Haha, I know the feeling. I've had my first herp for a few months now, he had just arrived at a pet shop from a breeder. A lot of animals have more personality than people give them credit for.

The heat range sounds fine. Personally, I need to keep the humidity levels higher because of the weather around here. Winter tends to get really dry, and while it may be humid one day, it can just as easily go back to 30 degree weather with little flurries.
Now, this is just me, but I moved away from using wood substrate and switched to a newspaper-type substrate. I was using one a lot like the ones in your pictures. Steve ended up getting some shavings in his mouth when he tried to eat his mouse. Mouth debris can be dangerous and trying to help them get it out risks getting a nasty defense bite.

This may not be a problem for yours.