I need help reworking my knowledge of tortoises.

[JsTortoise]

I've been a tortoise owner for over a year and am honestly embarrassed by my many mistakes. After discovering a recent post about tortoises, I found I have the perfect new enclosure for her with suitable dimensions. The issue is I still have many questions to perfect my tortoise care, and I need lots of help. Here are some of my questions. (Side note: I have a Russian tortoise and live in the United States if that helps with some of the questions.)

Question 1: How many inches above my tortoise floor should my heat and fluorescent light lamp be? I have a zoo-med 100-watt repti basking lamp bulb and a zoo-med 10.0 uvb 13-watt mini compact fluorescent light. They are both 7 inches away from the floor, and the actual bulbs are probably 8-9 inches away from the floor. I feel like I saw something about it being further, but now I no longer know what to trust. If this is wrong, could I get a recommendation for the cheapest and best place to buy different things from?
Question 1.1: With the UVB bulb I heard from the "Info for new people, please read this first" thread that I should be getting a Arcadia Pro T5 kit, but they are extremely expensive. (Although if this is what is needed to be done, I will suffer, lol) but this goes back to my original question if what I have is alright / how far should it be from the enclosure's floor.
Another question is they suggested a "Solarmeter 6.5" but is this really necessary? That is super expensive. $250 is a lot.
Question 1.2: With my UVB light, would I only need to leave it on for a few hours? I don't know how long that type would need to be left on.

Question 2: I wanted to buy my tortoise substrate and saw that coco coir is a good option. The only problem is I heard it was much cheaper than anything, but I can't afford a place to buy it in bulk. Does anyone know where I can buy it in bulk and a safe place to buy it for my tortoise? I heard a garden store, but then in another place, I heard that shouldn't be happening. It isn't very clear.

Question 3: I am having significant issues finding where to buy plants for my tortoise safely. I could not find seeds for spider plants, and I wanted to get those (unless they are unsafe for a Russian tortoise). I also wanted to buy pothos plants because I heard those were good for tortoises, but I ran into an issue again. I can only find roots for it, and I do not want to harm my tortoise because I know most are grown in fertilizers.

 

[Yossarian]

Hi JS Tort, I will answer what I can.

1. On lighting, The distance from the ground for the bulb will depend on the spec of the bulb, It should make it pretty clear what range you need for the correct intensity level with mine I think its 18-24 inches somewhere in there. A light meter is not strictly necessary although good to have. Not all bulbs, reflectors, etc. . . are created eually, a light meter allows you to make sure that your equipment is working, it also lets you monitor and know when to replace bulbs. That said, if your buying a reputable brand and replacing on a routine schedule then you can get away without it. Also, if you can get direct natural sunlight every day (not through glass) then the lamp is much less important. You should leave the UVB flouro on for the entire day cycle.

2. Coco isnt super cheap like it used to be unfortunately. Im in another country so this may be different where you are but online is usually the cheapest. I just search for 100% coco coir, that way theres nothing added, then when I add it I make sure to inspect it all for junk (wood, plants, nails, etc.. .) just to be safe. Compressed is usually the cheapest way to get it. I also really like orchid bark.

3. For specific seed sets, go online, there are some reputable websites you can buy seed mixes for example. Other things like spider plants or anything ornamental just order online, they are usually pretty cheap that way too. A great resource for food identification is The Tortoise Table app and website fyi. You can also find some decent stuff at the grocery store in a pinch, things like watercress, lambs lettuce, pak choy, kale, arugula, etc. . . Most food is grown in fertilisers, that isnt really a problem, its pesticides you want to be careful of with torts.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I don't keep Russian tortoises and I'm not sure about the UVB needs. But I AM sure that you have the wrong type of UVB.
The use of a compact, coiled or spiral uvb is highly discouraged. You want a T5 HO linear strip florescent UVB. A 10.0 (As is what you seem to already know) Or in the case of ARCADIA lighting, a 12%.
Then, with the correct lighting we can formulate an educated guess as to the height you need. Many of us own 6.5 SOLAR METERS. And we can check for you.
Also, as @Yossarian has suggested, you can eliminate the need for any sort of supplemental UVB if your Russian can spend several hours outdoors per week.
As for substrate. I reccomend using Orchid bark from Home Depot, etc.

 

[Tom]

I've been a tortoise owner for over a year and am honestly embarrassed by my many mistakes. After discovering a recent post about tortoises, I found I have the perfect new enclosure for her with suitable dimensions. The issue is I still have many questions to perfect my tortoise care, and I need lots of help. Here are some of my questions. (Side note: I have a Russian tortoise and live in the United States if that helps with some of the questions.)

Question 1: How many inches above my tortoise floor should my heat and fluorescent light lamp be? I have a zoo-med 100-watt repti basking lamp bulb and a zoo-med 10.0 uvb 13-watt mini compact fluorescent light. They are both 7 inches away from the floor, and the actual bulbs are probably 8-9 inches away from the floor. I feel like I saw something about it being further, but now I no longer know what to trust. If this is wrong, could I get a recommendation for the cheapest and best place to buy different things from?
Question 1.1: With the UVB bulb I heard from the "Info for new people, please read this first" thread that I should be getting a Arcadia Pro T5 kit, but they are extremely expensive. (Although if this is what is needed to be done, I will suffer, lol) but this goes back to my original question if what I have is alright / how far should it be from the enclosure's floor.
Another question is they suggested a "Solarmeter 6.5" but is this really necessary? That is super expensive. $250 is a lot.
Question 1.2: With my UVB light, would I only need to leave it on for a few hours? I don't know how long that type would need to be left on.

Question 2: I wanted to buy my tortoise substrate and saw that coco coir is a good option. The only problem is I heard it was much cheaper than anything, but I can't afford a place to buy it in bulk. Does anyone know where I can buy it in bulk and a safe place to buy it for my tortoise? I heard a garden store, but then in another place, I heard that shouldn't be happening. It isn't very clear.

Question 3: I am having significant issues finding where to buy plants for my tortoise safely. I could not find seeds for spider plants, and I wanted to get those (unless they are unsafe for a Russian tortoise). I also wanted to buy pothos plants because I heard those were good for tortoises, but I ran into an issue again. I can only find roots for it, and I do not want to harm my tortoise because I know most are grown in fertilizers.

I'm glad you read the thread. Your tortoise will be too eventually.

Question 1: Wrong bulbs. Both of them. No spot lamps and no CFLs for tortoises. You need a flood for basking and an HO tube for UV.

Question 1.1: Good equipment is more expensive then lower quality equipment, but it lasts longer and works better. It does no good to save $20 on the UV fixture only to have to spend $1000 treating problems with a vet down the road. Is the UV meter necessary? No. But setting your lamp height without one is like setting your temperature without a thermometer. You are just guessing. If you get your tortoise outside for some sun a few times a week, you won't need any indoor UV or the meter.

Question 1.2: Your UV light sometimes burns tortoise eyes. They are also not effective UV sources. It should not be used at all. It should be returned to the store where you bought it for a refund.

Question 2: There are many online sources for coco coir, and most garden stores sell it in 10 pound compressed blocks. Just read the ingredients and make sure it has no additives of any kind. What you will find is that coir is messy for an adult Russian. Fine grade orchis bark works better.

Question 3: Fertilizers are fine. Pesticides, specifically the systemic pesticides that all decorative plants are grown from, are the problem with store bought plants. Grow your own from cutting from long established plants. You can see how to do this on YouTube. Friends, family, and neighbors all tend to have house plants. Tell them what you need it for and they will likely be happy to help.

 

[Yossarian]

Listen to these guys on the bulb, I missed the compact flouroescent part sorry, assumed we were talking about a tube light. My bad.