Newbie Help (on russian care)

[CurtisM]

First thanks for all the help so far, i'm just undoing everything the pet shop said & Sold.

For a 12 mth Horsfield

I've a few Qs
Topsoil, i'm reading it's OK to use if there's nothing added. Other are saying no to this. I'm currently using coco coir but hoping to get a less expensive solution.

UV light.
i'm currently using an all in 1 basking with UVA & UVB. I'm changing this to a uv strip. What watts would you recommend.

it will be indoors aprox 5mth per year due to weather

The open part if the table is 5ft x 3ft but half is now covered to retain moisture.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome.
As you've probably found pet shops know very little about tort care and usually sell unsuitable and unsafe equipment for profit. If you follow this your tort should thrive

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Coco coir is OK and fine orchid bark is also popular - the caresheet will tell you the best options for substrates (topsoil, compost, sand, pellets, hay, sawdust etc and anything with white bits should not be used).
Many of us use T5 HO tube kits for UVB (Arcadia are good - the wattage will depend on the length of the tube which will depend on the length of your enclosure), a flood basking bulb and a CHE run through a thermostat for night heat are also good to have in our climate.
If you post a picture of your set up you'll get good feedback to make sure it's as safe as possible for your tort.
Tom has collated everything we should know in this thread

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Tom]

First thanks for all the help so far, i'm just undoing everything the pet shop said & Sold.

For a 12 mth Horsfield

I've a few Qs
Topsoil, i'm reading it's OK to use if there's nothing added. Other are saying no to this. I'm currently using coco coir but hoping to get a less expensive solution.

UV light.
i'm currently using an all in 1 basking with UVA & UVB. I'm changing this to a uv strip. What watts would you recommend.

it will be indoors aprox 5mth per year due to weather

The open part if the table is 5ft x 3ft but half is now covered to retain moisture.

Please take a few minutes to read her the two threads that Lyn linked for you. I find it helps to read them twice.

 

[CurtisM]

Thank you all again