Reptibator and Tub questions

[Edwardein]

Hello,

I recently purchased a Reptibator from House of Reptiles here in Oregon and I want to find out the best way to use it and see how others have successfully used it in the past. Here's a few questions that I have:

1. Should I use the foam pad for it or should I just put a mixture of perlite and vermiculite in the bottom to help with the humidity? I've heard that the Reptibator can have issues with the humidity and I don't want to be constantly opening it to add more water. Also how much of the vermiculite/perlite mixture should I put in the bottom for optimal humidity?

2. What size tub should I put into the incubator to house the BP eggs? Or would a deli cup also work and what size of deli cup would work best? Since this is the first time I'm breeding my girl and she's only 1500 grams I don't expect a huge clutch.

3. Should I install a fan in the incubator for air circulation and do I need to open it occasionally to get some fresh air into it?

4. I already have a secondary thermostat I plan on using with it but should I get a thermometer/hydrometer probe instead? (it never hurts to have redundancy right?)

5. Do I have to do a mixture of perlite and vermiculite or can I just use one or the other?

Any suggestions would be wonderful. I'm working on trying to build a home made reptile incubator out of a mini fridge and hope to have it done before she even lays but I want to make sure I'm ready in case she beats me to it! Also doesn't hurt to have a back up incubator in case something goes awry.

Also if anyone could share their experiences with using a Reptibator, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks in advance for any replies and here's hoping for the best with my pairing! Female Pastel Granite to my male Mohave Sulfur.

[Edwardein]

One more question regarding incubating as well... sorry.

Should the eggs be kept out of direct contact with the substrate and what would be the best thing to keep them off of the substrate to avoid the eggs drowing?