Oh, and regarding the specific stuff you need:

Humidity gage - Get one combined with a thermometer - call Walmart and ask if they have any Accu-rite indoor out door thermometers with humidity in stock - they include a probe.
Therostat probs [wht kinds where to find them OFFline] - Call around to your local pet stores, ask if they have the ZooMed 500R in stock. It's not the greatest, but it's the cheapest and probably all you will find without ordering online.
What kind of substrate should i use? - Newspaper or papertowel works great. I like the way coconut looks better.
New hides - Go to the dollar store and buy some ceramic plant saucers (the thing that goes under the pot) smack a hole in it, and sand it down so there are no sharp edges
Bulb for heat lamp- what kind/color/wattage? - If you're going to use a heat lamp, try for a 50 watt red night time bulb for now - will cost you around 12$ or so. It won't affect light cycles, will give off a bit of heat, and won't dry out the humidity too badly.