# Basic tortoise age terms



## n3rdchik (Jun 5, 2012)

Ok - I can figure out Yearling  , but is there a general understanding to some of the other terms I see:

Hatchling (newborn to ?)
Baby ( same as hatchling )
Yearling ( 1 year old)
Juvenile ( > 2 years and less than ? )
Sub-adult ?

At what stage is considered "established"? 

Thanks again for all the help,
Marka


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## Yvonne G (Jun 5, 2012)

I have always referred to the first year of life as a hatchling. Then from a year to two years is a yearling. After two years is a juvenile or sub adult. And once they reach appx. full size, full grown. "Baby" has never figured into my tortoise speak.


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## GBtortoises (Jun 5, 2012)

n3rdchik said:


> Ok - I can figure out Yearling  , but is there a general understanding to some of the other terms I see:
> 
> Hatchling (newborn to ?)
> Baby ( same as hatchling )
> ...



The rules about "basic tortoise age terms" are that there aren't any rules!
A half dozen different people will likely give a half dozen different answers.
Here's my 2 cents worth:

Hatchling=seconds out of the egg up to a few weeks old, until they're yolk sac seam heals.

Baby=a few weeks up to a year old.

Yearling=same as a baby, up to and just slightly over a year old.

Juvenille=over a year old up to pre-sub-adult size (depends on species). 

Sub-adult=medium, pre-breeding size, only a year or two away from being able to produce fertile offspring.

In my opinion the term "established" has nothing to do with their age or developmental stage but with how long a wild caught tortoise has successfully thrived in captivity. Or a tortoise (wild caught or captive born) has thrived in a new environment.


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## n3rdchik (Jun 5, 2012)

GBtortoises said:


> n3rdchik said:
> 
> 
> > Ok - I can figure out Yearling  , but is there a general understanding to some of the other terms I see:
> ...





Thank you!
Is a 6 month old tortoise "ok" for a newbie tort mama? (Or is that still "Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!")


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## GBtortoises (Jun 5, 2012)

Well again, you're sure to get different answers about what age tortoise might be best to start with. I have always maintained that there is no difference in care or additional "fragility" between a baby tortoise (hatchling, baby, yearling, juvenille) or an adult. There is however an important difference to always keep in mind: Very young tortoises have a smaller body mass than larger tortoises and can dehydrate more rapidly. Constant attention to hydration is extremely important. The threat of dehydration in young tortoises comes mainly from lack of opportunity to drink, substrate and ambient air being too dry as well as the tortoise being kept too hot from lighting and additional heat sources.


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## wellington (Jun 5, 2012)

I have only had a hatchling. Very healthy, even though I got some bad advice from the breeder, thankfully TFO save me. What I have learned here though. A lot has to do with the way the hatchling or 6 month old has been raised. TFO has had a lot of deaths with older baby torts, under a year. After the new owners had them for anywhere from 2-4 months sometimes longer. They just never thrived, sickly and then most of the time death. Bad start from the get go within the breeders care. The best you can do, is to ask all the right questions. How are they cared for, no matter what age you are looking for. What are the temps, humidity, soakings, water available 24/7, lighting, food, etc. If they give all the right answers, you probably won't have a problem. Good luck

One more thing. Read Tom's thread listed at the bottom of this post titled Beginners Mistakes. May help you decide.


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## Baoh (Jun 5, 2012)

Hatchlings, to me, are at or near the hatching point. Juveniles, when I refer to them, are everything past that up to a little bit before adulthood. A subadult at my place is an animal on the edge of reaching sexual maturity. An adult is a sexually mature animal. Lots of people have different categories. I will refer to hatchlings on up into small juvenile ranges as babies.


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## GBtortoises (Jun 6, 2012)

wellington said:


> I have only had a hatchling. Very healthy, even though I got some bad advice from the breeder, thankfully TFO save me. What I have learned here though. A lot has to do with the way the hatchling or 6 month old has been raised. TFO has had a lot of deaths with older baby torts, under a year. After the new owners had them for anywhere from 2-4 months sometimes longer. They just never thrived, sickly and then most of the time death. Bad start from the get go within the breeders care. The best you can do, is to ask all the right questions. How are they cared for, no matter what age you are looking for. What are the temps, humidity, soakings, water available 24/7, lighting, food, etc. If they give all the right answers, you probably won't have a problem. Good luck
> 
> One more thing. Read Tom's thread listed at the bottom of this post titled Beginners Mistakes. May help you decide.





Most baby tortoise deaths within the first year are due to the fact that people are keeping them consistently too hot and dry. Because of their small body mass this creates a constant struggle for them to remain hydrated. Without being properly hydrated their systems cannot and do not function as they should. Toxins build up in their kidney and digestive tracts. Digestion does not take place as it should and their bodies use focus what energy they have on keeping their vital organs functioning. This is exactly why they are healthy for 3-4 months or more after getting them and then they begin to languish. More than likely they came to the new owner healthy and the cause of the tortoises increasingly poor health is poor husbandry practices of the new owner. Any true breeders (not speaking for wholesalers, pet shops or online stores) treat their baby tortoises with the best of care. Myself included. I can't speak for all tortoise breeders, but I know a lot of them and the ones that I do know don't put all that time, effort and great expense into keeping strong, healthy well maintained adults only to have babies hatch out and then not care for them correctly. If the adults weren't properly maintained in the first place there wouldn't be any babies hatching.
So the _assumption_ that a baby tortoise suddenly stops thriving 3,4 or more months after it arrives in good health to it's new, quite often inexperienced owner is the fault of the breeder that it came from is extremely unlikely in almost every case. The overwhelming cause for baby tortoises dying in captivity 3-4 months after they're born is incorrect husbandry practices by the new keeper.


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