Tortoise age

[IggyBeans]

Is there anyway to tell a torts age? I got my tortoises at a pet store that had no idea of their age. Im just curious.

 

[wellington]

No, not really. If you give the weight and length, someone might be able to give you an idea, but not deff answer. A picture might help too.

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Ditto what wellington said. We may have an idea around how old it is but there is no way to know unless you know when the date of hatch is. Just go ahead and post a pic and we will give our best guesses.

 

[Madkins007]

The methods, by accuracy, are:

1. Know when it was born.

2. Know when another one of the species kept in similar conditions was born and compare the growth rings on the plastron. Growth rings do not grow at a standardized rate, but the tortoises in a given area will add rings at about the same rate.

3. Go by size and a typical growth chart for the species, although there are not a lot I can find for any tortoise.

4. Go by size and the educated guess of another experienced keeper.

5. Go by size and just make a rough guess yourself. Most smallish tortoises hit full adult growth in about 7-9 years or so and are only a couple inches at birth. Figure they hit 8" as adults, and start at 2ish, so call it about 3" at 1 year, 4" at 2, etc. They grow kinda fast at first then slow down a lot as they get close to full size. This is low on the accuracy rating, but close enough for most of your purposes.

6. Count the plastron rings- only the really thick ones- and divide by about 3 or whatever feels right.

 

[IggyBeans]

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[Laura]

Id say older..
does it live in that box and kept dry?

 

[IggyBeans]

I know shes 1.10lbs not sure on her lenght. Ill try to get that when i find a measuring tape

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no. That was the first day i brought her home. She has a big, humid enclosure.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

In wild tortoises, plastral ring counts do indicate age, but only up to a certain age (usually 10-15 years, depending on the species).

 

[Tom]

To add one more to Marks list...

7. Guess! That's right. Just make up a number and go with it. Every year on August 29th you can celebrate ANOTHER happy birthday. He can be 5 or 105. You can just pick your favorite number and start there.

 

[IggyBeans]

lol thats a good suggestion. Im just curious because i want to know if shes an older tort and needs special care or if shes young and needa different care.

 

[GBtortoises]

In wild tortoises, plastral ring counts do indicate age, but only up to a certain age (usually 10-15 years, depending on the species).

Not at all acurate.

 

[Tom]

In wild tortoises, plastral ring counts do indicate age, but only up to a certain age (usually 10-15 years, depending on the species).

Not at all acurate.

I agree. Totally depends on a million factors. Amount of food, type of food, hidey holes used or not, weather, activity level, etc...

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

The literature indicates that plastral scute ring counting is a legitimate technique for aging wild, temperate tortoises (Gopherus and Testudo), but only up to a certain age (10-15 years). Beyond that, the rings are too close to distinguish.

I don't know if this technique would work for tropical tortoises or not - probably not. Their growth rate slows down during the dry season, but does not come to a near stop, as it does in brumating tortoises.

 

[IggyBeans]

Id say older..
does it live in that box and kept dry?

How much older?

 

[tortadise]

Id say a homes that size, 7-12 years old. They grow very rapidly when they are young but slow down like mark said.

 

[IggyBeans]

This is probably a silly question but is that considered in a homes? I know they can live for decades, so is she still considered a young tortoise?

 

[Madkins007]

The literature indicates that plastral scute ring counting is a legitimate technique for aging wild, temperate tortoises (Gopherus and Testudo), but only up to a certain age (10-15 years). Beyond that, the rings are too close to distinguish.

I don't know if this technique would work for tropical tortoises or not - probably not. Their growth rate slows down during the dry season, but does not come to a near stop, as it does in brumating tortoises.

According to field studies by Moscovits and others, the ring count method does not work on red- or yellow-footed tortoises which experience several less-distinctive growth periods in a year- however, all the torts in an area will lay down the same basic pattern, so if you know the age of one, you can use its pattern to help age others from the area.

I did see a study about the ring count issue with gophers or deserts (some of the most studied torts on Earth from what I can see!), but didn't I also see some rebuttal about it? I have to admit that I don't follow grassland or arid tortoises as much as I should.

 

[tortadise]

Oh yeah, you still have a very long time with her.

 

[Madkins007]

This is probably a silly question but is that considered in a homes? I know they can live for decades, so is she still considered a young tortoise?

I don't know the typical ages for Homes. One source shows documented records for longevity for captive herps (http://www.demogr.mpg.de/longevityrecords/0403.htm) and shows some other hingebacks at about 15 years.

While tortoises are known for long life spans- this is mostly for big species that are well-protected and cared for. Wild tortoises are just plain nearly impossible to track properly to figure this out, although we KNOW that there is a common snapper and an Eastern box turtle that are over 100 years old, so long lives may not be too uncommon in the wild.

Having said all that, it is pretty common that smaller animals do not live as long as bigger relatives. Tortoises also have the benefit of 'negligible senescence', which means they really do not show signs of aging.

This is actually something pretty cool- there are some examples of animals that we thought were adults, and another larger species we thought was a different species or race- and it sometimes turns out that it is just an older version of the first thing. One of the coolest examples of this is that the Torosaurus may just be a mature Tricerotops! (I know it is disputed- all the cool stuff is!) Another example is thought to be the so-called 'giant' forms of red- and yellow-footed tortoises.

This is a long-winded way of saying that even if it IS an older tortoise, there is nothing that changes in the cares.

 

[IggyBeans]

Your link isnt working for me