Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: hey everyone =D ! 2 days ago i rescued 2 turtles

[leopard167]

hey everyone =D ! 2 days ago i rescued 2 turtles. ive never owned any type of reptile ever. but i have this problem =) where if i see any animal in need of help i take it home and/or do any and every thing i can for it. so now im a proud owner of apparently 2 red eared slider turtles. i have no idea their age they are about 6-8 inches maybe?, i know they are females., Leela (futurama yeah!) and turbo (i didnt name it :/) so im reading up on them as much as i can. i take my responsibility for their health and happiness very seriously but im SO NEW with this! it was over whelming! tomorrow i go shopping for absolutely everything! if i can get ANY sort of advice i would be so grateful! <3

[steve]

Hi, welcome to the site! You'll need a pretty large tank to keep them together, what's the setup like now? How big is the tank?

[leopard167]

Hi, Thanks, im so glad this site exists i love it. its so helpful and so nice to be able to ask and talk to other RES owners.right now its a 66 qt plastic container with enough water to be submerged and flat rocks to come out and be totally dry. i take them out in the sun to roam my backyard a cpl times a day and i try to keep the water warm but just taking out water and refilling it with warm water using a smaller container..
i know its nothing. ive been a little stressed out i dont want them to suffer or not feel comfortable. its the best i was able to do until today when i go to petsmart in a cpl hours. im getting a heat lamp, water filter, UVB light, cuttlebone, protein food, water plant, and im going to look for a ledge of some kind so they can bask. ill keep my eye out for a bigger container/aquarium next until next week when im able to shop again as well as the heater and thermometers.
do ledges come pretty much formed and ready to apply to any tank? sold in pet stores like that?
ive been looking online and throughout this site at all the habitats to get a good visual of what im trying to do and so many of the basking ledges look homemade with powertools.....

[steve]

The basking areas from the store are pre-made and usually adhere to the tank with suction cups (see the Turtle Dock) or are free standing (see the Zilla Reptile Basking Platform).

The basking areas that go above the tank (ATBA) require some skill, though there is a smallish-commercial product out there. There are other in-tank basking areas that you can make yourself. These are cheap, great looking and simple that most people can make.