S.A. NAT., VOL. XV. 
Nov. 30tii, 1933. 
25 . 
BREEDING HABITS OF THE AUSTRALIAN LONG¬ 
NECKED TORTOISE (Chelodina longicollis). 
By Kenneth H. Harrington 
South Australian Aquarium Society. 
Two years ago I decided to attempt to breed Australian 
freshwater tortoises. Mv first consideration was to create an 
environment as near to nature as possible, and to do this it was 
necessary to construct a pond with edges flush with the ground 
surface. Sloping up from this was a sand bank, reaching up 
about three feet at its highest point. Pond and sand bank were 
planted to give a natural effect, the whole (about 6 feet by 16 
feet in size) then being enclosed by means of wire netting. 
After several trips to the Murray I came to the conclusion 
that the long-necked tortoise (Chelodina longicollis) should be 
my first attempt, it being by far the most prolific of our fresh¬ 
water Chelonians. At this stage I met my first obstacle, namely, 
the fact that there is apparently no means of determining the 
sex by external characteristics, although I think the length and 
breadth of the tail furnish some indication. The lack of definite 
information, however, made it necessary for me to collect a large 
number of the reptiles so as to increase the possibility of having 
both sexes. Further, I brought back only the larger specimens, 
considering that these should have reached maturity.. 
I introduced the tortoises to their new quarters and they 
quickly settled down. In a remarkably short time they became 
accustomed to being fed always from the same part of the pond 
and at their regular feeding time would be waiting in readiness. 
The reptiles spent much of the time in the water, but on sunny 
days were seen lazily basking on the sand bank. At first, if any 
person approached their enclosure they would immediately scut¬ 
tle back to the water, with remarkable agility, when one considers 
their clumsiness of build. After a time, realising that no harm 
came of them if they stayed on the bank, they would drowsily 
continue their siesta. The diet consisted mainly of raw meat, 
but one could not consider them strictly carnivorous, for they 
were seen to feed on tl;c tender shoots of aquatic plants as well. 
They were really active only in the summer, when their whole 
activities were centred on feeding and reproducing their species, 
whereas during the winter months they hibernated in the mucl at 
the bottom of the pond. 
