Advice for my first Bioactive terrarium?

[Bogertophis]

.... I want to give her the quality of life she has always deserved.

... This will be my first Bioactive setup and my first time owning plants.

P.S., how long should I wait after completely setting up the terrarium before I put my snake in?

Commendable goals, but I don't necessarily agree that bioactive is a step-up for the snake. I'm not saying it's good or bad- I don't do bioactive & have no plans to do so- I'm only saying I don't think it's particularly beneficial to the snake, AND it's more work for the keeper. I think bioactive makes sense for much smaller creatures, but not for snakes that will smash the plants & produce too much output for the "little critters" to dispose of.

I agree w/ Homebody about plants- and I'm a gardener! At least outside. Plants are a whole other layer of challenge- but does your snake really care?

Everyone has a different idea about how long it may take to set-up a thriving bio-active enclosure before moving in a snake. I've seen a member that planned for about a year to make sure all was thriving- honestly, who knows? It depends on how well you "get it right" in the first place. All I'm saying is that when you keeping a snake that's going to be very hard on your bio-active set-up, and that snake is also likely to be STRESSED when you have to keep making adjustments to their world (rescuing plants & all), it's asking for trouble. BPs are known to be fussy eaters- so why ask for trouble?

Anyway, that's my take- "you do you". I think snakes appreciate good cover & some appreciate natural things to climb on- I'm not sure they appreciate or are even aware of what's going on in the ground beneath them. And don't forget that bio-active is being promoted by some so you buy things... just sayin'.