Eric Alan, absolutely not the way we feel heat at all. It is so very hard to project how senses work. All anyone can do is guess, I believe there is some credence to the ambient temp and durational thermal burns. (contact burns are easy, it is really hot, touch it and you are burned instantly)

It fits the things we know and fits the evidence. That makes it a good theory, testing a theory will make it fact but I am unsure if anyone will ever test such a thing? It means placing an animal in position to become burned. The people whom are most interested are not likely to purposely subject a snake to the potential to be burned. It may remain just an idea for some time but it is a good thought anyway and fits experiences we all have seen or heard of.

Nothing more than a theory. It is not fact as it has not been tested at all.