I gave him a second soak and he shed all those bits. Now he's in a nice, clean cage and seems to be in a chiller mood.

Thanks for the info about the digital theromostat. I considered getting one over the gauge that I had, but it was way cheaper than the gauge options so I wasn't sure how credible it could be. I'll definitely get two of the digital ones to keep an eye on each side.

I think that humidity is okay- at least now that he's done with his shed. His tank is next to a 30 gal aquarium so the room stays fairly humid. The temperature I've checked with two thermometers and the ambient is 80-82 with the cooler side being 77. The UTH doesn't take up too much space, but he tends to stick around that area, so I imagine it's pretty comfortable there.
The wet towel idea is great. I've been covering the wire top- aside where the lights are - to help it retain more moisture. I've also moved his water closer to the light instead of leaving it on the cool side, so that might help with that.


I don't have anything regulating the UTH or the lamps, but I wasn't aware that was a necessity. I switch them at night and things seem consistent.
I'll look into upgrading from my starter stuff, regardless.