Snake-necked turtles are deep-water turtles, and they prefer to live in deep water. However, in their infancy, they are small in size, and their physical strength and swimming ability are poor, so breeders can't breed in deep water, otherwise they may choke or drown. When they are adults, they can be raised in deep water. Breeders can also increase their height regularly, so as to avoid discomfort after they suddenly enter deep water.

Different body types and different feeding stages of snake-necked turtle require different water level heights. Normally, the water level in childhood needs to be shallow, because they are small in size and have poor swimming ability and physical strength in childhood. Breeders can keep the height of water level consistent with the height of carapace, so that their breathing and activities are relatively good. As they increase in size, the height of water level can also increase. When they mature, the height of water level can be controlled by 2 times of the height of carapace, and the maximum should not exceed 3 times.

If the specific water level cannot be determined, the breeder can also make a slope with gravel in the container, so that they can freely choose the moving water level. However, it is easy to hide garbage and breed bacteria in gravel, so breeders need to change water frequently to ensure clean water quality.