geneticdelight-

welcome to the addiction, lol.

everyone's pretty much got all your questions covered but i wanted to add a couple things.

1) i could be wrong here but the only things called "zoo med repti-temp" are the thermostats & the rheostats...i am using the thermostat BUT because it only has a dial and no #'s or digital display, it has to be constantly adjusted when the temps change.
just like Lgray23 here, i also live by my temp gun. i use it to monitor the surface temps that my snake sits on. she likes to move all the bark away underneath her warm side hide box so she can sit on the bare surface over the heat pad so i monitor the temperature of THAT spot so i know if it is too hot or cool and then just make the necessary adjustments as needed on the thermostat.

2) what are you using to monitor your humidity? i didnt see anything mentioned other then the 49% you were getting. everyone here (everyone i've noticed anyways) swears by the accu-rite digital thermometer/hygrometer. there are several different models so you'll need to get one that at least shows the humidity as a %.
here's the one i have...



this one shows the time on top, temp in the middle & the humidity at the bottom.
(#'s on there are not mine. they're just examples of what they look like when being displayed)
to maintain my humidity levels i use a wet hand towel over the screen top of my terrarium. (i get the towel soaked but not dripping)
i cover 2/3 - 3/4 of the screen (whichever helps keep the humidity up at the time). i also spray the bark until it is fairly moist. i actually spray it all then mix it up and spray again so it is evenly moist throughout, not just on the top layer.
i also have 2 water dishescuz from what ive noticed 2 water sources helps better with humidity then just 1.
while staying on the humidity topic but moving on to the issue with substrate,
i have used newspaper (which although it cannot be moistened at all it is the easiest to keep clean).
i have also used cypress mulch from lowes/homedepot (until i found out that it also had cedar in it), which unfortunately if your going to those places, ALL the cypress mulch will have cedar in it & everything else has some kind of dye to make it available in more attractive colors - red, brown, black...
so, now i am using exo terra forest bark& i have to say i'm much more pleased with how it maintains the humidity better then everything else ive tried.
the only problems i have with it are 1) it is dark so it makes it more difficult to see the snake's poo (not good since i'm always going in with my hands to adjust things or mix up the bark when spraying). & 2) when it is handled too roughly, you'll get little splinters but these are easily avoided by just being more careful.
and lastly,
i feed my girl in her terrarium & although i have gotten what i like to call the (stink-eye) for going in when my girl didnt want me there, i've yet to get tagged [knocks on wood].
i just keep an eye on her behavior at all times when i'm in there and if her behavior is threatening enough i just touch her head & she backs off.

well, that's all i've got right now.
good luck with your snake.