awesome thanks! the lamp goes on and off as the uth heater does (it's connected to the same thermostat) but i haven't had any problems. i actually, right after posting this, used the water in my water bottle for misting and sprayed the 2 towels that are covering the screen to make them damp... almost immediately the humidity went up to 67 (within 2 minutes) and has been stable at 70 for the past hour or so. i'm going to spray it again before i go to bed, and then again in the morning, and so on. the water bowl i have is HUGE, in fact i thought it was too big at first. i figure i will just fill it higher than normal during shed. i caught him drinking earlier tonight, first time i've seen him out of his hide since his last feeding.

again thanks for the advice everyone