Leopard Gecko Incubator

[mathaldo]

Hey,
I'm planning to build this week, an incubator for some leo eggs. I have a lot of questions.
1) I have a 5.5 gallon tank I'm planning to use, with a small rubbermaid container inside is this okay for 2 eggs?
2) So I'm planning to do the water in the tank with the submersible heater, but I was wondering if I could use a heat pad instead?
2) Also what should I cover the top of the tank with, and how high should the water be in the tank?
3) Also what is a good thing to put the eggs in with, vermiculite, perlite?
4) Should there be any air holes in the container?
5) Will the water in the tank evaporate over a course of 1-3 months, and how should I refill it if it does?
And lastly
6) What should the humidity be in the container, and how often should I add water, if ever?
Thanks a lot.

[Bartman]

this is all imo :)
1) yes
2) yes
3) i used a piece of plexi glass and make it about 2 inches high
4) I dont know if there has to be but i left the lid slightly open for circulation
5) It might, you will also see droplets on the side of the glass tank. Just keep it at 2 inches high
6) Sorry dont know an exact number...when i incubated my turtle eggs i had a submersable heater with a heat guage. I kept it at 90 for my turtles and had good results..for leopard it should be around 85 (pretty sure) for a mix of male and female...lower is male and higher is female

[JeffT]

Im not sure about the heat pad, can it deliver enought heat into the water to bring it to 85F?

[crazyboy]

i dont think a heat pad is waterproof

[anders_240sx]

Save all the time and energy ... simply get a 4 pack of ziploc storage containers .... get a scale .... fill each container half full of vermiculite... take the weight of the vermiculite (in grams)... then take that weight and times it by 0.8 to get the amount (in grams) of water to add to the vermiculite .... using a spray bottle, gently spray the vermiculite till the correct amount of water is used ... place eggs in container ... place air tight lid on container .... place in warm area ...or in a ten gallon with heat lamp ...something that creates an ambient temp of at least 82 degrees constantly .... every week open the lid to check eggs and allow air circulation ... wait 55 to 65 days .. and presto ... 2 baby leos ... I have 100% succes with that method ... GOOD LUCK ... to produce 50 leos this summer it cost me a total of $20 .... $4 of vermiculite, and 4 boxes of 4pack containers ($16) ... that works out to each gecko costing me $.40 each