Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: new member and questions

[ChristiD]

Hi everyone!
I rescued a RES turtle from a friend who moved and couldn't take her turtle. I am a big animal lover but I don't know much about turtles. Apparently, she didn't either. A lot of what she told me is wrong. She told me to feed him every day and turn on his light for a couple hours a day. Also, I think his tank is too small. He has a filter and a floating log but he never gets on it. Should I buy him something else to bask on? Also, I have no idea how warm the water is - I am thinking a need to get a water heater and a thermometer. Any suggestions? I want to take care of him the correct way and there is a lot of info out there. It's very overwhelming!

[steve]

Welcome to the forum! Yes, you'll need a few things.... how big is the turtle? Do you know if you have a male or female?

[ChristiD]

She said he is a male. He is 5 inches. I did see him basking on his log the last couple days so I feel better about that. I think I'm going to start working on water temp. And he has green algae on his shell:(

[Kansasslider]

Well, you came to the right place for answers. How big is the tank? For a good heater look at eheim jager heaters. They are great quality heaters. And yes you will need a thermometer. To monitor water temp and basking area temp. For a dock I like the Zoo Med docks but your turtle might be too big for one unless you buy the big one. Some turtles will bite chunks out of those docks but I have never had that problem. Do not use any chemicals to treat your turtles water. You should be doing let's say 40% water changes weekly. To get the chlorine out just fill something with tap water and let it sit for 24hrs. The chlorine will evaporate. What kind of light do you have? They need 2 a heat light and uvb. These are just some basics.