The cheapest morph that I know of is pastel, from a breeder, as a hatchling, and a boy.

I agree that the snake striking is not a good sign, it sounds cage aggressive to me.. not fun! I've dealt with 7 foot cage aggressive snakes before, and while it was a manageable pine snake, I wouldn't want to deal with a heavier bodied snake. But if you're REALLY set on that snake, buy a hook, unless you don't mind being tagged with a few hundred teeth ;D
Which isn't really that bad.. but I like to avoid getting bitten when possible.