I somehow ended up with a young RES last week. What happened is that my friend lives in an apartment with three other people, and one of their friends brought two baby RES to the apartment at the beginning of the year and never came back. No one took care of the RES except for feeding them. The littlest RES died. I couldn't bear the negligence anymore, so (with the agreement of the person who fed the turtles) I took the turtle home. I named the turtle Cooter and I assume she is female because of her short claws.
She lives with a 4" pleco in a 10 gallon tank. Originally she had an enormous rock (for basking) in there and gravel, and there was maybe three inches of water in it, and the basking lamp was not warm enough at all. I removed the gravel and the rock, replacing them with large river rocks and a floating dock from Zoo Med. I acquired a water heater for her, and her tank is now at 78F. There is also a plastic log in the tank that sits on the bottom, but she cannot fit into it. I filled the water up so that there is about 8 gallons in it, and clipped a screen to the top so that she can not get out. Oh, also I have a Duetto 100 filter with a 92GPH capacity.
She is in my bedroom, where the door is always closed because I also have two chinchillas who do not like my mom's dog or the cat.
Okay. So. Obviously the tank is way too small for her. I already checked craigslist - I do not have the funds for a large tank at this time. Could I house her in a 32 gallon heavy duty trash can for a few months until I can get a proper tank? I want her to really be able to swim her little heart out. Also, if the trash can works, would I need another filter? I know that I would need either a new or a second heater. I was planning on getting a second heater instead of a larger one.
Also, will she be okay with the pleco? They mostly ignore each other, although she will chase him into the log (where she can't fit).
