Alternative substrate for eastern Hermanns tortoise

Hello. I have been using ZooMed Eco Earth loose coconut fiber substrate. I tried to spray their enclosure but it only dampens the surface but quickly dries up. So whenever they walk, lots of dirt raises in the air spreads all over the room. Is there something wrong I’m doing? Do I need a humidifier? If so, which one and what tips can you give me to help keep the enclosure moisturized? Thanks. The torts are a few years old. Thanks

Don't you mix it up with the water, not just spray the surface? I am thinking of peat moss that I use for my snake egg bed. I have to mix it and make sure it is moist all through and not dry underneath. Just a thought. I don't know about coconut fiber but others here can help with that!

Yes, hat TammyJ said. Pour some warm water in and stir it up. Getting more of the underneath wet with the top being more damp.

wellington said:

Yes, hat TammyJ said. Pour some warm water in and stir it up. Getting more of the underneath wet with the top being more damp.

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The enclosure is pretty big. It’s like 3x6. How often should I do this?

If this is a hatchling, you could put a top on it and this would help keep the heat and humidity in which would make the job easier.
If it's for an adult, you could make a warm humid hide and then the rest of the enclosure wouldn't have to be as high of a humidity. So, getting the substrate wet and then just spraying the top of it once a day or so.

Humidity is hard to maintain in open enclosures. If you add water to eccoearth you need to add a ton...pour water in, soraying will never properly rehydrate it.

Opm21 said:

The enclosure is pretty big. It’s like 3x6. How often should I do this?

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This depends on many factors. Heating and lighting over the enclosure, room temp and humidity, amount of air movement in the room where the enclosure sits, season, climate, etc… No one can tell you. It is by feel. I usually dump their water dishes into the coir and then rinse the dishes over the coir. Then when I refill the water dishes, I allow lots of over flow. In some of my closed chambers this is too much. In anything with an open top, I usually have to do this much and still add more water.

If your tortoises are over 4", I would switch to fine grade orchid bark. I find it works much better than coco coir for larger tortoises.

I use a mix of topsoil and cococoir (eco earth) At least once per week i dump an entire bucket of water to keep it humid in there. I usually do this when I give my tortoise a bath.