General Care Discussion :: new red eared slider owner

[mreyeball]

HI, my name is barry, i'm 28 and just adopted 2 RES.
i was given them by a friend yesterday, they said that they didnt like"their smell"???
anyway after doing a lot of RES reading on the internet there are still a few things i am not too sure of.
i am not sure of the sex of either RES, i have been told they are 7 months old and 4 months old
the 7 month old is maybe 6 or 7 inches length on the shell,and the shell is quite dark in colour compared to the tounger RES, "he" seems very tame and even let me hand feed him this morning!he loves basking and is very active during the day and slept through the night at the bottom of the tank
The younger $ month old RES is maybe half the size and the shell is very bright green compared to the older RES."she" is not so tame, when i pick "her" up she was very nervous and scared of me and stayed at the bottom of the tank or would hide under the basking dock, as the day progressed she got used to me a liitle, and is now pretty active too, and is eating fine, although i am a little concerned as she slept on the basking dock all night and i read that a healthy RES will sleep in the water
now the equipment i have is not good, i know this after reading up yesterday
the tank is 60 litre,i need maybe 150 litre, so could anyone tell me somewhere to get a good deal on a tank of this size and IF a 150 litre would be big enough for them as they grow
before putting them in the tank i cleaned it with fresh tap water and the coupleof inches of original water that was in the tank
i fiiled the tank as far as i could but not too far to stop them escaping, i added a small amount of tap safe although im not sure if it is needed as i have read some people use it, some don't
secondly, the l hoodlight that came with the tank is not a Uvb light,its an aqua-glo 20W flourescent bulb with metal heat reflector. i am looking at buying one of these,
http://www.tscpets.com/19767-pid.html
will this be ok and where is a good place to get a good deal in the UK as i want to get this asap as i know how important it is
i also have a water heater, i set the temp to 79 degrees Fahrenheit, i have quite a large filter too, which i cleaned before putting in the tank although after a few hours of the turtles being in the tank there are tiny pieces of best i can describe as dust not on the surface but in the water
the thing i am most unsure of is the quantity of food to feed, i know to feed twice a day, but how much?
the food i have currently is a turtle and terrapin complete food, it consists of food pellets,freeze dried krill, gammarus and shrimp. they both love the shrimp and the gammarus, and the older RES will eat the pellets but the younger one won't eat the pellets, i gave them a little green lettuce yesterday which they both loved
i feed them in their tank but have noticed many people recommend feeding them outside the tank but i know they need to be in water to eat,what do you guys and gals recommend
i have some frozen bloodworms, i have'nt feed them these yet, but will try today.
i also want to take them into the garden today so they can get a little sun, i have a large wooden box, i have put some large round stones for them to bask on ,there is no water in the box.would it be ok to put them in there for an hour or so?
i am already very keen and interested in my RES and want to give them a long and happy life so if there are any tips you can recommend i wouldbe gratefull
also can you clean their shells, and if so how and with what?
thanks

[Love of Animals]

Hi Barry and WELCOME! You are in the right place to learn what you need to make your new additions happy and healthy. Ok let's get started. Your going to need a huge tank. Try for at least 10 gallons of water for each inch of shell for the first turtle and 5 gallons of water for the second one per inch of shell. Instead of upgrading all the time try and save for the last size tank you'll need when they are fully grown. A good estimate would be 10 inches each total 20 inches. For filtration with one turtle you would need filtration rated for double of amount of water that is in the tank for two turtles I would go triple. The ratings you see on filters are for fish not turtles (which is why the people you got them from said they smell) Turtles are messier than fish but with the proper tank and filtration there should not be a smell. For basking and lighting you will need a UVB bulb and a heat bulb or both in one which would be a Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB). For healthy RES your water temp should be 72 degrees to 75 degrees. Your basking area should be 10 degrees higher than the water temp to encourage them to bask. They should also be able to get on the basking area easily and be able to totally dry off when on it. In your situation I would advise a ATBA, which is a basking area Above Tank Basking Area. This way you can fill you tank fully. For feeding if the 6-7 inch RES is only 7 months old he/she was probably fed to much. Feed as many pellets that would fit in their head if empty per turtle every other day. This will be their protein source. Veggies and leafy lettuce (except ice burg and spinach) can be feed everyday. Also try some pond plants like anacharis and hornwort. You can gently rub their shell with a soft toothbrush and water to clean. When you put them outside to bask make sure they can get some shade if needed so they don't over heat. Sun is the best source of UVB. Good Luck! Please ask questions the only stupid question is one not asked. Take care!

[mreyeball]

thats all very helpful information, i have already started work on the atba which will increase the swimming area alot, and i will have to start saving for the tank as a 500 litre tank costs £750!!!!!!!!
i will be going out next thursday (payday yipee!) a getting another 90 litre filter to go with the 55 litre filter i already have and i will try and will also be getting the Mercury Vapor Bulb that you mentioned, which is handy as i had planned to get a UVB compact and a compact heat bulb for the atba.
a couple of questions about the atba, it will be a fairlylarge area and i was planning on having one side of the atba for basking and the other side for them to climb on things like large peebles and small tree branches, is it ok to use peebles and branches from my garden or should i buy immitation ones.
thanks for your help and advice

[Love of Animals]

You can use large pebbles from your garden just wash them well first. Also you may want to use aquarium glue so they don't fall into your tank and break it. I would be leery of branches because of parasites. Research the mercury vapor bulbs first since come people have had issues with theirs and they are expensive. I use the two bulb system.