If this will be your only snake you don't really have anything to quarantine it from. But I would still keep it in a sterile tub on paper towels for a while to check for parasites. This will also give your bioactive enclosure more time to establish if you do decide to go that route. But cleaning up after one ball python would probably be less work than caring for a bioactive enclosure. Give it a couple hides and yes, REGULATED heat is required but light is not. Ball pythons do not require any light but if you do add lights for your plants keep them on a timer and schedule it to fit both the plants needs for light and the snakes need for darkness. Here's a link with lots of information about building and maintaining a bioactive vivarium and starting your own clean up crew cultures

http://www.neherpetoculture.com/careall

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