Western Long-necked or
Oblong Turtle 
Chelodina oblonga

It is important if you ever pick up a turtle from the road, to take it to the side it was heading, not back to the lake as it will have to cross the road all over again.  It is also very important to hold the turtle on the edge of its shell as it emits a foul smell from four glands where the top shell (carapace) joins to the bottom shell (Plastron).  It's not a smell you will forget too quickly.

This is a common turtle in Perth found in temporary or permanent freshwater swamps.

These are their eggs photographed at the Western Australian Museum and measured 3.5cmL x 2cmW

The female turtles spend more time out of the water at night in the months of October to February returning to the lake once she has deposited her eggs.  She chooses an area that is usually sandy and that is above the water level for that time of year (summer) so that when the winter rains come the nest will flood and the young turtles will then make their way to the nearest pond.

 People can find hatchlings in their front yard if they live near a lake.  They are very small around the size of an Australian 20 cent piece.  Should you pick up the hatchlings and take them to the pond?  This is a tricky question but generally yes you could give them a safe passage to the pond as many die failing to get there, its not like they have to make the great migration that sea turtles have to make.

This young Long-neck turtle was photographed at Rockingham Environment Centre.

  Check out those webbed feet.

Turtles aren't as slow as you may think, on land they can move fairly quickly in  short bursts.  Underwater they laze around moving slowly when it is their resting time.

They spend most of the time in the water but they must surface to breath.  At Joondalup Lake in the northern suburbs of Perth go to the main picnic area and jetty, here you will see many turtles poking their nostrils out of the water to take a quick breath.  The best time to view turtles here is from January to June when the water level is low.  

What does it eat? 

This turtle is a carnivore and will eat fish, molluscs and crustaceans.  They can hold prey such as a frog in their mouths and use their front feet to strip pieces off.  Its thought that some waterbirds and ducklings may be taken under water and drowned and then ripped into bite sized pieces.

It is quite unusual to see these turtles soaking up the sun on a log as they are shy animals and will quickly slide back into the water when they hear you approaching.  At the Armadale Reptile Centre in Perth they are used to people walking around them.

Here you can see they have a tail.  Female tails are shorter than males.  The feet are quite green from the algae in the water as the turtles spend large amounts of time in the water resting and hunting.

Western Long-necked turtles have five toes on the back feet which are also webbed.

Western Long-necked turtles have 4 clawed toes on the front feet and are webbed.

You are not likely to see tracks but you may see diggings in your flowerbed if you live near a freshwater pond.

The Western  Long-necked turtle doesn't pull its head into its shell but pulls it along side the shell in an S-shape. 

The shell or carapace length is approx 40cm for an adult.  This one was 18cm long.

The ribs are attached to the carapace.  This means the turtle breathes differently to mammals.

The Western long-necked turtle skull was 6cmL x 3.5cmW and was photographed at the Western Australian Museum.

Other places I have seen Long-necked turtles;
 I have also seen them at Bibra Lake Perth
 Piney Lakes Perth
 Booragoon Lake Perth
 Thomson Lake Perth
 Blue Gum lake in Perth Perth.
Herdsman Lake just north of Perth city I saw a baby turtle in September.

Text;
"Reptiles and Frogs of the Perth Region" by Brian Bush, Brad Maryan, Robert Browne-Cooper and David Robinson.
"Australian Reptiles and Frogs" by Herald Ehnann and Micheal Tyler