Quote Originally Posted by Trey Yeoman View Post
and I have no thermometer on the underside of the tank or any way to tell how hot the pad is... or the glass... but when I touch the underside of the tank with my bare hand it feels hot to me.. maybe like hot bath water... not much hotter than that...
Way too hot. Those pads can get REALLY hot when not regulated with a thermostat (or at least a rheostat/dimmer switch). And ball pythons are not capable of knowing if a surface is too hot to lay on.

I honestly can't say if that is a shed or burn or both, but I CAN say that you need to do something about that heating pad, even if you have to borrow money from Mom. Go to Lowes/Home Depot/Ace and get a lamp-dimmer...it's a little sliding switch on an extension cord that you can plug your heater cord into...then dial it down. To measure the temperature, you also need a thermometer...which can also be found at the hardware store or WalMart...a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer that also measures humidity. The dimmer switch is usually less than $10 and the thermometer is less than $15.

The aspen bedding should NOT look wet...at all. And all wastes should be cleaned up as soon as feasible. While the snake is in the healing process, I would take the aspen out and replace it with clean newspaper or paper towels. With those, it's very easy to see if the snake has left a mess. You can spritz the paper/bedding when misting the cage, but it should never, ever be soggy.