Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Hello, Total Newbie Here! I have a couple quick questions.

[eventHorizon]

Hi all! I recently rescued a RES from a friend who was keeping him in a small, unfiltered, unlit kritter-keeper (I'm pretty sure she bought him/her to spite her roommate). (S)he's around 4 inches and is in a 10 gallon right now (still WAY too small I know) with a filter, heater, UVB light etc. Unfortunately I have have been out of work for several months due to illness, but am putting aside money for a proper setup (I looked at a 55 gal yesterday, but it was cracked those liars). I have a couple quick questions:

First: How do I tell the sex of the turtle? The tail looks like a male but the claws look female. Do the claws take a while to grow if Bubbles is male? I'll post a picture when I can.

Second: (S)he was without any lighting (UVB, heat, any of them) for however long my friend had him/her (a year?) and I was wondering what supplements, if any, I should use. I've purchased a UVB bulb, but no heat as my room has no AC and it can get up in the 80's (great for Bubbles, not for me). Once I have funds I'll get a heat bulb.

Thanks everyone!

[steve]

At 4" you should be able to see male characteristics. Sounds like male at this point. I probably wouldn't bother with a used tank under 55 gallons unless it were free or very cheap. New 55 gallon tanks can go for as low as $55.

You can use any incandescent for heat. And just go ahead with a good pellet like Omega One and see if he would like any cuttlebone (with the backing removed).

Welcome to the site!

[devilduck]

Welcome to the site! Good luck with the turtle!
As Steve mentioned a good old fashion 60-75w incandescent light bulb in a clamp light will do fine for heat. Both are cheap and are readily available at your local hardware store.
Make sure the tank is you is a aquarium that was used for fish. A lot of people on CL try to pass off the ones made for reptiles as aquariums but the glass is much thinner and it was not made to hold water.