My first tortoise (not counting the ones I had before I knew anything about them) is Mi-Shell, a desert tortoise. I've had her for about 40 years, and she was full grown when I got her. I estimate her age at around 70 years.
How old is your tortoise?
- Thread starter Roshi
- Start date
A friend of mine had (it passed recently) a Russian that was at least 80, though he claimed it was over 100, and had evidence (but not proof) to support that.
The torts I currently own are not very old. The oldest is my Russian. He's wild-caught, so I have no idea how old he is. We've had him for 5 years and guess that he probably falls somewhere between 10 and 15 years old.
Wow some pretty old torts some of you have got 
1 Eastern Hermanns Tortoise 2.5yo
1 Eastern Hermanns Tortoise 2.5yo
Ive got a few ancient guys. The chaco male came in the early 80s as an adult. Hes very old and shows it on his shell. A couple texas torts that an 89 year old lady gave me said she had them back in the 60s. Also a very old adult import redfoot from the late 90s. Not sure exact but hes old . I know Greg will beat us all with his 100+ year aldabras.
I've had my Russians for 12 years now, they were bought from a pet store at about 5 years old (thats what the vet I first took them to said judging by their size and them likely being wild caught) so they are about 17
GeorgeUK
Active Member
Hey!
I thought this would make for an interesting thread.
Who owns TFO's oldest Tortoise?
Let's see some oldies & tell us about them & their lives!
I thought this would make for an interesting thread.
Who owns TFO's oldest Tortoise?
Let's see some oldies & tell us about them & their lives!
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- Oct 28, 2012
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Good question ! I would like to know this one .
That would very be interesting to know. .......
Our female California Desert Tortoises appeared in our backyard as an adult in 1970. Her son was hatched out in 1984. We c are indeed blessed.
GeorgeUK
Active Member
Hey Yvonne, do you still have her? Would love to see a photo
sounds like she's had an awesome life!
I do. She was my first tortoise (well, first after I became educated on keeping them from escaping the property) Here's a couple older pictures of her (in the first picture you can see the swelling on her nose from a recurrent abscess, and in the second picture you can see the healed scar across her carapace where she was run over by a tractor pulling a disc):
We think our Russian we rescued last year is probobly around 11 years old.
W Shaw
Well-Known Member
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I wish I had a way to know. He's a Russian, about 5 inches long. I was guessing maybe 3 or 4 years old. I took him to a vet right away to see what we could do about his skeletal deformities and malnutrition. He thought he seemed small for 3, but also said that because he was so malnourished for his early life it's likely he would be smaller than the average tortoise his age. So... I'll never know. I know he's still a juvenile, but beyond that, it's all guesswork.
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You didn't say how old she is .
She did in the post quoted asking for a pic. She said 60-70 and she had it for 40 years and it was an adult the whole time
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Good looking out ! I didn't see the first post . ha-ha
