Lionel says hi! Substrate/humidity help please!

Joined
Oct 5, 2020
Messages
45
Location (City and/or State)
Midlands, UK
I've had Lionel for a week now, he is a Horsefield and about 2.5 inches long. I love him so much! He is very interactive and loves a little head rub ☺️

He is currently in a small glass tank with removable mesh lid which I think I was wrongly sold by the pet shop ? my partner is just finishing up his first tortoise table which is 120cm x 60cm so would like advice for this and not the glass tank please as can't wait to move him out of it!

I am currently using a top soil/sand mix with little bits of limestone in. Now I have read a lot on here by some really knowledgeable people who say this is not the right stuff to use but Lionel really seems to like burrowing in it and I haven't had any problems so far. Isn't it the closest to what they'd have in the wild? Is it really so bad that I should change?

Also whether I keep the soil/sand mix or change to something else please can you tell me what is best in regards to humidity and moisture? At the moment all I do is give a generous misting to the surface of the substrate every morning, no mixing or anything. I also don't own anything to check the humidity. Do I need to?

Thanks in advance!

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Zoeclare

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Jan 28, 2020
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700
Location (City and/or State)
Uk
Lionel is so cute! The pets at home substrate really isn't good, coco coir or reptibark (orchid bark) is much much better for your little one. For humidity I just dump some water in the substrate and mix it up, couple of times a week should do it, a humidity gauge will help to get it right. Welcome to the forum!
 
Joined
Oct 5, 2020
Messages
45
Location (City and/or State)
Midlands, UK
Lionel is so cute! The pets at home substrate really isn't good, coco coir or reptibark (orchid bark) is much much better for your little one. For humidity I just dump some water in the substrate and mix it up, couple of times a week should do it, a humidity gauge will help to get it right. Welcome to the forum!
Thankyou! I am looking into both now, may be a stupid question but does coco coir smell strongly of coconut? I can't stand the smell.. I was a little worried about getting coco coir as I heard it can be really messy, get stuck all over them and in their food etc. Also coco coir doesnt seem to be too easy to get in UK? I may pop to a local garden centre tomorrow
 

Happytort27

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Apr 10, 2020
Messages
259
Location (City and/or State)
CA
Thankyou! I am looking into both now, may be a stupid question but does coco coir smell strongly of coconut? I can't stand the smell.. I was a little worried about getting coco coir as I heard it can be really messy, get stuck all over them and in their food etc. Also coco coir doesnt seem to be too easy to get in UK? I may pop to a local garden centre tomorrow
No, it does not smell like coconut. It does have a slight earthy smell to it, but it isn’t bad at all. I prefer orchid bark (reptibark) over coco coir because it is less messy, but both are good substrates. If you do decide to get coco coir, make sure you wet the coir and hand pack it so it won’t be as messy.
 

Zoeclare

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2020
Messages
700
Location (City and/or State)
Uk
Thankyou! I am looking into both now, may be a stupid question but does coco coir smell strongly of coconut? I can't stand the smell.. I was a little worried about getting coco coir as I heard it can be really messy, get stuck all over them and in their food etc. Also coco coir doesnt seem to be too easy to get in UK? I may pop to a local garden centre tomorrow
No it doesn't smell at all, it's only messy if it's too dry, if you keep it damp and handpacked down with just the top layer dryer it's not too messy for little ones. I used it for Nitro until he was about a year old then switched to reptibark. You should be able to find it in a lot of pets hops and online, it comes in blocks and you add water to make it expand. Swell reptiles is very good for supplies.
You may find heat and humidity quite difficult to manage with an open table, especially in winter, I'd recommend getting a temp gun to keep an eye on the temps.
 

Happytort27

Active Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2020
Messages
259
Location (City and/or State)
CA
Please give this care sheet a read:
Feel free to ask any more questions. :)
 

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