Age of Box Turtle?

[txturtle13]

Is there any way to guesstimate the age of my box turtle? I read that you could count the rings like wood on their scutes.. Any ideas?






Thanks!


My Loves:
My Husband
2 Dogs
2 Three toed box turtles
1 Betta fish

 

[reagansymone]

The only way that I've heard of getting in the ballpark is to count the growth rings on the scutes. Pick one scute, and count the rings, and this can give you a rough approximation. Although it's nowhere near exact because the number of rings depends on diet and overall health, etc. And this method is generally only accepted as being reliable up to around age 10 to 15...after that they start to wear off.
From what I could count in the photo, I'm thinking maybe 9ish? But it's really just speculation haha

 

[diamondbp]

8-15 years of age. It's hard to pinpoint but that's definitely a relatively young box turtle since they can live 100 plus years

 

[txturtle13]

Thank you so much for all the information!

I've counted 9ish too. All very interesting. I think I'll go with 9 and her birthday will be the day I got her.
it's all very interesting to me. I'm going to try and document my hatchlings growth so I can have a chart it pictorially.