How to determine the age of the land Central Asian tortoise at home (photo)

In captivity, the life expectancy of reptiles is significantly reduced, so future owners want to know the exact age of the purchased pet.

Let’s figure out how to determine the age of a land tortoise at home and whether it is possible to calculate the age of a reptile in human years.

The main methods for determining age

In order to determine the age of the Central Asian tortoise, use the following methods:

• determination by the size of the shell, which increases every year by 2 cm;
• counting annular grooves on the carapace, increasing by 2-3 every year of life;
• examination of the appearance of a reptile, which changes with maturity.

Method 2 is recognized as the most reliable, but it also depends on the conditions in which the turtle is kept.

Shell length

The age of a land tortoise can be determined by the length of the shell by measuring the distance between the 2 extreme points of the carapace.

The shell of a newborn turtle is only 3-3,5 cm. After a year, the size increases by 2 cm and continues to grow at the same pace up to 18 cm. When this indicator is reached, growth stops, preventing age determination.

Depending on the length of the shell, the age of the Central Asian land tortoise is as follows:

IMPORTANT! If the length of the shell reaches 18 cm, then a more accurate age indicator can only be understood with the help of shell rings.

Carapace rings

In order to find out how old a land tortoise is, count the growth rings on the scutes of the shell.

Intensive growth and molting of turtles in the first 2 years of life affect the shell pattern, forming annular grooves on the surface. In a young reptile younger than 1 year old, 2-3 rings appear on each scale, and by the age of 2 there are already 6. After that, the intensity decreases, and the annual addition of rings is 1-2 pieces.

To determine the number of years, use the following instruction:

1. Count the growth rings using several scales.
2. Calculate the arithmetic mean of the counted values.
3. Subtract from the resulting number 6 annular grooves obtained in the first 2 years of life.
4. Divide the resulting number by 1,5 – the average number of rings appearing after 2 years.

EXAMPLE: If the arithmetic mean is 21, then the pet is 10 years old. The formula for the calculation will look like this: (21-6)/1,5=10

The downside of this method is the difficulty in counting the ring-shaped furrows in older reptiles that lose the clarity of the lines on the carapace.

Appearance

The ring-shaped grooves and the length of the carapace are determined by the conditions in which the reptile is kept. The final performance is affected by water quality, feeding, terrarium parameters and many other factors.

The approximate number of years can also be determined by the appearance of the animal:

Age of turtles by human standards

In the wild, Central Asian turtles live for about 50 years, and at home only 15. Rare individuals live up to 30 years with a very careful attitude and competent care from the owner.

In order to calculate the age of a reptile by human standards, we will start from the following indicators:

1. Average life expectancy. In a domestic turtle, it is 15 years, in humans – about 70 years.
2. physiological maturity. At home, reptiles become sexually mature by the age of 5. In humans, sexual maturity is reached at 15 years of age.

According to the indicators taken into account, the approximate ratio will look like this:

Unlike in the wild, where puberty occurs only at 10 years of age, domestic living conditions that shorten overall life expectancy encourage early maturity, allowing offspring to be produced before death.

Due to the rapid maturation of the turtle, wear and tear of the body begins early, reflected in a change in the ratio after reaching sexual maturity.

IMPORTANT! Due to too many factors affecting life expectancy, the figures presented are not absolute values ​​and are only suitable for approximate calculation.

Сonclusion

The considered methods have many nuances, but they allow you to calculate the approximate age of the pet. Before buying a turtle, check the age with the seller and be sure to check the information yourself.