Well, really I've been having issues with this tank in general...

I have a 20 gallon tank right now and am using cypress mulch. The water dish is currently as far on the hot side as I can get it. I'm using one heating pad right now and a heating lamp suspended about 1.5" above the mesh lid. The lid is covered with taped-down-tin foil except for a hole under the lamp and some ventilation squares cut into the cool side. The tank's in a small room that stays at 73F.

I've been having a heck of a time keeping the humidity above 40%.
I understand the heating lamp and the fact that I am living in the US midwest is taking its toll. One heating mat was pretty much useless, so I tried two, one underneath the tank and one on the side. Even together, these barely made a hot spot in the tank, unable to get it over 82F. So, I resorted to just the heating mat under the tank and a suspended lamp. This finally got the temps where I wanted them.

With the humidity, I first tried misting twice a day, but it only kept the humidity up for a couple of hours, and was hard to control, sometimes getting it up to 60%, sometimes over 70%. It was suggested to me to try balling up Sphagnum moss and dampening it twice a day, but all that's managed to do is keep the humidity at 40%-30% (been using three, on the cool end, midtank, and the hot end. (Earlier, it was dropping to 20). I then tried the moss AND misting the tank, but still... just doesn't hold for long enough.

Finally, I got a humidifier running in the room about four days ago and set it to 55%. It runs near constantly but doesn't seem to be making much of a difference.

I'm at a loss for what to try next... I know constant misting can end up being bad, and I can't do that anyways. I've seen people suggest pouring water onto the mulch, but that seems like it would make it way too wet and a scale rot hazard.


Any tips would be greatly appreciated!