New snake; some questions

Hi! I'm in the process of adopting an adult corn snake (the owner is leaving the country and can't take her), and I have a few questions. I've searched the internet but the advice is sometimes conflicting...
I have a wooden vivarium with four built-in light fittings in the roof (inside the enclosure). As it's a wooden enclosure, I'm assuming a heat mat wouldn't be so good, so I'd like to provide heat from a lamp. Should I get a ceramic lamp or something else? And whatever bulb(s) I choose, I'm also assuming I will need to create some form of cover to stop the snake reaching them. Any suggestions how I could go about this? Also, other lighting - I've read that corn snakes don't need extra uv lighting, but would some form of lighting be ok? Otherwise it'll just be normal daylight.
Also, about feeding. The snake is established on frozen mice, but I'm not sure whether she's being fed 'at home' or being taken out. I've read that a snake shouldn't be handled after a meal, but am I right that it would be ok to feed her and then return her to the tank directly afterwards? Or is this wrong?
Thank you for any help! I'm adopting the snake from a not-very-communicative teenager, so I'm not relying on him for advice.

Hi! Sorry no one has answered you yet, we are usually pretty quick to answer questions like this.

For the wooden viv I think (you will have to wait for an answer from someone who has done this before) you can put down a UTH mat inside the viv and put a ceramic tile over the top of it, seal it in with caulk so the snake can't get to it. Then just treat it like a regular UTH, use a thermostat to control the temp and use a digital probe thermometer directly on top of the tile.

I am not a proponent of the lamps. There is too much danger that can happen with them, from fire to drying out the viv. The carefully monitored UTH will be enough.

Corns need no UV lighting, some lighting can cause blindness in certain morphs, I would stick with normal daylight.

It is about 50/50 on feeding in the viv. I prefer it, I have 11 corns and go down the line of tanks spot cleaning, changing the water, checking the snake from end to end, weighing the snake and keeping notes on everything they ate (or didn't), blue, shed, or anything else of note. Then I wrangle the snake from around my neck and go back to the line, put the mouse on a deli lid, put it in the viv and add the snake. Usually by the time I have gone down the line I can start back at the first viv and remove the deli lid, making sure there is a lump in the belly.

If you do choose to feed out of the viv, absolutely you can put her back in the viv by hand, just make sure the mouse is all the way down in the stomach, so just wait a half hour or so to make the move. When you read "don't handle for 2 days after feeding" it means don't take it to the amusement park, the movies, a bar, or the circus. They just want a warm place to digest for a few days before pooping and getting on with life, they need to feel secure so there is no regurge. If you want to feed in a container that is lidded, after they eat you can put the whole container without the lid in the viv and let the snake crawl out on its own.

Good luck, and there are lots of "stickies" at the top of each topic about problems or suggestions or questions that come up so often that people can already get the answer without having to post a question again. Read them all, you will find some pretty interesting stuff!

Oh, and we love pictures!!!

Thank you so much! That is all very helpful for me, as a first-timer. We installed her last night in her new home, which she has been exploring very thoroughly. She seems happy, as she's not hiding away but poking her little head out to watch what's going on.

Sweet little face! I am glad that helped you, we were all newbies once with the same questions, so never be afraid to ask.

And good for you going with an adult, they are easier to handle and are established feeders, but they also get "forgotten" and have to be rescued by someone who will provide them with a full lifetime of care. Many reptiles are impulse buys, and no research is done prior to the purchase. They are cute and amusing for a while, but then people don't want to do the basic care they need (and corns are among the easiest animals to own and require such minimal care!) and they end up on Craigslist or worse. I like to get mine from CL, I have 5 that I "rescued" from CL, and all of them are wonderful pets. I don't breed, I just give these guys a happy life as long as they want to stick around.