Bull snake information

Question
QUESTION: I have a juvenile bull snake that I caught late last summer. I intended to release it, but the weather turned cold too fast and I didn't dare take him back where I found him.

My concerns:
He looks like he's about to shed all the time - wrinkled, flaky skin. Is he dehydrated? Is it too warm for him? Has he been shedding and the skin is under the substrate? (He loves to burrow)
How important is the temp in the tank and what is the appropriate day-night range?
His eating is irregular
He's not as active or as pissed off at me as he used to be. He last ate about 1 week ago.
At first he ate well. 1 pinkie a week
After a month or so he stopped eating completely for about 2 - 3 months.
He shed once since I've had him (August 2009)
He's currently on fuzzies and will eat them occasionally (I attempt once a week)

He always has water
Food is never left in there longer than 24 hours
Substrate is a straw bedding for snakes (from Petsmart)
2 hides available
He has a sunlamp during the day, red lamp at night, both on timers.

ANSWER: The skin thing worries me.  I don't know how warm it is, so I can't say what's going on there.  Bulls are temp sensitive, and honestly it depends on which species you have, for some even mid 80's is too high.  Prey should be as big around as he is at his biggest point.  Going off fed for winter is normal.  Is the water dish big enough for him to get into?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So how warm should his enclosure be? Mid 80's tops? Cooler at night?
I caught the snake near my home in Billings MT so I don't know what species it is either. Internet research seems to indicate he's no special bull snake, just the run-of-the-mill variety.
Water dish is not large enough for him to get into - should it be?
Prey, I believe, is the correct size. Pinkies at first - he ate them every week. Now fuzzies.
Should I soak him? Would that help if he's dehydrated?
Is his lack of eating brumation? He tends to stay in the cooler part of the tank, away from the heat lamp. If it's brumation, should I still attempt to feed him? (He did eat a couple of weeks ago).
Is the straw bedding an adequate substrate? I've also read that astroturf is a good floor, easy to keep clean.

Answer
OK, Burmation is a possibility since I'm sure it's not in the mid 80's outside your house right now!  More like -80!  LOL As to exactly how to do it, I simply stop feeding my snakes for 2 weeks and then put them out in my garage.  BUT!  I live in central FL, so how to do it up there is going to be very different.  Honestly, I'm not 100% certain what to tell you on that subject.  If it were me AND there wasn't this skin condition to deal with, I'd cool him.  

The water dish should be big enough for him to get in.  Soaking him for 5-10 minutes couldn't hurt.  Can you send a pic of the snake?


Bedding-I use aspen bedding only.  I'm not sure what you have, but I use aspen.  Since you've said he likes to burrow-he couldn't do that with astroturf.