Eastern Long Neck turtle

[wiz-fiz]

i am thinking about getting an Eastern Long Neck turtle please answer these questions.


*Do you need a pond to breed them?
*Do they need to hibernate to breed?
*How often do they need to be fed?
*How big do they get?
*How big does the tank need to be for a 20cm-26cm turtle?
*How much do they cost a year?
*Do i need maximum strength in a filter?

Cheers,
Will

 

[puka777]

hi i have two long necks and great to ahve but i must warn you that it may cost alot.
i started off witha four foot tank with one turtle my first one who was about 13 cm i was then advised on another forum that it was cruel to keep a turtle in these conditions becuase they will grow out of the tank(some peole may argue about this)i soon got a female and realised that when the time came when they wanted to breed placing sand on the dock for them to breed isnt good and she will porblay die from stress because she couldnt find a place to lay her egss.
so i built a pond with pond liner this was actually cheaper then getting a four foot tank and the turtles seemed more happy to be in their own habbitat.

so to answer your questions yes you do probaly need a pond with the right subtrate for land to breed them, yes it is ideally for them to hibernate to breed becuase then they know their going into the next season after hibernation which is the breeding season, i feed mine very second day, the males grow to around 26-28 cm and females i think are bigger so around 28-30 cm.
to actually keep this turtles in tank ,once adult size, its not so much length but width that makes them ahrd to keep in a aquarium. most aquariums are 35-40cm in width so if you imagine a turtle 30cm size trying to swim in a tank like that it would be very cramp, the pond i got with filter and liner and you dug a hole your self costs around 200 then add some plants land and water wich would be another 50 so 250 the turtles them selves seem to be changing prices i got mine for hundred each but ive see them for 60 or 70. tank would cost you around 400 which includes filter,heater,tank+stand and lighting. food which is frozen fish or frozen turtle dinners but mine prefer fish(very fussy turtles) will cost around 11 dollars each and lasts for at least four months. for a filter will for my pond i was told to create one just by buying a pump connecting to a hose which was connected to a canister which was filled with media whichw as then connected to another hose which let out water worked very well for me but with a tank i had a small internal and i had to do seventy percent water changes which were very hard each week.

 

[Luke1]

puka777: how big was the pond you made out of it? becasue where i live, i can get 4ft tanks for about 80 bucks !!!

 

[puka777]

wow thats cheap will i live in melbourne and i got the tank with lighting and all the stuff you need,the pond shape is like a oval except one side is more bigger then the other its a really weird shape but still much bigger then the 4 foot tank

 

[rebeccalg]

puka777: how big was the pond you made out of it? becasue where i live, i can get 4ft tanks for about 80 bucks !!!

Where do you get 4ft tanks for $80?!

 

[hornet]

i have heard of people breeding them in tanks but its not easy, ponds are way better. A cooling period is needed as far as i know for breeding to take place. For adults feed every 2-3days. Size is about 25cm shell length. For a 20-25cm turtle i'd go for a 5-6ft tank. No idea on cost per year. Filter should turn the entire tank volume over 5-6times per hr, preferably more, my filter doesn it about 10 times per hr.

rebeccalg: i get 4ft tanks for about $70-$80 at my local markets, a guy makes them hemself and sells them cheap so just keep an eye out for something similar down your way.

 

[wiz-fiz]

How do i stop them ascaping from the pond?
Do I put a fence of Chicen Wire around the pond that goes about 2-3ft down under ground?
And should i have a tank for juvies?

Cheers,
Will

 

[puka777]

well yeah but not chicken wire becuase when they see the other side they try escpaing and hurt them selves by trying to get through the chicken wire i myself made this mistake by buyinmg mesh instead which is also bad but then i used big sort of tiles around it to work as a hard wall which prevent them from seeing on the other side and trying to escape.

 

[hornet]

keep juvies indoors. For a fence corrogated iron is good, they can climb wire and could fall and hurt them selves

 

[wiz-fiz]

could you put plastic sheets on the inside of the Chicken wire?
so they can't climb it and see the other side?
ohh and do juvies/hatchies need a UV light that can produce heat and light?

Cheers,
Will

P.S.
My fish got sucked up the pump today:cry::cry::cry::cry:

 

[puka777]

thats sads one of my fish died today must be abad day for fish anyway to get bac to the topic

yes the juvies will defiantely need uv lights but also a basking light for heat. im not sure about the plastic it might not be strong enough if you have tiles hanging aorund their very useful like what in said before.
just wondoring why are you wanting to now about breeding and stuff unless your getting turtles before hibernation youll have to wait a whole year before you can breed them its what happened to me.

 

[-Peter]

turtles can climb wire fences

 

[Dan19]

Like the 4th time, google a care sheet for them.

 

[puka777]

yeah its weird anything that has claws can climb fences my rabbit sometimes climbs its cage

heres a caresheets its really useful becuase it targets the exact species www.chelonia.org/articles/easternlongnecks.htm

 

[wiz-fiz]

would a pond that hasn't been dug and has brick around and an island in the middle be ok for breeding?

 

[puka777]

depends on the size of the island and the subtrate if the female doesnt find it worthy of eggs then she will not lay her egg on the island and alos how deep they are and if you wanted to incuabate them then how would you get the eggs if their in the middle of the pond.
its better to hav ealot of land around teh pond so the turtle can decide in a different spot.

 

[wiz-fiz]

could you please put up a list of all the fish they can eat.
Cheers,
Will

 

[puka777]

it just a simple frozen fish you can buy at aquariums or any other pet store.
for live fish thouhg well anything turtles well eat anything that is fish i once got three goldfish for mybrithday put them in the tuertle tank and it was like a war except one side was defenceless(the fish) and the turtle ended up earting a massive one and killing the rest buy bititng their fins and stressing them out. so i dont advised feeding them live fish unless you like seeing a fish suffer.

 

[mrdestiny]

You know Willia6 most of the questions you have asked are answered on the care sheets. Do yourself a favour and click on the link http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/articles/chelidae-by-craig-latta-71763 and read it all carefully.

 

[wiz-fiz]

I was thinking of breeding fish so that i have some back-up food in case i ever run out.
and i wouldn't feed them live.
i would probably trie to kill them first(probably suffocation).
is it cruel to sufficate?