Is the age the shop owner gave me correct?

[adamllewellyn]

Hi folks, week old newbie to the Squirtle world here, just wondering if any experienced shelltists out there can confirm the age I was given for Fuego seems right. Shop owner said she is between 10 months and a year old.

 

[zovick]

Hi folks, week old newbie to the Squirtle world here, just wondering if any experienced shelltists out there can confirm the age I was given for Fuego seems right. Shop owner said she is between 10 months and a year old.

The only way to know the true age of a tortoise is to know when it was hatched. The breeder of your tortoise would know, but the shop owner is most likely not the breeder. If the shop owner bought the tortoise directly from the breeder, then the shop owner might have correct information, but that would be a rather rare occurrence.

All that being said, it appears possible that age you were told could well be correct. If you are that curious about it, you could ask the shop owner how he/she knows the age or if it is an estimated age based on his/her experience.

 

[adamllewellyn]

The only way to know the true age of a tortoise is to know when it was hatched. The breeder of your tortoise would know, but the shop owner is most likely not the breeder. If the shop owner bought the tortoise directly from the breeder, then the shop owner might have correct information, but that would be a rather rare occurrence.

All that being said, it appears possible that age you were told could well be correct. If you are that curious about it, you could ask the shop owner how he/she knows the age or if it is an estimated age based on his/her experience.

Yeah he got it from a supplier who told him the age, I'll just go based off of that ??

 

[Markw84]

Yeah he got it from a supplier who told him the age, I'll just go based off of that ??

I'll hazard an opinion with the caveat that I agree completely with @zovick in his post above...

Based upon how the shell is growing and the way the keratin looks, it does look very much like a tortoise that is about 8-12mos old. There is a "look" to keratin growth when a young tortoise is kept in good conditions. It looks like it was taken care of well with nice smooth growth. So, although a much older tortoise can be that size, it would not have the even, smooth growth. Normally you can see signs of stops and starts in keratin, or seams laid down very slowly in a poorly kept tortoise. Yours does not have that, I believe yours to be a good, well started 8-12 month old tortoise.

 

[adamllewellyn]

I'll hazard an opinion with the caveat that I agree completely with @zovick in his post above...

Based upon how the shell is growing and the way the keratin looks, it does look very much like a tortoise that is about 8-12mos old. There is a "look" to keratin growth when a young tortoise is kept in good conditions. It looks like it was taken care of well with nice smooth growth. So, although a much older tortoise can be that size, it would not have the even, smooth growth. Normally you can see signs of stops and starts in keratin, or seams laid down very slowly in a poorly kept tortoise. Yours does not have that, I believe yours to be a good, well started 8-12 month old tortoise.

Thanks for the advice, real quick, I'm learning ceramic

I'll hazard an opinion with the caveat that I agree completely with @zovick in his post above...

Based upon how the shell is growing and the way the keratin looks, it does look very much like a tortoise that is about 8-12mos old. There is a "look" to keratin growth when a young tortoise is kept in good conditions. It looks like it was taken care of well with nice smooth growth. So, although a much older tortoise can be that size, it would not have the even, smooth growth. Normally you can see signs of stops and starts in keratin, or seams laid down very slowly in a poorly kept tortoise. Yours does not have that, I believe yours to be a good, well started 8-12 month old tortoise.

Thanks, real quick, I'm going to get a ceramic heat bulb to replace the one I got with the vivarium as I've been advised it'll raise night time temperatures, should I go for the same wattage? 80w or higher? The holder I have is ceramic and can hold up to 300. Also, which substrate will keep night time temperature up? Bark chips or top soil? As I have both but currently using bark chips.