Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: I guess we are a turtle family now

[new2Turtles]

hi all me and my gf recently became the proud parents of 2 red eared sliders. they were an old couples, when the wife died the husband was too old to take care of them and was going to release them at the lake. they were domesticated since hatching and my first thought was if he does that they are as good as dead not having any experiences with the outside world. we are super stoked to take on the new responiblity but not 100% caught up to all the turtle ins and outs. so if anyone has any tips tricks or pointers or things you learn from your experiances.we are all ears. Have a great rest of your day.

[steve]

Congrats on being new turtle parents! And great job with the rescue. Were you able to acquire the previous setup too?

[new2Turtles]

Yes we got a 55 gallon tank(may be a little small for 2 red eared sliders) the filtration system with new filters and scubbers, uvb light, and a few things for them to escape the water for a while and a submersible pump with long hose maybe for draining the tank to clean it? Not really sure. The tank was extremely dirty so I cleaned everything with white vinhear and warm water and rinsed multiple times. They where a old ladies who died and her husband was too sick to take care of them so they were in a 20 gallon Tupperware. I’m in the process of building a stand for them. I own a home remodeling business so I will post pictures when I complete it im kinda stoked about. Do you have any like NEES TO KNOW info tips or tricks ? Also do I need to de chlorinate the tap water? And any toys rocks landings for them that you think they will have fun playing on? Any info would be highly appreciated. Also they are both females are they ok to keep together?

[steve]

Sounds like you've done your homework. Hopefully there are no health issues with them and can quickly adapt to their new home. I'd make sure they are eating, and use a staple pellet with their diet. Be careful with over feeding and make sure no one can sneak extra food. A bigger tank and filter are usually necessary and the hose was probably used for draining and/or refilling. As long as it's clean, you can reuse it but you might want something longer.

What material are you going to use for their basking area? You can bag some activated carbon and add it into the filter. That will remove chlorine for you.

Make sure that they get both UVA and UVB light as well as have a heat source above their basking area. This will entice them to come out of the water. Do they have a water heater and thermometers?

[new2Turtles]

I had to do some homework i couldn't join the forum completely blind. lol. they said that previous they had white moldy stuff on their shells, but took them to the vet got some meds i believe, it did not grow back and i haven't noticed anything one they since i received them. And they were my next questions. they gave me some things that suction cup to the tank to for them to hand out on, but if i were a turtle they don't look like that much fun honestly. do you have an toys, rocks, ramps, that you know of that they really have a blast playing/ laying on? the one is pretty young and just swims all day long the other on is a little older and she just chills and floats around every now and then. what would be the best substrate for them rocks (but nothing they can eat) or sand (super dirty water i read) the filter system that i got with them is brand new i actually opened the box and the filters have charcoal in them already. they gave me a clip on the top of the tank desk light with a uvb bulb in it. but i did not receive a heat source nor a water heater or thermometer. If you have a shop[ping list handy with the name of some play things basking rock uva bulbs/fixtures, water heater and thermometer I'm almost positive they would really appreciate it. i read a lot of people are against water heaters because the turtles can nip at it and get electrocuted or seriously injured is this something to worry about? Again thanks for all the help, i was not prepared to be a turtle parent and they look at me sometimes like "uhh you have no idea what your doing do you?"

[steve]

For the basking dock, You can make one from PVC pipe and tile or use some natural cork bark. People also have made them to go above the tank, and then there are the premade ones like you mentioned. A resin platform might work out for you in a smaller tank.

For substrate, pool filter sand (silica) is fairly popular. Once rinsed out, there shouldn't be any cloudiness from it. Depending where you live, a water heater is fairly essential. Any issues from it is usually do to user error. A light lamp just needs to safely go over the tank and stay out of reach from the turtles and other pets (cats). They sell ones that are adjustable and go on the side of the tank, some people use plant hooks and hang them from the ceiling. There are just so many things and ways to do it.