New Eastern Snake Neck

[rhi444]

Hi there everyone, I just found this site yesterday on google and was hoping for some of your good advice. I've just found myself in possesion of an Eastern Long Neck/Snake Neck turtle In melbourne. From what I can gather it is about 3 y/o and probably female (so I'm told). this is my first experience caring for any turtle and I was hoping for some tips on feeding and monitoring good health. the only info I have on her last three years is she's been fed on live fish AND pellets. if it helps she's quite active in the tank i have for her. would love any advice

Rhi

 

[imalizard]

You could try feed her aquatic plants and some fresh water shrimps? How big would your tank be and how big is she?

What are you feeding her now?


Daniel

 

[rhi444]

thanks for the reply

I had to purchase a tank as she was in about a 2 foot tank , got from a friend of an unkind owner who 'got sick' of her. her new home is 4 foot x 1 foot and she is about 7-8cm shell length. she has taken dried shrimp but someone at the pet store advised live fish>?>? not sure if that is risky practice but whatever is best for her is what I need. thanks for the help. . .

 

[Fireflyshuffle]

it is risky practice if you dont quarentine the fish. i feed mine a mix of seafood marinara(you buy 1kg of it in woolys for about $10, last ages.) and crickets, some live fish. chop the marinara up small they love it. all the frozen foods like turtle dinners and that arnt as good as they have made out.
just try varieties

 

[rhi444]

so fresh fish but not live is the go>? and as for health her shell is brown with lighter patches and has 2 'chips' (not sure of correct terminology) in it. is this normal? and if not what should it look like/ what remedies should be used?? I'm not exactly experienced but she is beautiful and I would hate for her to be suffering/unhealthy. and if anyone could let me know how big she is expected to grow? I'd really like to expand her home a bit if suitable.

Rhi

 

[-Peter]

try this site

http://www.australianfreshwaterturtles.com.au/index.php

 

[rhi444]

thanks alot for the help guys. It's great to know I have somewhere to go to get good help and advice from people like yourselves best wishes XX

Rhi

 

[stephr23]

The live food (fish) can get stuck in her throat. It doesn't happen often but just incase, just check her neck regularly. If there is a lump there, something is obviously there. Just message the spot, in the direction of which the food goes down, daily until she swallows it.
She will eventually swallow it, if she doesn't, go see your closest vet.

It doesn't happen often. Just incase.

steph.

 

[markars]

Don't feed your turtle seafood mix from woolies. This food is from the salty sea, not the fresh water where your turtle is from. Our turtles are unable to process large amounts ofsalt that are typically found in sea food. The best food for your turtles is" Natural foods, that he would find in his Natural home" such as, live fish, snails and water weeds, ( longnecks rarly eat weeds but they should be present in the tank). Choose smaller feeder fish such as mountain clouds, gambusia ect rather than larger goldfish. This live food in the tank should be supplemented with strips of a fresh water fish, I buy a few fillets of a native fish(perch) or a trout from the fish shop, slice it up and freeze it in turtle size lumps and it lasts weeks for a small turtle..
Good Luck.

 

[Fireflyshuffle]

ive never heard of not feeding marinara mix from woolies. i was told from this site by a VERY well known turtle breeder not to use frozen foods such as bloodworms and turtle dinners and give them what they eat in the wild, which is prawns,shrimp,mussel etc. so if theres to much salt what mix do i use? my cats eat basa fish everyday(they wont eat tins) is basa ok to give in small peices?

 

[-Peter]

Basa is is a freshwater fish from Africa. Its ok but it doesn't contain all the nutrients they require.

Australian Freshwater Turtles Forum has loads more info

http://www.australianfreshwaterturtles.com.au/index.php

ps, longnecks are carnivores and wont eat plants, just mess them up.

 

[markars]

ive never heard of not feeding marinara mix from woolies. i was told from this site by a VERY well known turtle breeder not to use frozen foods such as bloodworms and turtle dinners and give them what they eat in the wild, which is prawns,shrimp,mussel etc. so if theres to much salt what mix do i use? my cats eat basa fish everyday(they wont eat tins) is basa ok to give in small peices?

The advice you have been given is very good advice, Prawn shrips and mussells are what they eat in the wild, How ever they are the fresh water variety! Any fresh water fish is ok, but i preffer to use our stuff like perch and bass.
If you have the time, head to the local creek or golf course and catch some food from the ponds there, Feeder yabbies are a great source of food and are an elusive prey item if the tank has ample cover for them to hide in. Hunting these yabbies and live fish provides a form of enrichment for the turtles( and in the case of the yabbies, gives the turtles a chance to completly re-arrange you tank in an effort to dig them out).

Peter is fairly spot on there about long necks not eating weeds, I rarly see them eat them but i still provide them any way, They some times eat the bases of the larger varieties of val, or i can trick them into eating fruit or weeds by offering it to them from my hand.(they take it out of habit, thinking it is their fish strips)