Bioactive enclosure build? Is it safe or possible?

[SteveTheHermanns]

Hey there. I am new to this forum but I had a question.
So for the first couple of years of having my tortoise, he will be living in a vivarium with around 70-80 percent humidity all day round to make sure that he gets a nice smooth shell. Whilst collecting some tortoise food from my garden this morning, I had the idea of planting some plants his enclosure (The Steve Sanctuary). I do not think that I could grow them with the current reptibark substrate so I was considering some alternatives. Reptibark would still be used all around the basking area/feeding area and on the surface of the substrate, I think that the base needs to be something like coco coir mix with some kind of soil. Does anyone have any ideas for substrates? There was this really good one I found called ProMix Organic but I am based in the uk and cannot source it. The type of plants I would grow would be some stone crop, calendula, spider plant, english thyme and maybe creeping phlox.

 

[Blackdog1714]

I have a huge colony of isopods in my closed chamber and they make a huge difference in clean up

 

[SteveTheHermanns]

I have a huge colony of isopods in my closed chamber and they make a huge difference in clean up

What substrate do you use for your enclosure?

 

[Tom]

Hey there. I am new to this forum but I had a question.
So for the first couple of years of having my tortoise, he will be living in a vivarium with around 70-80 percent humidity all day round to make sure that he gets a nice smooth shell. Whilst collecting some tortoise food from my garden this morning, I had the idea of planting some plants his enclosure (The Steve Sanctuary). I do not think that I could grow them with the current reptibark substrate so I was considering some alternatives. Reptibark would still be used all around the basking area/feeding area and on the surface of the substrate, I think that the base needs to be something like coco coir mix with some kind of soil. Does anyone have any ideas for substrates? There was this really good one I found called ProMix Organic but I am based in the uk and cannot source it. The type of plants I would grow would be some stone crop, calendula, spider plant, english thyme and maybe creeping phlox.

The problem with store bought soil in a bag is that it is made with all sorts of potentially dangerous stuff. It is composted yard waste that is not always fully composted. It could be oleander clippings, or yard grass that was recently sprayed with insecticides or weed killers. They also add in all sorts of weird stuff you've never imagined to get a good consistency for root growth. There is just no way to know what is in it, along with bits of plastic, glass, cigarette butts, and the like that find their way into the mix, and the manufacturers do not intend for small animals to be living on or in their product. They make their product for growing plants.

So if you want to use soil inside the enclosure with your tortoise, you need to make your own from known safe ingredients that you have composted and mixed yourself.

 

[SteveTheHermanns]

The problem with store bought soil in a bag is that it is made with all sorts of potentially dangerous stuff. It is composted yard waste that is not always fully composted. It could be oleander clippings, or yard grass that was recently sprayed with insecticides or weed killers. They also add in all sorts of weird stuff you've never imagined to get a good consistency for root growth. There is just no way to know what is in it, along with bits of plastic, glass, cigarette butts, and the like that find their way into the mix, and the manufacturers do not intend for small animals to be living on or in their product. They make their product for growing plants.

So if you want to use soil inside the enclosure with your tortoise, you need to make your own from known safe ingredients that you have composted and mixed yourself.

Ok that’s really helpful information thank you. I have two more questions. My first question is how you source rainwater in the summer? I have been spraying my tortoises shell and I have a big drum that fills with rain water so I have a lot to use. I just fear that I will run out for summer. I also wanted to know if you used the rain water to also spray the enclosure or just spray on the shell? I will look into creating my own soil thank you for the great information.