Update and more questions

[Ninja's mom]

I took all of your advice, lowered the heating lamp and managed to cut through the screen so that the lamp could be lowered without the tank being wide open (helping with humidity and keeping my dog away). With some adjustments I got his basking temp to between 95 and 100 degrees. I also purchased Mazuri and smeared it on his food. He loves green leaf and purple leaf lettuce! I am happy to report he gained 8 grams! He is still not very active and spends 90% of his day under his light but he is more alert and wakes up much faster when I pick him up.

Some more questions....
-is there a humidity thermometer I should be using? How do I know if i'm adding too much water or not enough?
-Is it important that he eats pellets (aka mazuri or zoomed), he seems to prefer the leafy greens.
-Should he have a heat lamp at night? I have researched this and get very conflicting information. It get very cold here but I have been keeping the heat on in the house at 68, so essentially it should never get below that.
-Has anyone tried growing their torts veggies in a miracle gro aerogarden? Someone lent me one to try and I was going to use their salad greens mix which includes red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, butterhead lettuce and romaine lettuce.

Thank you for all your help! Ninja was a gift for my son with some special needs, he loves tortoises and turtles! I never knew i'd love this guy so much, I find myself just staring at him

 

[RayRay]

they have ceramic heat elements that go in porcelain lamps for night heat.

im not sure about the planter is it organic? Most of the people here say to use organic because some fertilizers and pesticide are toxic and some deadly to tortoises.

That's about all I know I'm new.

 

[ascott]

I took all of your advice, lowered the heating lamp and managed to cut through the screen so that the lamp could be lowered without the tank being wide open (helping with humidity and keeping my dog away). With some adjustments I got his basking temp to between 95 and 100 degrees. I also purchased Mazuri and smeared it on his food. He loves green leaf and purple leaf lettuce! I am happy to report he gained 8 grams! He is still not very active and spends 90% of his day under his light but he is more alert and wakes up much faster when I pick him up.

Some more questions....
-is there a humidity thermometer I should be using? How do I know if i'm adding too much water or not enough?
-Is it important that he eats pellets (aka mazuri or zoomed), he seems to prefer the leafy greens.
-Should he have a heat lamp at night? I have researched this and get very conflicting information. It get very cold here but I have been keeping the heat on in the house at 68, so essentially it should never get below that.
-Has anyone tried growing their torts veggies in a miracle gro aerogarden? Someone lent me one to try and I was going to use their salad greens mix which includes red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, butterhead lettuce and romaine lettuce.

Thank you for all your help! Ninja was a gift for my son with some special needs, he loves tortoises and turtles! I never knew i'd love this guy so much, I find myself just staring at him

Fantastic...Mazuri is not a required item and if the tortoise prefers dark leafy greens over the Mazuri then offer as much dark leafy greens as he will eat...several times a day (this is a baby Russian right?).and if you want to try to offer Mazuri from time to time then go for it..while I do not host a Russian there are some basics you appear to be reaching that many tortoise species require, which is good...

Yes, there are humidity and temperature gauges you can purchase and use in the enclosure, some can be purchased from pet shop as well as online.
No, it is not essential that the tortoise eat pellets, actual greens and the like are much better than the commercial processed food as the bulk of his diet.
Yes, the baby should have a balance gradient that also is maintained through the night and if you are adding water to the substrate I would not allow the temp to ever drop below 80 day and night....an adult can handle some temp drop at night if the space is not too wet/damp..
No, I would never use any Miracle Grow product to grow any food that is going to be consumed, not for tortoise nor human...too many added chemicals, even to their "organic" products...

Others will eventually be by to offer their opinion and information as well...

 

[Ninja's mom]

He is a russian baby Thank you, by miracle gro I mean this product....http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O9GRTC8/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Is there a specific night time bulb I should look for? Would I do 12 hours with daytime lights and 12 hours with night time heat?

 

[RayRay]

I've heard Russian need like 16 hours of light and then you set a thermostat to the best temp for them and plug a che in to it.

Have you tried asking in the Russian section under Mediterranean species section of the forum? They will know specifics for your species.

 

[Ninja's mom]

Copied and pasted from general tortoise forum...

I took all of your advice, lowered the heating lamp and managed to cut through the screen so that the lamp could be lowered without the tank being wide open (helping with humidity and keeping my dog away). With some adjustments I got his basking temp to between 95 and 100 degrees. I also purchased Mazuri and smeared it on his food. He loves green leaf and purple leaf lettuce! I am happy to report he gained 8 grams! He is still not very active and spends 90% of his day under his light but he is more alert and wakes up much faster when I pick him up.

Some more questions....
-is there a humidity thermometer I should be using? How do I know if i'm adding too much water or not enough?
-Is it important that he eats pellets (aka mazuri or zoomed), he seems to prefer the leafy greens.
-Should he have a heat lamp at night? I have researched this and get very conflicting information. It get very cold here but I have been keeping the heat on in the house at 68, so essentially it should never get below that. If he needs a heat lamp at night, what kind is best? How many hours for regular heat lamp verses night time heat lamp?
-Has anyone tried growing their torts veggies in a miracle gro aerogarden to grow leafy greens indoors throughout the winter? Someone lent me one to try and I was going to use their salad greens mix which includes red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, butterhead lettuce and romaine lettuce. This is what i'm talking about http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FHXNG6U/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Thank you for all your help! Ninja was a gift for my son with some special needs, he loves tortoises and turtles! I never knew i'd love this guy so much, I find myself just staring at him

 

[Tom]

1. If he is spending 90% of his time under the heat lamp, that is an indication that things are too cool overall. I think you should get a second fixture and add a Ceramic Heating Element (CHE) set on a thermostat. Set it for 75-76 and leave it on all the time. This will simply maintain your ambient where you want it. This might also allow your basking area to get a little warmer too. Try this for a while and see if he doesn't start moving around a bit more.
2. I use the digital hygrometers from any hardware store. You can get a combo thermometer/hygrometer with a remote wireless probe for about $20.
3. Lettuce and most grocery store foods are not the best things to be feeding. SInce that is mostly what you are feeding then yes, adding the pellets and mixing them in with the greens is an important step. This will ensure he gets the nutrition and fiber that the grocery store greens lack.
4. Normally 68 at night is fine for a russian, but it appears not to be in your case. See #1 above.
5. I have no experience growing plants indoors. It has never worked well for me, but hopefully others will chime in and lend some advice.

 

[Lyn W]

He is a russian baby Thank you, by miracle gro I mean this product....http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O9GRTC8/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Is there a specific night time bulb I should look for? Would I do 12 hours with daytime lights and 12 hours with night time heat?

I use a ceramic heat emitter CHE at night which is run through a thermostat you use this with a ceramic bulb holder. This just gives heat and no light as torts need darkness to sleep. The thermostat has a probe so it will only come on if the temp drops below the set temp and switches off to stop it getting too hot. I use this with a wide dome hood too so that the heat is directed down.

These are similar to mine. I don't use the clamp though - safer hanging.