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Description:
The Eastern Snakeneck turtle is a smaller snakenecked
turtle. The carapace reaches about 20 cm in captivity. The
carapace is dark brown to black and the plastron is a creamy
white or yellow that has scutes separated with black
borders. The neck of this species is covered with tubercles
which are pointy. The neck is also very long, snake-like, as
it can move in all different motions. The eyes are more on
top of the head than most turtles. |
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Distribution:
These really neat looking turtles are found on the eastern
side of Australia, south of Rockhampton in Queensland all
the way to Victoria and as far north along the east coast as
Cap York. It is one of the most common turtles found in the
Adelaide area in southern Australia. |
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Habitat:
These turtles are found in ponds, swamps and slow moving
waters. They frequently hangout on land as they are one of
Australia's terrestrial turtles. Sometimes, one might even
spend a couple months on land. These turtles are cold
climate turtles unlike most of the other species in the same
genus. They are even active when it is 11-13 degrees celsius.
They will find a way to hibernate or aestivate if need be.
Temperatures determine the Eastern Snakenecked turtle's
activity. During the dry season, they sometimes travel
great distances to find a pond or lake. They prefer soft and
sandy bottoms and will leave the water at times to bask on
fallen logs or tree branches.
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Indoor Housing: For
this species, as well as all snakeneck species, I would
encourage them to be kept indoors so proper temperatures can
be kept. These beautiful snake necked turtles do fairly
well as hatchlings or small turtles in a 20 gallon long with
proper filtration. Make sure your filter is shooting the
water up and out of the water allowing it to crash down on
the water’s surface placing oxygen back into the
water. Oxygen helps fight ammonia in the water, which can
cause some serious respiratory infections. Lighting is also
a necessity. UVB full spectrum lighting should be used as
well as a heat bulb for a basking spot on top of a log or
rock. Make sure the log or rock that you have in the
enclosure for the turtle can sit completely dry and not
allow any water from the filter splash and hit it as this
will prevent the turtle from getting fully dry. All turtles
should be allowed an area to completely dry off their skin
under a heat lamp that sits about a 10-12 inches above the
basking area to prevent fungus growth on their skin and
shell. A day and night schedule should be set up for your
snakeneck. 13 hours of day light each day and around 11
hours of night fall. Anything close to this schedule would
do fine. Do what you can to duplicate their habitat in
every way possible. 6-8 inches deep should be suitable for
your longicollis. |
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Feeding:
This species is more of a carnivore. It will eat anything
it can catch. It tends to eat a lot of insects in the wild.
They even eat on land, which in most turtles is uncommon as
most prefer to eat in the water. Most of their diet
consists of molluscs, small frogs, tadpoles, small fish,
worms, snails and other insects in the wild. They will
attack dog food and trout chow or aquamax 500 turtle
pellets. These turtles should have no problem turning to
the brand name foods such as reptomin. Most brand name
foods tend to offer the proper nutrition needed for a
healthy turtle. |
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Breeding:
Eastern snakenecks will breed usually after a cooling period
or winter. Clutch sizes will range from 8-24 eggs. The
baby turtles will emerge in about 3-4 months later in the
wild. In captivity if artificially incubated, much faster as
constant temperatures are kept. |
Illnesses:
When a turtle is stressed, it's immune system breaks down
and weakens. This allows the turtle to be more susceptible
to disease. A stronger immune system will allow the turtle
to battle and overcome any illness it may take on. Not
always the case but in a lot of cases, turtles are able to
fight sickness on their own. Respiratory infections can
easily be fought if the turtle is warmed up.
Many people will opt to go to the vet when their turtle is
doing something abnormal. It's probably a good idea unless
you know someone else that knows what they are doing.
Baytril and Fortaz are the two main drugs vets use for their
reptiles. Dosages are based on weight of turtle, so contact
your local vet for further information on your turtle's
health. In the mean time, keep your turtle warm with a
temperature of about 85-90 degrees. |
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AL ROACH |
