I cant help with the dieing plants, as ive yet to be successful on that front, but i can say when it comes to smell i havent changed my bioactive substrate in about a year and the isopods have kept it super clean. (I will say i hav done some scrapings of the top layer of fras to keep too much of a buildup. What bioactive mixture were you using, was it drying out or remaining too damp? I have cohabbed for a few months out of necessity before while setting up more enclosures, but not as a permanent setup (i havent the space for a proper cohab, id be more willing with a 200 gallon tank or a 8x4x4). But when it comes to bioactive, ive had a lot of luck keeping them going with minimal effort so may be able to shed some light on that front.
I understand others concerns, and appreciate the effort you have gone through to explain your standpoint and methodologies. I may not agree with them, but it at least shows you are willing to have civil discourse, which is one of the primary things we like to have here (this isnt facebook, and nobody should be looking to crucify anyone here unless it is animal abuse to the point of major injuries or animals starving to death etc.)
I agree with others points about the hides, i believe the snake went to its siblings to hide in the pile since there was nowhere else to go, not because it was its prefered choice, however were there other places to choose and they still went for the siblings, that would have been interesting as that seems like hatchling mentality and I would wonder if they arent seperated if they keep that mentality as they grow, but thats a different thing.
Judging by your responses it seems you are taking criticism well and understand for some, what you are doing crosses a line as many before you have and many after you will continue to experiment with cohab to try and save a buck when it comes to enclosures. That isnt me saying this is your reasoning, only that it is not uncommon, and some take offense to it and you are likely to get grouped into it, even with the best of intentions.
IF this is your intention, I insist you reconsider your standpoint. IF you have a legitimate curiousity, then i would urge you to take a moment, set up exact questions you want answered, have a goal in mind, and work to answer those questions. Simple observation with no pointed subject of study may find curiosities, but will be ultimately useless later as there will be too much inconsistency to really use any of the observations. Make sure you compare to controls, etc.
I think you caught a lot of criticism on the last post with the 4 yearlings in a tub because as you admitted, it was clearly not an optimal setup. The amount of stress before the food smell was even introduced in that setting was likely high considering the lack of security. Baking some bark or branches to give some semblance of concealment and security likely would help their situation a lot and be relatively cheap to do, just ensure you are baking the items long enough to ensure you arent introducing hitch hikers, and also that nothing you grab is pine of any sort as the phenols are poison to them.
I can understand not having enough time in the day, but make sure it isnt the animals who suffer for it. Its easy to forget about the repercussions when your mind is busy elsewhere.
No attacks, just simple things i think its important to be aware of and keep in mind 
I do have to agree with