DAILY TELEGRAPH (Sydney, Australia) 10 March 08 Python goes for burn in hot rod (Rosemary Desmond)
Photo at URL below: No hissy fit ... Blaze, the badly burnt, python gets an ultrasound as part of his treatment (AAP)
(AAP) A carpet python dubbed "Blaze" is recovering from third-degree radiator burns after joyriding under the hood of a car.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary senior veterinarian Michael Pyne today said the 2.5m-long reptile was discovered wrapped around the car's radiator last Thursday after inadvertently hitching a ride from a goat farm in northern New South Wales to the Gold Coast.
The overheated car broke down and when the owner looked under the bonnet they found a broken fan belt and a very hot snake.
Dr Pyne said the "cranky" male reptile was put in a bag and brought to the hospital with third degree burns which would likely get worse before they get better.
"He's got some very nasty burns," Dr Pyne said.
"But he'll do OK.
"It's just going to take a lot of time - maybe three or four months because things happen very slowly in reptiles."
The newly-named python had led a charmed life on the goat farm, Dr Pyne said.
"They are very nice people who liked wildlife and used to let him snaffle the odd baby goat from time to time," he said.
Blaze will be treated with antibiotics and allowed to swim for short periods in a solution of antiseptic to clean his burns for the next week before being taken to a wildlife carer for his long rehabilitation.
It was likely he would be released back into the wild next spring, Dr Pyne said.
The vet was not surprised Blaze took such a liking to the car radiator.
"Snakes love heat," he said.
"I think this is the first one I've seen burned from a radiator but it doesn't surprise me at all."
Python goes for burn in hot rod