First I wanted to say that I think it is awesome that you are taking in a rescue RES. I just took some in myself a couple days ago. I had 2 Juvie RES's join my turtle family. I got them from my little brothers friend who didn't keep them in such horrid conditions, but they definitely weren't ideal.

Anyways as far as nutrition goes I would feed him commercial pellets(high in protein) every other day, for about 5 minutes and just let him eat as much as he can in that time. Even though it is important for him to eat and grow, he needs to do so in a healthy manner. Too much protein could and will cause shell pyramiding and accelerated growth. It may not seem like a problem at first but can turn into serious health problems down the road. Every once in a while you can substitute live animal protein instead of the pellets, such as feeder guppies, blood worms, shrimp etc.... i would steer clear of goldfish since they are high in fat. Always have some sort of greens in there for your little guy to snack on, my turtles always have some veggies in there. This will ensure a balanced diet and help keep their appetite at bay so they don't over eat when fed protein. Be weary of the begging, RES are notorious beggers and once they associate you with food they will always beg. It doesnt mean they are hungry, they are just opportunistic eaters and see you as an opportunity to eat. I recommend the following greens Mustard Greens, Collard Greens and dandelion greens. With those you want to remove any uneaten pieces because they will rot in the water if left uneaten for a long period of time. I am lucky enough that all my little monsters are non-stop vacumms and leave no trace of anything edible. I also highly recommend using aquatic plants such as Water Lettuce, water hyacinth, duckweed and elodea, all of which can be found in pet stores or pond stores. These can be left in there until completely eaten, because they don't spoil in water. I also keep a cuttle bone in there for them to nibble on to help with calcium intake and keep there beaks nice and sharp. You could go and buy one for turtles or you could use the ones for birds. Same thing, different price. I get the bird one and they are like .99cents. just drop it in there and it will float for a day or two then sink to the bottom. Just remember to switch it up and keep things fresh so he never gets tired.

As far as housing goes, if you can afford it get him a large enclosure to begin with. He will eventually get pretty big, possibly 12" to 13" if a female. So it makes more sense to just go out and buy the large enclosure now, instead of going through 4 of them and wasting money. You can get a 125 gallon plastic pond from home depot for $65. That will work great and provide more than enough room for his entire existence. For filtration i recommend getting a canister filter such as a RENA FILSTAR XP3 or XP4. Shop around online and you can get some good deals, i got my XP3 for $104.99 from Petsmart.com. It may seem like a lot of money, but it is well worth it considering what some other leading brand name canister filters cost $300 and way up. It is a very good quality filter, made in france and very popular. The XP3 is rated up to 175gallons of water. It keeps the water crystal clear and only needs to be cleaned like once a month.
Ofcourse you'll need a water heater to keep the water temps in the mid to high 70's. The size and power will depend on the amount of water you have,the deeper the better, RES are excellent swimmers and love to do so. It can never be too deep as long as he is able to crawl out of the water completely. I recommend using two water heaters, that way in case one malfunctions the water doesnt get cold. Provide adequate basking space, big enough for him to be able to come all the way out of the water and move around. Providing a basking spot lamp to keep the basking temps betweem 85 - 95degrees. Go to home depot and buy a clamp lamp, the same thing they sell in pet stores but for half the price. I recommend one with a ceramic inlet, because the plastic cant handle as much heat. Just use a incandescent(regular house bulb) for the bulb. I use a 60WATT bulb about 12" away from the spot and its in the low 90's. Be sure to place a thermometer at the basking spot for about 10 mins to ensure temps are ideal(not too low or too high). Also provide a UVB/UVA bulb, those are crucial for their shell and bone development. Also helps keep them active and a gives them a healthy appetite. You can also get these at home depot, they call them grower bulbs for growing plants indoors, just make sure you get one that emits UVA and UVB and is rated at least 5.0. Make sure the room temperature you keep their enclosure doesnt drop below 70 degrees during the night time. Try to keep it in the mid to high 70's during the day.

I think that about covers it LOL... Check out Austinsturtlepage.com for some awesome care info and also Turtleforum.com for some cool forums with really knowledgeable and helpful people.

Also heres a link to some pics of my Babies.

http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/upload/index.php?showtopic=81950

Hope this is helpful.

Dave

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