A spotted was my first snake, until 3 weeks ago was also my only snake. I would of loved a Carpet Python to start with but after I got her I never regretted it. Looking back she was the perfect snake for me as a beginner. 10 years later she's still going strong. Main hints I can give is if its a little snappy just keep handleing and it should calm down over time. I got Striker at 9 months of age and she struck at any movement. Took a number of months to calm her down, but once she calmed down she never bit again until the day of the bush fires last year. For some reason that set her off and I couldn't handle her without her latching on until a couple weeks ago. I'd recommend some height in your enclosure to move as strikers always wanted to climb and she hasn't had the room as what I keep her in was originally build for lizards. I'm about to get a new enclosure made for her and my Jungle Carpet. The only other thing I can say is good luck with it, they make great pets.
Here a few pics of striker, I don't have may great ones at the moment but here she is.
