I've kept them in moist coconut for months (babies) with no issues.

Back to your question - Neosporin on the suspected area is a good idea. If it works, great, and if not, it is harmless.

You are correct about RBs liking it cool. Cool temps are their base, and they access warmth for specific tasks. What they do not like is constant high temps. If your daytime ambient temps are already hitting near, no need to add heat.

When I kept a few, the best heating method seemed to be simply taping a heat pad to the far side of the cage, vertical. I put a piece of driftwood near that. The snakes would squeeze between the wood and heater as needed. The rest of the cage stayed room temp. This was the safest method I could think of that provided adequate warmth when the snakes wanted it while not a chance of overheating the entire cage, especially when the cage size is rather small. Works awesome for mtn kings too.

During hot weather I put ice packs in the cage. When the ambient room temp was 85, the RBs coiled up rather close to the ice packs.
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Mark

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