Species

Flat-shelled Turtle

Chelodina steindachneri
Category: Category 4
Care Sheets:

Genus: Chelodina
Eight spp. with extremely long necks, usually as long as or longer than carapace. Forefeet each have 4 claws. Gular shields in contact in front of intergular shield. Spp. tend to cluster between 2 extremes; a group of very large turtles with disproportionately long thick necks, broad flat heads and small plastrons, and small turtles with slender necks, smaller, deeper heads and relatively larger plastrons. Widespread in water ways of Australia mainland excluding central arid zones. Also present in NG. These carnivores feed on anything small enough to seize and swallow, such as fish, tadpoles, crustaceans, insects and carrion. They hunt by ambush, using the long neck to strike in a snake like manner while gaping the mouth to suck in prey.

Chelodina steindachneri
Slender neck, small, moderately depressed head and flat round shell. Uniform brown above paler below. Isolated drainages from Irwin R. n. to De Grey R., incl. the most arid regions inhabited by Australia turtles. In many areas all or most waterways dry up annually, requiring extended aestivation or lengthy overland migration. This sp. can be abundant and obvious in some clear shallow pools.

Necessities:

Vivarium	UVA/UVB lighting
Heat lamp	Substrate
Water heater	filter
Air pump	De-Chlorinator
Filter	Air pump
Thermostat

Flat-shelled Turtle Gallery

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