Hermann indoor enclosure

[jlb1077]

I am planning in redoing my hermanns enclosure. I am mostly wanting to change his substrate. Porky is full grown and 5". I have 2 tortoise tables together for him. His current substrate is cypress mulch mixed with coconut coir. I was thinking of using potting soil with a deep layer of coconut coir. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Newo13]

I use top soil and coconut coir mixed and my tort seems to love it!

 

[jlb1077]

Ok. Thanks. How much of the mix is coconut coir?

 

[Andrea M]

I just use coco coir, It's good for burrowing, easy to get around on, doesn't clump or smell and plants love it

 

[jlb1077]

Do you use it dry or buy the bricks you have to wet?

 

[Andrea M]

I soak the bricks first but they really hold the water. First time I did it I had to get the hair dryer out because it was sooo wet! I just spray it once a day and water the plants a little every couple of days because the lamp dries them it stays quite moist under the surface. I just plant the plants straight in it

 

[rideburton87]

I use a soil base with the coco coir on top and I am able to grow plants and seeds inside my enclosure.. Pretty sure I bought a brick for under $5 from petco and the small brick soaked up over 2 gallons of water and expanded as such. I like the coir a lot because it does hold a lot of moisture and keeps my humidity up. Plus the brown color makes it easy to spot clean any messes. Depending on the size of your enclosure I would definitely go with the larger brick ($10 for 2.5x as much)