Minor Burn or Pre-shed?

[Nyogirl]

So I took my ball python out today for the first time since Saturday (I fed him Sunday and gave him over 60 hours) and I noticed that a large portion of his belly was a pink shade with some odd, thin orange lines that were occasionally visible going down the center of the pink area of his belly. I have Aspen as a bedding (humidity is normally in the upper 50% to mid 70%) so I don't believe it's from stainage or even scale rot, but I'm still concerned. I have the thermostat probe for the UTH set at 90° and I turned it down to 89° just in case, but he constantly stays inside his warm hide so I'm wondering if prolonged exposure to heat caused it (both hides are identical).

His last shed with me was 2/21/2020, a month after I got him, so I'm wondering if this is a pre-shed pink belly that I just caught on to that's working its way up his belly or something. The pink area seems to disappear and the orange lines become barely visible when he flexes his scales in and he shows no sign of discomfort when I touch the pink area. He doesn't smell burnt, the scales don't feel scabby or rough and he doesn't seem uncomfortable when he moves, but I don't want to sound too confident.

I would provide a picture but my phone and my lighting are both trash and the area won't show up on camera.

Any and all helpful feedback is appreciated!!

[Bogertophis]

Hard to say, esp. without seeing...could be either one. When did he shed last?

[Nyogirl]

Hard to say, esp. without seeing...could be either one. When did he shed last?

February 21st of this year. It was exactly a month after I got him.

[Bogertophis]

So then he's due for a shed, & that's most likely what this is (raise the humidity a bit) assuming your heat is accurately controlled. One early way to tell if a snake is
going into a shed is to turn the lights out (at night), & use a small flashlight ('penlight') to shine across the arc of his eyes...you'll see the slight fog much easier and
much earlier this way, instead of waiting until your snake is fully "fogged in" (with a shed).

[Nyogirl]

I just did that, thank you! His eyes looked foggy from what I could tell, but he was a bit confused as to why it suddenly got dark and a light was shining at him and he looked around inquisitively. But hopefully he's going into shed, I've been excited about getting another full shed with him.

[Bogertophis]

I just did that, thank you! His eyes looked foggy from what I could tell, but he was a bit confused as to why it suddenly got dark and a light was shining at him and he looked around inquisitively. But hopefully he's going into shed, I've been excited about getting another full shed with him.

Most likely a shed, then. But after he sheds, check his eyes the same way so you'll for sure know the difference & what to look for from now on. Always helps to know
when a shed is coming soon, so you don't waste food they won't likely eat, or so you don't worry that something's wrong. There's other ways to tell also but they're harder to explain...eventually you'll notice how different their skin folds look when a shed is upcoming too, etc.

[Nyogirl]

Yeah, last shed he was in blue on feeding day, so he didn't eat then nor for a week afterwards (I read it was because their scales are softer so they feel more exposed). He took Sunday's meal like a champ though, despite eating the mouse backwards. I'll monitor him for the next couple of days to see if anything advances!