New Guinea Snake Neck Turtle

SPECIES: Chelodina novaeguineae

STATUS: Least Concern

HABITAT: These turtles live in slow moving bodies of water with plenty of vegetation to hide in.

DIET: Fish, shrimp, and water dwelling insects.

GENERAL: The New Guinea Snake Turtle is a slow moving turtle that prefers to walk along the bottom rather than swim as it hunts for prey.                                                                       

The snake turtle can get up the 14 inches in length. The first thing that is noticeable is the neck, which can grow up the length of the turtle itself. The neck is flexible and permits the turtle to lift its head out of the water to take in a breath of air without exposing the entire body.

There are several subspecies of the Snake Neck Turtle that are threatened or endangered.