Welcome to Brisbane Turtles

I am a hobbyist and where my hobby has got a little large.

Here I want to share my experience and knowledge with people who is interested in starting in their own hobby of keeping Australian Freshwater Turtles and make fewer mistakes than I did. Australian turtles only live in water and breath air. Some breath air little bit differently than others eg Fitzroy River Turtle (Rheyodytes Leukops) breathes through its bum.

Each state has different rules for licencing and which reptiles you can keep.  In Queensland you are required to have a Reptile Licence.  The type depends on which type of turtle and quantity of turtles you want to keep.  Most families only require Class 1 or Standard Class.  For other states please see your local Government pages.

I usually get my first babies hatching during November and will be ready for sale in December. All our hatchlings are captive breed and primarily incubated naturally in our pond enclosures.

In most Australian states including Queensland, it is illegal to take reptiles from the wild without correct permits.

See my Starter Care Guild of where to start from.

I am not a vet and nor am I trained in Vet science, our opinion comes from experience, learning the hard way, books, and advise from other experienced keepers from around Australia.

Eastern Long Neck Turtle

(Chelodina Longicollis) The Average Adult Female size is 190mm but can grow to 260mm in carapace or shell length with an oval shape. Natural Diet is all types of aquatic insects and carrion. Babies hatch with bright orange markings which fades to a cream colour with within the first year. Natural habitat of creeks, rivers, ponds swaps and lagoons and can be found across the southern Queensland down to Victoria and South Australia states.

Murray River Turtle

(Emydura Macquarii Macquarii) The Average Adult Female size is 280mm but can grow to 350mm in carapace or shell length. Natural Diet Omnivorous of plants and protein like insects and fish etc. Natural habitat of inland water systems from southern Queensland to Victoria and South Australia.

Macleay River Turtle

(Emydura Macquarii Dharra) The Average Adult Female size is 160mm but can grow to 185mm in carapace or shell length. Dharra is the name given by the Aboriginal people to the turtles in the Macleay River, around Kempsey. Natural Diet is aquatic or terrestrial insects and crustaceans and filamentous algae.

For your new hatchling, you will need to do the following first:

Understand the requirements that the turtle will require and how long it can live for
First you need to register with Online Services, then login to Online Services and apply for a Wildlife Authority and choose which class of WA permit Standard Class 1 is all you require for any of my baby turtles. About $60 for 5 years.
The rule book, states a tank should be up and running or cycling for several weeks as required for fish tanks. This can be shorted if needed for turtles.
Apply for RWL Licence online

Care Advice

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Veterinary Help

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turtle Selections

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Socialization Training

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Turtle

  • Lives and eat in the water
  • Webbed feet or fins
  • Native to many parts around the world
  • Licences are required to keep.  The type of licence depends on which state you live, QLD requires a licence
  • Eats water plants and /or protein

Tortoise

  • Lives and eat on the land
  • Clubbed feet
  • Not native to Australia
  • Must have a Zoo Keeper Licence, to keep one in Australia
  • Eats plants and vegetables
  • Tank – fish tank minimum of 3 foot tank for 1 turtle, larger tank depending on type and number of turtles
  • Filter – prefer external filter, always go up a size of fish tank recommendations
  • Water conditioner – chorine is not nice turtle and needs to be treated.
  • Water – fill the tank up to ¾ full
  • Substrate – don’t use gravel if eaten its hard to pass. Use Calgrit from selected Produce stores and ok if eaten.  Washed Sand is also used by many keepers
  • Water heater with guard – to heat the water particularly in winter
  • Dock – prefer a large floating dock but there is other type available, an area to climb out of the water and larger enough
  • Heat lamp and lamp shade – to provide heat over the dock
  • UV Fluro light – UVb Light increases the health of your turtle and helps with digesting food. Remove any glass or plastic between the tube and water, goes over the full or nearly full length of tank.  UVb 10 tube is best and should be changed within 12 months
  • Live Plants – provides hiding spots and protection and will hang off it. Live plants can also be eaten depending on type of turtle.
  • Live fish – eg Gudgeon, guppies, platys, swordtails. Most pet stores will sell feeder fish, gives everyone entertainment and food for the turtle. Not goldfish, minows, carp and Rosie Barbs these have high levels of Thiaminase which breaks down Vitamin B if fed regularly over a period of time can cause deficiencies. 
  • Digital timer – to operate the heat and UV lights, suggested hours of use is usually the heat light operate for daylight hours, and UV light for 12 hours approx. a day.
  • Food – pellets are easy but change it up with live, freeze dried insects (not spiders). For pellets we recommend Hikari Cichlid Gold.
  • Using Gravel or bite size stones in the tank
  • Sharp stones – have heard of stones getting kicked around and crack the glass
  • Frozen Turtle Dinners – does not meet the dietary requirement of Australian Turtles
  • Ornaments where they could cause entrapment of the turtle below the water level
  • Position of filter piping which could cause entrapment of the turtle below the water level
  • Bad advice from pet stores.  I love pet stores, but not all are equal have sound knowledge of reptiles or turtles, but I have also been to pet stores with great reptile knowledge.
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