Relation between size and age

[kishan313]

Hi all,

I’ve spent some time lurking on the forum and have read in detail the Hermanns/Russian specific guides that have been widely shared on here, and have taken the plunge to purchase 2 Eastern Hermanns (separate housing). My question is that they are currently estimated to be hatched in 2019, and are 3/3.5 inches long. Would anyone be able to confirm the age and size match (if possible), and what age do the tortoises become sexually mature (just curious).

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

They grow at highly variable rates and for a lot of reasons. 3 inches is tiny for a four year old hermanni, but not unexpected because of the rampant wrong care info out in the world. Many tortoise keeping "experts" suggest what is essentially starvation to force tortoises to grow more slowly as they do in the wild. They mistakenly believe that this is somehow beneficial and "natural". But in nature they are contending with floods, droughts, starvation, predators, human encroachment, fires, parasites, territorial fights, etc... OF COURSE they grow slower in the wild than they do in optimal captive conditions with the correct temperatures, good hydration, and a nutritious varied diet. I currently have 8 year olds started in professional animal care facilities that are less than half the size of 3 year olds started correctly.

In most tortoise species, sexual maturity is a function of size, not age. Eastern hermanni can reproduce when the females are 7-8 inches and the males are 6-7 inches. In at least one species, there is also an age component, even if the tortoise reaches a large size at a younger age. I don't know if this exists in hermanni or not.

Here is a newer thread explaining a whole lot of stuff, in case you have not found this one yet:

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[kishan313]

Thank you so much for your reply! I love this article - so informative especially when there is so much information online, you often can’t tell what is right and what is wrong. But having years of experience in forums like this is great.