carapace length and age?

[jeremyjtaylor]

I was wondering if there is any correlation between carapace length and age? I just got a redfoot, and contacted the breeder (importer) that sold it to the pet store I got it from. They said it was imported, but farm raised (in South America, I am assuming). Anyway, they said that they got them as "babies" and that because mine was sold to the pet store in September 2010, that it is most likely a late 2009 or early 2010 hatch. The carapace is approx. 6 inches from one end to the other, and the tortoise weighs approx. 440 grams. Does this sound about right for a tortoise somewhere between 1-2 years old?

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[drift2sea]

I asked a question earlier about size to see how old mine was.Its a guesstimate.There is no real way of telling accurate age of a tortoise unless you have the exact hatch date.It sounds like you were given a i think so date.You need to have seen it,have certified paper work or have a really trusworthy source to prove live birth to tell how old for sure.I was told by a vereran member that they are not like a tree,you cant count the rings to tell the age.I could imagine if you were an owner that had a lot of experience with turtles at all stages of life you could make a more accurate guess at it.Thats just it its just a guess.Anyhow different turtles can grow at different rates from what ive read here.So size is probably not going to work.It helps a little though

 

[Madkins007]

6" is 15.34cm...

At about 2 years, my biggest Red-foot was 14cm/5.5in, at 1 year they were generally under 10cm/3.9in.

 

[Geochelone_Carbonaria]

Sorry, wrong thread...