Brown spots on ball python's tail?

[Bogertophis]

Alright, I will try to tell him to use UTH once I get back to school, and direct him to this website too. But that will be on January 5th, is there anything I can do to heat the enclosure until then?

Whats really annoying is he told me she needed heat to digest but also not to handle her after eating, so im really not sure what he expected me to do. And why, despite knowing that, does he keep them at room temperature? I don't have her at any worse conditions than he has her normally, so no, its not just a problem with the temporary care

His level of care for the animals seems weirdly inconsistent. He even has other reptiles, and other snakes, that he gives heating and more enrichment in their enclosures. But his care for some of his other animals also seems bad, like an owl that he keeps in a big cage in his room where it constantly has to be awake during the day and probably stressed out by all the students. Its wings are tattered from flapping against the cage. He also has a bunny with a genetic disorder (its neck is twisted so its head faces the wrong direction) in a cage thats much too small, and a cornsnake missing a jaw which I assume he just throws live rats in with (I could be wrong about that, but when I was helping with the animals for a grade I noticed the newspaper in its cage was covered in blood. it also had two shed skins in it which makes me think he hadn't cleaned it in a while). Honestly, everything seems to be unsanitary. So.. maybe I should contact animal control anyways?

Oh, I'm so sorry you're having to see & cope with this, as his student. Those are excellent questions.

I don't know what state you're in (& I'm not asking) but some of those animals (like the owl) usually require a permit to keep, so you could contact your state's department of Fish & Game. (Corn snakes are "native wildlife" in some states too, & restricted unless captive-bred albino types.) If you can get some adults to take an interest (animal control or otherwise) that might help- what about your parents? Could they speak with the principal with you, about your concerns? That poor corn snake, having to cope with missing half his jaw- no way that snake should be fed live, & it's probably a rat that destroyed his jaw in the first place.

Just be careful though, not to cause trouble for yourself. And if there's anything you want to ask but not publicly in this thread, you may also PM me.

As far as temporary warmth for the BP while it's in your care, the easiest & safest way for you is to fill an empty jar or 2 with hot tap water (NOT boiling water), put the lid on tight, & wrap a thin towel around it (or put in a bag or even a sock) just so the snake doesn't directly contact the jar, & put it (or them) inside the Neodesha with the snake- put them at one end. Replace the water about every 8-12 hours at least- whatever you can do will be more than the poor snake has had, & will help.

You could also use a human heating pad as a temporary UTH if you have one on hand, but for safety, it needs to be set up carefully so unless you plan to do that, I won't go into all the details.

Or, you could also do as KMG posted, using an incandescent light bulb (they give off warmth) nearby (preferably red or black, but even regular white bulbs during the day would be fine), like a foot from the cage, and adjust for temperatures achieved. You don't likely have a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) on hand- they give off no light, but otherwise work like a light bulb (they screw into a lamp fixture), & I'm not suggesting you buy one- most would be too hot & need a rheostat (lamp dimmer at least) also, to control the warmth, since CHE's tend to be like 100 watts (likely too hot).