Striking while out of town

[arcina]

ive been on vacation for the past 2 weeks and when feeding time came my mom had a serious problem with feeding...
she tried picking her up out of her tank to put her in a paper bag for feeding like always, but my snake striked at her. she tried again 5 minutes later and she struck again ..
then i had a buddy visit to try and feed her but she striked at him too...
so my mom put the live mouse in her tank ans left it there. the snake showed no intrest at all, and i wasnt around to straighten @@@@ out. I dont know if my mom was just being stupid with trying to feed her or if shes stressed.
could she be stressed due to not being handled for 2 weeks ? what do i do ? i love my dakota veeery much and the last thing i was is for her to freak out perminately
ive had her for about a month now and havent seen any problems... when im around i hold her at least 2 hours a day, just letting her get used to my scent and the new surroundings.
shes 8 months old and has never been aggresive.
this is also my first snake and i dont know what to do !
should i put on a glove before attempting to pick her up to feed her? should i be prepared to take a bite?

[Shelby]

First take a deep breath, your snake is fine.

Did you tell your mom to make sure she doesn't smell like a mouse/rat when she handles the snake? If she held the mouse before picking the snake up, she would smell mighty tasty to the snake.

A snake won't be stressed out from not being handled for two weeks. It's also easier on the snake if you feed it inside it's cage, not in another container. If you feed a frozen thawed mouse you can actually leave it in the cage overnight. I wouldn't do this with a live rodent if it's older than weaned.

As far as gloves go.. whatever you feel comfortable with. I wear gloves for my female anaconda because she's a snot, but not for my 5.5' boa because I know she won't bite. Makes no difference to the snake.

[ladywhipple02]

Has your mother or your friend handled that snake very often before? It's entirely possible that the snake, while used to you holding him, is NOT used to other people holding him. He may trust you and not anyone else.

Were temps and humidity kept correct while you were gone? This can cause changes in temperament too.