New BP owner could use some help!

[NikkoB]

Hey everyone! I'm new to all of this. I just got my new male baby BP today from XYZ reptiles. I've done tons of research but I still have some questions and problems. First I'll tell you what his enclosure set-up is:

He's in a 20 gallon glass tank with screen top.
Heating pad on left side. Water dish on the right side
Hides on both sides with a log in the middle.
I have a ceramic heat emitter on the top in the middle kinda towards the left.
I'm using paper towels for substrate.
I'm using a thermostat on the heating pad but not on the CHE yet. I don't have a temp gun yet. It comes in the mail tomorrow.
My hygrometer/ thermometer is mounted on the back glass towards the right side.
Most of the top is covered with a towel.

So my problems are:
Humidity- I can't get a stable humidity. The most it ever reaches is about 54%. I'm guessing it's because I use paper towels and a CHE so it dries out easily and quickly but from what I've read, you should start out baby BP's on paper towels. should I keep using that or switch to something else?
I use the CHE because the cool side was only getting up to 71 degrees without it, but I don't have it turned on all the time. I have to keep spraying his enclosure every 30 minutes or so to keep the humidity up. Sorry for the long post but I could really use some advice here!

[KMG]

Put damp moss in both hides. I did this for years with great success when I had two heat source over a screen top tank.

Also you can make a cover for some areas of the lid to contain some heat and humidity. I used cardboard cut to shape and covered with foil.

A CHE creates a pretty pointed heat spot so be careful. You can use a lamp stand or dimmer to get it dialed in.

[NikkoB]

Put damp moss in both hides. I did this for years with great success when I had two heat source over a screen top tank.

Also you can make a cover for some areas of the lid to contain some heat and humidity. I used cardboard cut to shape and covered with foil.

A CHE creates a pretty pointed heat spot so be careful. You can use a lamp stand or dimmer to get it dialed in.

Thank you so much! I'll give that a whirl! How soon do you think I can switch the substrate to Aspen or something like that?