Is my BP okay? Burns?

[Lava]

First of all, let me just say this is my first time posting here, so I hope I've chosen the right forum for my question.
So, last Tuesday I brought my BP home from the hospital, where they had been keeping him in an incubator and medicating him for an upper respiratory infection. The incubator he was in had a small opening into the heating area with the pipes and stuff, so he managed to wiggle in there a couple times, though they kept a close eye on him. When he came home I noticed a couple of small wounds which were just from the injections, and I noticed one faint, long, thin burn on his back, which the vet said could very likely be from one of his mini escapes.
However, last night I noticed another much larger burn on his side (Picture 1), and though it looks like it has been healing, I don't remember seeing it before. He also has a strange orange/red lining on a few of his belly side scales near his neck (Picture 2).
What are these two things? Are all of these wounds okay, or is something wrong?
Also, some information that may be important:
I realized a few days ago that his heating pad was not working. I do not know how long it wasn't working for, but I bought him a new one immediately (I figured that this was probably the cause of his infection, as well). There is complete substrate cover over his new heating pad and I bought him the same exact one he had before. I don't see how this could have caused burns or whatever the red scales are, but it may be a factor.

[Dundee]

there should be some kind of burn cut ointment you could get for him. and if i had one of my snakes in the animal hospitol and they come back with burns they wouldnt like me very well id be very irate with them. they should do something to prevent it. I use carpet under the substrate i use because of the fact if the snake switches and moves the substrate around he could burrow his self down to the very bottom. I dont put the substrate very deep over the UTH so itll still get warm.

[JLC]

I'd be pretty pissed if my snake came back from the hospital with more problems than he went in with...problems that are EASILY preventable with simple cage fixes. That's simply ridiculous.

The first picture looks more like a puncture wound than a burn, but I couldn't really picture what you were trying to describe it living in and have no idea what kind of wound his little "mini escapes" might have caused...maybe a combination of a burn and puncture. Antibiotic ointment (without any pain killer in it) should be enough for that, but keep an eye on it.

The second picture looks like the very early stages of scale rot, to me. Clean, dry bedding to prevent it from getting any worse, and it should shed off with the next shed.

I STRONGLY recommend getting a reliable thermostat to control your heat pad. Relying on layers of substrate to both maintain proper temps and keep your snake safe from burns is just asking for trouble.

I also highly recommend keeping him on clean paper until all signs of wounds are completely closed up and healed. Plain ol' newspaper or paper towels is fine. But, you'll have to have that heat controlled first!

Keep in mind, none of us are vets and can't diagnose your animal over the internet. If those injuries happened at the hospital, then you should be able to follow-up on them without incurring any extra costs...but I would NOT allow them to keep him overnight again.

[Lava]

Thank you for the input. I was very upset with the hospital, but I had already spent over $300 on his stay there, so I was ready to just get it over with. I honestly don't have the money to buy another thermometer right now, but I will definitely put the newspaper and paper towels over his heating pad. If I just lay down one or two pieces of thin cardboard, like from the mail, and tape them down over the heating pad, and then cover that with substrate, will that be okay? Also, is it safe to administer ointment on his wound myself? What kind exactly do you recommend?
Here is a picture of his tank setup. The heating pad is under his log, and the bulb is 100watts (though I have a 150watt to switch it out on cold days).
I try to keep a wet towel over the screen top and spray his substrate daily.

[JLC]

Alright...you'll want to make some changes to have an ideal ball python habitat. Most of them are very inexpensive. The only really pricey one is a thermostat.

The little stick-on dial thermometers you have are virtually useless. Besides being notoriously inaccurate, they simply can't tell you what temperatures your snake is actually experiencing down there on the floor of the cage...over the heat mat...or inside the hide.

You can get a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer for less than $15 from Walmart or any of the big hardware stores. It comes with a long corded probe. You put that probe under the warm-side hide....and then set the unit on the floor of the cage in a cool corner...and that will give you a much better read on your overall temps and humidity.

Next...the open-sided log hides are not ideal for ball pythons. These are snakes that in the wild will live in tight little rodent burrows or termite mounds. They want things dark and tight around them. You don't have to buy expensive hides from the pet store...you can use clean, plastic bowls with a little doorway cut out...plastic flower-pot bottoms can be found very cheap at walmart or hardware stores. Just cut away a little entrance. (I highly recommend a "cave door" sort of entrance, rather than a hole...because if the snake is half-in and half-out that hole, it can be very hard to get them out! LOL Much easier to just lift the whole thing off)

You also should ideally have one hide over the heat mat and one on the cool side. That way your snake can feel secure even if he doesn't feel like being warmer.

Lastly, you really do need a thermostat to control the heat mat. But barring that, you can get a dimmer switch made for table lamps at the hardware store for under $10. Hook that up and monitor your temps closely. If your room temps stay steady, a dimmer switch can work fairly well...but if the temps fluctuate a lot, you'll have to work with it a lot more.

I recommend neosporin antibiotic...just check the label and make sure it doesn't have pain killer mixed in with it. You can rub it on yourself with clean hands...it won't hurt the snake. I'd recommend 2-3 times per day until the wound closes up. Depending on the nature of the wound, it may actually open up again during the next shed or two because shedding can sometimes tear scabs away.

I wouldn't mess with the possible scale rot at this time...it looks mild enough to take care of itself, so long as the environment is correct.

[Lava]

Okay, so I do have a little thermometer that I put right outside of the log to measure the bottom heat right there. At the moment it is 90 degrees. I slid the log up against the side of the tank so that there was no opening on that side. However, I do notice that sometimes he likes to wind himself through the log. He will have the tip of his tail hanging out of the back and lay half out of it. I will also look into getting a hide for the other corner of his tank, next to the water dish, and I will look into a thermostat.
As for the scale rot, so you not suggest that I change anything? Should I not put down cardboard or paper towels under the substrate? I also mist his substrate whenever I see the humidity getting low (the humidity is my biggest problem), and in order to keep the sides of his tank clean, I spray right down onto the substrate. Is this a problem? Could this be making it too wet?

[Sammy412]

Also, please don't use tape inside the snake's enclosure.....trust me, he will find a way to stick it to himself and then it will be very difficult to remove it

[JLC]

Okay, so I do have a little thermometer that I put right outside of the log to measure the bottom heat right there. At the moment it is 90 degrees. I slid the log up against the side of the tank so that there was no opening on that side. However, I do notice that sometimes he likes to wind himself through the log. He will have the tip of his tail hanging out of the back and lay half out of it. I will also look into getting a hide for the other corner of his tank, next to the water dish, and I will look into a thermostat.
As for the scale rot, so you not suggest that I change anything? Should I not put down cardboard or paper towels under the substrate? I also mist his substrate whenever I see the humidity getting low (the humidity is my biggest problem), and in order to keep the sides of his tank clean, I spray right down onto the substrate. Is this a problem? Could this be making it too wet?

I highly recommend using paper until everything is healed up, as mentioned earlier. I simply can't comment on the cardboard under the paper because I wouldn't ever do it that way myself. I never set up a heat mat without a control first and can't/won't guess at how well cardboard might work. I will say that if you choose to do that, you'll have to be sure to have enough of it to change it out every time he poops or pees.

A little spritzing on the substrate shouldn't hurt...but if it's WET, then that could be an issue. It won't hurt to let the humidity drop a bit during this healing time. In the 40's would be alright...then bump it back up when you see him getting ready for a shed. (Which may be fairly soon, as wounds/injuries will often induce a shed)

Also, please don't use tape inside the snake's enclosure.....trust me, he will find a way to stick it to himself and then it will be very difficult to remove it

Thank you! I meant to mention that and forgot to include it. Please don't use tape in the enclosure. Very dangerous!

[Lava]

How do I make sure the paper towels stay positioned over the heat pad? And how many paper towels? Also, do I just move the substrate out of the way or do I cover the towels back up with substrate?

[JLC]

How do I make sure the paper towels stay positioned over the heat pad? And how many paper towels? Also, do I just move the substrate out of the way or do I cover the towels back up with substrate?

The point of the paper is to NOT have any loose substrate in there during the healing process. You don't want the aspen holding onto excess moisture or bacteria, or sticking to the wound. With paper, you can tell instantly if its wet/dirty and clean it right away. So...the paper does not go on top of the aspen...nor the other way around. Just paper.

Newspaper is simpler to work with, I think...you can fold a big sheet and it will generally stay in place, although some snakes seem to enjoy shifting it around and even hiding beneath it. (Same with paper towels) The point of having anything at all in there is so that you have something to absorb waste when the snake pees or poops. Just a couple of layers should be fine. BUT...this is why I stress having some sort of control over your heat...because you can't control how much contact your snake my have with the surface just above the heating element. Even with loose substrate like aspen, they can and will burrow down beneath it and lay on the surface of the glass.