These water turtles are exotic turtle pets. It also known as the Eastern long-neck turtle, Eastern snake-neck turtle, or Common long-neck turtle has as its most distinctive feature its extremely long neck. In some cases, this turtle's neck can be as long as its carapace. It is a type of side-necked turtle, meaning that it bends its head sideways into its shell rather than pulling it directly back.

Physical Characteristics

This is a medium-sized (to 10 in [25 cm] carapace length), long-neck species. The oval shell is brown and has a shallow central groove that may be pronounced in some specimens. The wide, cream-colored plastron has a dark pattern that follows the seams of the scutes. In contrast to the wide shell, the neck is relatively thin and the small head is distinctly pointed.

The common snake-neck turtle also has powerful webbed feet for swimming, digging, and tearing apart prey.

Distribution

These aquatic turtles are found in the inland slow-moving freshwater habitats such as swamps, dams, and lakes of eastern Australia, from northern Queensland to Victoria. They prefer a soft, sandy bottom and will bask on logs or rocks during the day.

Turtle habitat

This species prefers slow-moving backwaters, especially weedy lagoons, swamps, and billabongs. It may occasionally be found in the swift currents of streams and rivers.

Behavior

When the seasonal wetlands dry up, these water turtles are known to make long overland migrations to the nearest water hole or to estivate terrestrially. It may lie dormant for portions of the summer and winter in shallow burrows beneath vegetation. However, in some regions the snakeneck turtle has been observed to hibernate communally in aquatic sites.

When it feels threatened, this pet turtle will emit an offensive smelling fluid from its musk glands. This trait gives the turtle one of its other common names, "stinker."

Diet

These aquatic turtles are carnivorous, eating a variety of animals. This includes insects, worms, tadpoles, frogs, small fish, crustaceans, and molluscs.

Reproduction

In the temperate portion of its range, mating has been observed in April and May. Nesting occurs from late September to December. The female deposits eight to 24 brittle-shelled, elongate eggs (up to 1.3 in [34 mm] in length and 0.8 in [20 mm] wide) in nests constructed near the water's edge. A diapause or embryo estivation occurs during development; therefore, incubation may take up to 185 days, although 120 to 150 days are more usual. The observed sex ratio of the resulting hatchlings is independent of incubation temperature.

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