I'm having trouble keeping adequate heat and humidity

[Alibreon]

Hey! I just became an Indonesian Skink Mama exactly one week ago.
Needless to say, I'm new here. So hello!

The baby is somewhere between a month or 2 months old. The man I got him from didn't seem to know for sure.
& he's doing good. Sleeping a lot, eating every other day, dug a little spot for himself UNDERNEATH his log/hide.

Problem is: I live in NY and it's winter time. So it's a bit nippy at home.
He's in an Exo Terra 40 Gallon Breeder with a screen top.

From 8AM to 8 PM I have an Exo Terra Solar - Glo 125 Watt on for him, and at night he has a Exo Terra Night Heat Lamp 75 Watt.
The heat has not gone above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and has not gone below 71 degrees.
The humidity fluctuates throughout the day, but it gets really low, really fast. Though it usually goes above 40% at night, which is the only thing that's been making me feel okay.
During the day though I've been so worried.

I saw something somewhere about using boxing tape and foil tape to cover the holes in the screen top on the inside and outside
(and of course I've left an opening where the lights are)
but it didn't work.

I just found out that my coworker also has a BTS so I'm going to be talking to him about it also to see what he does, but for now I'm desperately turning to you guys. I'm super stressed, it's all I've been thinking about all day, everyday. I'd just really like to fix this problem.

Any information, or tips, or solutions are welcome.
I just want a happy, healthy baby.
Please and Thank you. <3

[FluffySkink]

I'm not an owner yet but I do know that glass really doesn't keep heat in well, and the screen top won't be helping with heat and humidity either. Long term I would say try to get a pvc or melamine enclosure to help maintain heat and humidity. Perhaps there is something you could put around the tank to help insulate it better? I'm not sure. I do know some people put foil over some of their screen tops to help maintain humidity though. Your substrate will also effect humidity. There are lots of different threads on how to maintain humidity. You could try taping styrofoam to the outside of the tank to try and insulate it a bit more. Placing a dark coloured tile or flat rock for under the day heat lamp may help raise the basking spot temp because it will absorb a lot of heat and give your skink a warm surface to lay on. Hopefully someone else can give more advice.

[ReptiFiles]

No wonder he's sleeping a lot — those are really low temps for a BTS! I recommend swapping out the Solar-Glo for a 125w halogen floodlight bulb from your local home improvement store (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc), as that's going to be hotter, and the night bulb isn't necessary. As long as temps don't drop below 70 at night, he should be fine. If it does get too cold, a ceramic heat emitter is a better alternative. Providing any kind of light at night is disruptive to their sleep cycle.

What are you using to measure temps, by the way?

Also, what type of substrate are you using? Substrate can make a big difference for humidity levels. Can you post a pic of your little guy, by the way? That way we can confirm what type of skink you have. Your basking spot needs to be 95-105 degrees.

At 1-2 months, a blue tongue skink needs to be eating high-protein food (high quality, grain-free cat food) every day.

I strongly recommend looking at the blue tongue skink care guide in my signature. It should be able to answer a lot of your questions. Congratulations on your new skink!

[splashy07]

Ditto what reptifiles wrote, and just an FYI, I used to keep Halmaheras which need very high humidity. At the time I was using glass enclosures. I covered the entire screen leaving only a hole for the light. I put black construction paper around the back and sides. Used a huge water dish and repti-bark mixed with coco-fiber as a substrate which I misted twice daily. My heat lamp was a mercury vapor 100w. Basking area was 95-110 and humidity was maintained at 80+. Cage size was 40b.
I now keep all Aussie skinks, and have switched over to API plastic cages, but it is possible to work with what you have for now.

[vana]

A proheat radiant heating panel on a thermostat inside a plastic cage is good for keeping heat up and steady.