Do worms and nematodes suggest my tortoise is wild caught?

[Blackdog1714]

Nice looking tortoise. Can you clarify the reading on the scale for me, please? Does that say 309.4 g. or 3094 g. as Ubercat assumed? Also how old is your tortoise? Sorry if I missed you saying its age anywhere.
Thank you.

? 309.4 grams My tort is a Carol S captive bred! 2 years old on 7/14

 

[Ubercat]

Thanks for the pix. I would venture to say that your tortoise is fairly young, but it is older thane 2.5 years in my opinion. I could be wrong, but my guess would be more like 5-7 years of age looking at the shell morphology and amount of wear on it.

Wow! That old? He’s only 9.5 centimetres long... I thought they got double that length. Or would he be little because of poor care? Thanks for your help

 

[Tom]

This does not appear to be a wild caught tortoise.

 

[zovick]

Wow! That old? He’s only 9.5 centimetres long... I thought they got double that length. Or would he be little because of poor care? Thanks for your help

My estimate of the age is a guess based on the amount of growth and wear on the shell. As I said, I could be wrong, but the tortoise looks older than 2.5 years to me. And yes, poor care can very often result in slower growth. Also, if your tortoise is a male, remember they do not get as large as the females.

Why do you think your tortoise is 2.5 years old? Did the first owner tell you it was a just 3 cm. baby when it was purchased? You would have to know its actual size when it was purchased and on what date by the first owner to be able believe that the age of 2.5 years is correct. And do you even know if the person from whom your friend received it was its first owner or not? There are many variables at play here.

On another note: did you see the post by Blackdog saying that his tortoise weighs 309.4 grams (roughly the same as yours) rather than 3094 grams as you thought? The two animals weigh the same, but his has a known hatch date in July 2018, so it is a known 2 year old. Can you see the difference in the shell growth on the two animals? Yours has more growth rings than the known 2 year old which makes me think it is older even if they are the same size. Not trying to be argumentative, just explaining the reasoning and logic behind my opinions.

 

[Ubercat]

This does not appear to be a wild caught tortoise.

Good. How can you tell?

 

[Ubercat]

My estimate of the age is a guess based on the amount of growth and wear on the shell. As I said, I could be wrong, but the tortoise looks older than 2.5 years to me. And yes, poor care can very often result in slower growth. Also, if your tortoise is a male, remember they do not get as large as the females.

Why do you think your tortoise is 2.5 years old? Did the first owner tell you it was a just 3 cm. baby when it was purchased? You would have to know its actual size when it was purchased and on what date by the first owner to be able believe that the age of 2.5 years is correct. And do you even know if the person from whom your friend received it was its first owner or not? There are many variables at play here.

On another note: did you see the post by Blackdog saying that his tortoise weighs 309.4 grams (roughly the same as yours) rather than 3094 grams as you thought? The two animals weigh the same, but his has a known hatch date in July 2018, so it is a known 2 year old. Can you see the difference in the shell growth on the two animals? Yours has more growth rings than the known 2 year old which makes me think it is older even if they are the same size. Not trying to be argumentative, just explaining the reasoning and logic behind my opinions.

Thanks - You didn’t sound argumentative! I appreciate the information. I’m trying to find out (or work out from the evidence available) as much as I can do about him.

 

[Tom]

Good. How can you tell?

Wild ones have more wear and tear on the shell, zero pyramiding, and they don't usually show those wide yellow growth bans that come from an abundance of healthy food and good living conditions.

 

[Ubercat]

Wild ones have more wear and tear on the shell, zero pyramiding, and they don't usually show those wide yellow growth bans that come from an abundance of healthy food and good living conditions.

Thank you