ball python burns and rat bites

[brian]

okay this may seem confusing but the ball python i got was from my neighbor,his brother owned it but was in jail and couldn't take care,neighter could my neighbor,it was being kept at low teperatures and haden't been fed in a long time like 6 months. so i got it from him being slight knowledgeable about reptiles mainly turtles and iguanas,i've had him for about 4 to 5 months now he's grown quiet bigg and there hasen't seem to be any sighs of malnutrion,or infections,in the time i have had him he has sheded about four times but the last three were in pieces but he just sheded yesterday and it was in two full pieces so i thought cool he's doing better,so figuring he was hungrey i tossed him a medium rat out of excitement he bite it on the tale and didn't wrap quiet good enough so he got bit a time or two as he struggled to wrap the rat he finally got it though and ate it down but as he moved across the tank i noticed marking's not on the belly but slightly off the side, that are darkish brown i'm not sure what a burn looks like, but he did just shed and thats when i noticed them but i just fed him,so i dont want to handle him immediately i'll have to wait till tomorrow to actully see what they are, but if any one has previous knowledge of snake burns or pic's i would like to hear from you

[Cody]

Ouch, two rat bites? Not good. Have you tried switching him to prekilled or f/t? If not, atleast stun the rat before giving it to him, to make it easier on snakey.
As for the burns thing, I have no experience with them, sorry.

*wait, cody, why embarrassed? it's good you havent had to experience a problem with a burnt snake...*

[JLC]

Brian, as Cody suggested, it would be good to try and get your snake switched over to pre-killed food. Either freshly killed or frozen/thawed. When you're able to handle him again, check him over carefully for bite marks. If you find that the rat broke the skin, you'll want to treat it with an antibiotic for awhile and make sure it stays clean.

As for the possible burns...Is there anything in the tank that he could burn himself on??? Do you use a hot-rock or have an exposed bulb in his enclosure? If you've had him for this long without noticing any old burns, and there is nothing in his cage that could burn him, then it's likely what you're seeing is either some old shed, or maybe the bites from that rat? Or a previous rat and you didn't notice the bites before? If there IS a source for burns, remove it immediately. Please let us know as soon as you can handle him, what those spots look like.

About the shedding issues: Sounds like you might need to work on the humidity levels a little bit. What do you usually keep them at? Do you increase humidity during a shed? What sort of hygrometer are you using?

[brian]

the spots i saw weren't burns after all,but there was a small bite wound i've been treating,about his shed when i got this snake he was in bad condition,i've babied him back into good health,his humidity is normally kept around 60% and during a shed around 80%there are no heating elements in the gage i use an undertank heater and an infrared heating lamp above the gage far enough away from the screen not to burn him but close enough that it heats

[Alkaurkharim]

Whats the surface temp from the UTH?

[led4urhead]

Better yet, what are your temps like period? What are you using for substrate? What kind of enclosure do you have?

[brian]

i use that block of eco-turf or something like that,his encloseure temps are kept at 88-90 on one side and 80-86 on the other with a undertank heater at 90-95 during the day,and evening temps are, enclosure are 79-82,with a undertank heater at 85-87,the type of enclosure is a oceanic stands 3ft high, 1 and a half feet wide,3 and a half feet long,with screen doors on the sides with plexiglass covers and a screen top,i'm looking to get a bigger cage also

[Wizill]

probably doesnt hold humidity too well.