Guessing Age?

[meticulous86]

All tortoise are probably different, but is there some sort of standard to tell age by?

When I bought my tortoise, I was told he was around 3. His shell is 4" wide. Would you say this is around the right age?

Thank you

 

[Kymiie]

The measurements go by length for an approx age
SCL = Straight Caprice Length

Caprice=bottom of shell

Only measure this..best with tape measure no limbs ect just the shell xx

 

[ChiKat]

carapace*


This link tells you how to measure them:
http://russiantortoise.org/measure.htm

 

[Kymiie]

hehe my bad, I know what i meant XD
hhehe

 

[meticulous86]

Ok, Thanks. So now that I know how to measure, what are the standards of size vs. age?

He's roughly 5 inches SCL.

 

[Tom]

How did they know the age when you bought him? Was it a breeder who knew the hatch date? If you bought it at a pet store, it was probably wild caught and it could be 2-200 years old. No way to tell. They live a very long time, if well cared for, so I'm just curious why you want to know. Are you just curious too?

 

[GBtortoises]

Tom (formerly known as Roachman26) is right. If it's wild caught there is little chance of knowing a tortoises age, give or take a few decades. If it's captive born and was purchased from a breeder that breeder should have been able to provide it's birth date, give or take a few days.
It can be difficult to go by size, even with a captive born animal because they can grow at different rates based on their captive environment and diet.

 

[meticulous86]

How did they know the age when you bought him? Was it a breeder who knew the hatch date? If you bought it at a pet store, it was probably wild caught and it could be 2-200 years old. No way to tell. They live a very long time, if well cared for, so I'm just curious why you want to know. Are you just curious too?

I'm just curious. It makes no difference to me, at all. Just like to 'know' about my animals.. I'll just pretend he's 5. That's a solid number!

 

[Tom]

How did they know the age when you bought him? Was it a breeder who knew the hatch date? If you bought it at a pet store, it was probably wild caught and it could be 2-200 years old. No way to tell. They live a very long time, if well cared for, so I'm just curious why you want to know. Are you just curious too?

I'm just curious. It makes no difference to me, at all. Just like to 'know' about my animals.. I'll just pretend he's 5. That's a solid number!

Hey, that's what I do on set when I don't know an animals age and it really doesn't matter.

Five it is then!