New Guinea Snapping Turtle
|
Elseya
Novaeguineae
Up
to 11"
In
the wild, they feed upon snails, insects, fish and worms.
Air Temperature:
Low to mid 80's
Basking Temperature: Mid to high
80's
Water Temperature:
Low to mid 70's
6.2
- 6.5
Rivers
and Swamps.
New
Guinea.
Yes
These are basking turtles, so a
basking spot is required. UVB lighting is needed as well as a heat lamp over the
basking spot. A submersible heater is recommended if the water temps fall below
the recommendation. They are excellent swimmers and their captive habitat should
have a water depth as deep as possible. Substrate should be anywhere from a sand
to a fine-to-medium size gravel.
Recommended size for a single adult Elseya
Novaeguineae would be a 75 gallon aquarium as a minimum (90
or larger preferred). This will provide adequate swimming area, as well as
assisting the filtration in maintaining good water quality. For additional Elseya
Novaeguineae, I would recommend adding
40 gallons of tank space per additional turtle at a minimum.
Stock Tanks and Rubbermaid containers
also work well. The same space recommendations remain the same.
In captivity, they do well on
Mazuri and
ReptoMin, Reptile/Pond 10, Cichlid Sticks, fish, crickets,
and assorted worms and insects.
Elseya
Novaeguineae are great
turtles for a community habitats, but only with other Elseya and
Emydura species.
Not a lot has been learned about
this species and information is difficult to come by. The dietary list
mentioned above is from experimentation with captives.