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.