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Hello, all. I certainly need some help and advice about the best setup tips I could apply to my RES. The story of acquisition is an odd one.

In 2005, my then-fiance's dad remarried. His dad and step-mom returned home from their honeymoon in Daytona Beach and brought him a little souvenir: a RES. We had no idea what kind of turtle it was or even how to care for one. I took it to the local pet shop and asked how to care for it. I was told to buy a dock, get a 10 gallon aquarium, fill it halfway, and be on my way. I already had a 10 gal. aquarium kit from my fish-having days, so that's what I used. The RES lived quite happily in that little tank for over 3 years.

The guy and I split in 2006 and as I was moving my belongings out of the house, he told me that he was just going to take the RES out and set it loose in the creekbed by the house. I was afraid for the poor RES and so I just took him with me (me being the bleeding-heart animal lover that I am). I kept him in the 10 gal. tank that I had, like I said, up till about a month ago. He had gotten so big that there was just no way I thought he was comfortable. However, I live in a small apartment and am on a squeaky budget. That being said, I had my sister pick up a 20 gallon long tank from Petsmart. I really don't have room for it, but I'm making do.

I didn't realize how much work a RES required. I had no idea of the cost, the lifespan, and all the care that was needed. I never asked for it, but neither did this little guy, so I want to give him the best life I can.

I know that I've read the tank requirements here and certainly, he should be housed in a much larger tank. But there's no way I can do it...not now, anyway. He's got a great deal of room in the 20L and seems very happy. My question is, how can I make it better within my means?

As of now, he's got a dock, a filter, a heater (all left over from my fish-housing), a lamp and the occasional calcium tablet. The water level is nearly half full, and he swims all day. I've read about the addition of plants and the lovely rock sculptures that some of you have.

I know I got a bit windy, but I'm very open to suggestions and eagerly looking forward to them! Any advice you guys can give would be much appreciated.

hm if you really want to get the full use out of that 20g long tank, i suggest you take out all decor as possible, minus the necessities like heater and filter.

how big is your turtle now?
do you know what gender it is?
what current RES turtle fixons do you have? i.e. lights, filter, heater, things of that nature.

The best way to maximize a tank's space is to make an above tank basking area so the tank can be filled all the way with water.
Just make sure that there is no way for the turtle to fall or climb out of the basking area or to walk off the ramp and over the side of the tank.
If you do a search, you can find lots of good pictures and ideas for above tank basking areas.

Also, keep your eye on places like craigslist, there are usually good deals on used tanks there. something like a 30 gallon wouldn't take up much more room than your 20L and would give a lot more swimming space.

Raphulk, right now, there aren't really any fixons. I've got the dock, but it floats and is up against the wall with suction cups. Then the filter and heaters hook onto the back of the tank. The light clips onto the side of the tank, but it's just water other than those.

I think that my RES is male, going only on tidbits that I've seen on other pages on the web. "He" is a pretty good size, and fits well into my hand. I'm at work now, but I'll try to snap some pictures to post when I get home.

Megcornell, thanks for the advice. I did look through the Sticky that members had for posting their basking areas. I'm afraid that I'm not too handy in the carpentry department, but I would love to be able to get something like that.