I'm near Charlotte.

My set up when he started looking bad was aspen bedding. I have a heating pad in the tub covered by the aspen. There is a large bowl for humidity/soaking. There is also a hide which he never uses.

I switched back to newspaper because I've been very unhappy with aspen so far.

Got if touch with a friend of a friend who is a retired Vet. He said it sounds like a burn and advised me to soak the area in a diluted Iodine solution.