Thanks for the advice Sunshine and Paulbuck. I took my male BRB to our local reptile expert (not a vet but a breeder for 15 years). His assessment was a match to one of the posts. The snake had been burned during shedding and had some sort of reaction to the substrate (coconut fiber) while rubbing the burnt area (undoubtedly trying to get relief). He recommended soaking for several hours to loosen all the crud that was stuck to the wounds (mostly substrate), apply Neosporin once daily for about a week and keep him on dry newspaper with a water bowl during that time.
Well it's been almost a week, and he looks much better. It appears that there will be very little scaring if any at all, and he seems to be much more comfortable.
Thanks for the input,
Matt
