After keeping retics I've come to the conclusion that they keep you on your toes not only because of their size, but because they are high maintenance.
I would get him a large undumpable water bowl with just a little water in it so that if he climbs in he doesn't displace the water all over the tub. Maybe two, one for soaking the other for drinking. Plan on changing the water in both daily, he'll probably use one as a toilet and soak in the other - because he can.
The cypress is a good idea as it won't mold or get nasty when wet like aspen and paper can, but as you discovered it's naturally wet on its own so it really cranks up the humidity in the tub. You can counteract some of that by spreading it in a shallow tub or pan and leaving it in a sunny spot for a while to dry out before you use it, or you can bake it in the oven in a roasting pan to dry it out. That way when your guy does displace water the cypress will soak it up.
You can also put ventilation holes in the sides of the tub to lower the humidity. Don't worry about making too many, if it gets too dry just put a piece of tape on the outside of the tub over the hole.
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