up enough that it starts becoming active, then offer it food outside it's enclosure. this routine keeps it tame, IMHO.