Hi this is all new to me so not sure what I'm doing lol. I live in South Yorkshire uk i just have the 1 tortoise speedy who we got yesterday but have wanted one for years so finally bit the bullet.
Aspen bedding is ok for snakes, but your new little Russian tortoise is going to need a substrate that you can moisten. I like to use orchid bark, but quite a few of the folks on our Forum use Coco Coir.
We have a couple of good care sheets pinned at the top of our Russian tortoise section here on the Forum.
Welcome! I also have a baby Russian! He looks very cute, but like the others said you'll definitely have a problem with humidity if you keep to the substrate you have at the moment
Is it an open top table? As any moisture in there would go straight up, I have a wooden table but I cover it with a plastic/tin foil cover to keep anything in.
Baby Russians need a lot of humidity, so regular soaks are recommended also a substrate that is noticeably moist. Where did you get him from, a lot of pet places tell you they are a 'dry species' but without the right conditions they can get sick very fast.
My photos show my enclosure after a 'misting', I use coco coir which really helps to hold in moisture and is easy for my RT underfoot.
The pt shop I got him from went very forth coming with information so went to a pet shop and spent an hour with the owner and got lots of advice n information but never mentioned about the substrate
I think you misunderstand - when we talk about humidity it's because your tortoise NEEDS humidity. You WANT humidity. An open topped table and dry substrate don't allow humidity, so you need to change the substrate to something you can moisten, and maybe partially cover the table.