Hermann Enclosure

[HermannNamedSheldon]

I'm not certain if this is the right forum, however I'll post it anyway.
I recently realized that for the past 8 years I've been keeping my tortoise in less than ideal conditions as I was given seemingly incorrect information when I acquired her. I've been doing a lot of research to try and rectify the situation, however there seems to be a lot of conflicting information out there about how to care for tortoises, and I don't want to take the risk of doing anything which would in fact only worsen the conditions she lives in.

That said, I have a few questions regarding an enclosure. Shelly is an 8 year old Hermann, she's roughly 8cm across and 12cm long.
Firstly, if building a tortoise table, roughly how large will it need to be? Height as well please, she's proven to be quite the escape artist!
Secondly, any recommendations on what substrate should be used? I've seen so many conflicting opinions on this topic, so all I've discovered so far is that the substrate I was using isn't ideal, but not what I ought to replace it with.

Thanks in advance for any information!

 

[Rue]

I'm new to all this...you're years ahead of me...but from what I can gather, the "ideal" recommendations for a single adult Hermann's tortoise table are:

Size: 4' by 8' minimum.
Height: 18" - with a lip on the top, or at least at the corners. Taller if needed.
Substrate: Potting soil mixed with peat moss. Can add some wood chips to it. Can also add some coco coir - but I've read conflicting reports on it. Hermann's didn't evolve in an area where coconuts grow...

 

[Yvonne G]

Have you had a chance to read our very well put together care sheet? Hopefully he speaks to your habitat concerns:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/