Is it in the growth rings? I have a trio of wild caught Redfoot tortoises I was told they’re around 10 years old? I think they’re older. How do you tell their exact age?
How do you tell the age of a tortoise?
- Thread starter Octavious22
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There is no way of telling the age.
They look great though. If you got them from a reputable person, you could believe their estimate of age too be close.
They seem to have about 12 more or less regular growth rings, so I guess that's roughly their age? I'm not sure about redfoots but that's how it works in (wild) Hermanns.
If they were much older I would expect the rings to be less visible - but I have no experience with RF.
If they were much older I would expect the rings to be less visible - but I have no experience with RF.
You can't tell the age of any tortoise by its growth. Where ever you got that info it's wrong.They seem to have about 12 more or less regular growth rings, so I guess that's roughly their age? I'm not sure about redfoots but that's how it works in (wild) Hermanns.
If they were much older I would expect the rings to be less visible - but I have no experience with RF.
If that were correct my tort (which I know for a fact is 7 months) would be 9 years old......... just saying. There is no way to tell age.They seem to have about 12 more or less regular growth rings, so I guess that's roughly their age? I'm not sure about redfoots but that's how it works in (wild) Hermanns.
If they were much older I would expect the rings to be less visible - but I have no experience with RF.
Growth rings are just that growth. All torts grow at different rates and I would imagine in the wild it would depend on how ideal their surroundings are and the availability of food. So in that aspect there could be multiple rings in a years time if the torts habitat is ideal and factoring in how fast the tort itself grows, which again is unpredictable.They seem to have about 12 more or less regular growth rings, so I guess that's roughly their age? I'm not sure about redfoots but that's how it works in (wild) Hermanns.
If they were much older I would expect the rings to be less visible - but I have no experience with RF.
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I'm with @WithLisa.
Unlike annual tree rings, tortoise growth rings can not be relied on for a reading of exact age. However tortoise growth rings do indicate cyclical periods of growth corresponding to their seasons in the wild which can be annual. These redfoot tortoises are obviously recently wild caught and reflect that cyclical growth pretty clearly. So an estimate of their age from the growth rings is perfectly legitimate and reasonable especially given the evident lack of wear.
They are young animals. An estimate of ten to fifteen years is probably accurate.
That would be a good guess because of the info already given too us of 10 years and wild caught.
I have never seen or read where growth rings were any indication of age. Seeing there's no proof whether the guess of counting rings are actually accurate, I guess one could go that route. However, I don't think it's as accurate as one might think. Different times/conditions/food sources of any given year can cause slower or faster growth.
@Tom @Markw84 @tortadise @HermanniChris would love your opinions and thoughts as this would be info never seen before.
I stand behind my answer here.
I agree completely with @domalle He stated it well. If a tortoise is living with definite seasons and growth periods, the growth rings can be quite accurate. The more definite the seasons, the more accurate. It cannot be treated as totally accurate as there can be seasons with two distinct growth periods. Also, as referred to above, once older, a tortoise will wear down rings and the new rings on an old tortoise can become quite narrow and hard to define as growth slows down with age. In captivity, it becomes harders as there may not be defined growing seasons, depending upon how the tortoise was kept. Illness and stress can also change this pattern. with experience, I feel you can often see that in the rings and account for it many times. I know with my sulcatas, I can count the rings on all of them and they exactly coincide with the known ages as I have raised them all from hatching up to 27 years.
Counting rings is a good way to get a reasonable estimate of age. I use it frequently. The tortoise pictured above I would "guess" is 14.
Counting rings is a good way to get a reasonable estimate of age. I use it frequently. The tortoise pictured above I would "guess" is 14.
Well, I said it works (at least) for wild Hermanns. Not for captive bred Leopards.
And yes, there are even some papers about it. For example:
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/1568538053693198
Mark, I respectfully disagree. Growth goes along more so with food availability then what your calling definite seasons and growth periods. More food that is available more that one puts on growth. In the scarce times, there is little to no growth. In all the places that I have read about trying too tell the age, it never panned out the counting of rings working. I will say a lot more was written on turtles, including box, paint, etc.
I still stick to my original answer.
As for the ages of the ones in this thread, we already know the OP was told 10 years old. We have no idea when they were WC. They could have been kept captive for those ten years.
Just thought I would add a picture to show what I am referring to and what you can see in the rings.
I hatched this tortoise in 1999. This picture is from last summer - so he was then 18. He was part of a group I purposefully "slow grew" his first 5 years - as that was a very commonly held belief for a way to reduce pyramiding. As you can see it did not work. I started feeding more to that group in 2005 and sold them off except this one. I put him outside full time towards the end of 2005, and you can even see, he went through a slow period that next year (his 6th). From then on, he was kept outside and did well and also stopped any further pyramiding. He is now 175 lbs.
I hatched this tortoise in 1999. This picture is from last summer - so he was then 18. He was part of a group I purposefully "slow grew" his first 5 years - as that was a very commonly held belief for a way to reduce pyramiding. As you can see it did not work. I started feeding more to that group in 2005 and sold them off except this one. I put him outside full time towards the end of 2005, and you can even see, he went through a slow period that next year (his 6th). From then on, he was kept outside and did well and also stopped any further pyramiding. He is now 175 lbs.
Even in your link article, they aren't real confident in the rings being accurate and the estimate too only work as a fair estimate to a certain age.Well, I said it works (at least) for wild Hermanns. Not for captive bred Leopards.
And yes, there are even some papers about it. For example:
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/1568538053693198
Results of Model II linear regression analysis indicated that the method was reliable only for tortoises between 0 and 7 years old, whereas tended to underestimate age for those between 8 and 11 years. Since, sexual maturity in this population is attained around 8 years (mean for both sexes), ring counts are only reliable for juveniles and subadults.Well, I said it works (at least) for wild Hermanns. Not for captive bred Leopards.
And yes, there are even some papers about it. For example:
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/1568538053693198
Therefore it would not be a reliable way to tell if a tort that is supposed to be 10 is really that age or older.
I agree completely with aquatic turtles. They grow completely differently. They lay down new keratin under the entire scute and shed the old layer regularly. There is no growth ring that occurs in most aquatics because of this.
Naturally! Over the years the inner growth rings start to wear down and the new rings get very narrow, so it gets more difficult to count them. But as long as you can see regular rings it's a quite reliable method.
I agree that it could be used as a loose guesstimate very loose, of its age range, single digits, double digits, teens, twenties, etc. However, not a way to tell its age, in someone wanting to know it's tortoises age.
