Tortoise husbandry questions

[Jungle Jen]

I just acquired a 4.5 inch female Hermann’s Tortoise this month and had a few questions for you other Tortoise keepers. I have heard a mixed review of what to use as substrate. I started out with the timothy hay pellets so if ingested there was no worry of impaction. I bathe her twice a week and she usually urinates/defecates in her water, but she has urinated in her cage and it is hard to notice with the pellets and you then have the worry of the pellets spoiling. I have considered both potting soil and ground coconut substrate and wonder if anybody had experience with either of these. My concern would be the possibility of impaction. (She was apparently kept on turf before she came to me.) She has a great appetite and is eating anything and everything I introduce to her so far. She lives in a tank that is 5' x 2' x 2' with a long shallow water dish, a heat lamp over one end, UV light over the enclosure during the day, and an under tank heater under her hide area. She generally spends most of her time in her hide area, so I take her out for munchies and some UV exposure. Do other keepers provide a hide area? The reason I ask is it isn't commonly mentioned in the research I have done. If anybody has any words of wisdom I would greatly appreciate it. I'm a new mommy and just worried about my new baby. o>