Not everyone can keep a dog or a cat in their apartments. Some do not have the opportunity and their time to walk, others suffer from allergies. Therefore, some pay attention to more exotic animals, but less demanding of the conditions of detention. Such creatures are terrestrial or aquatic turtles. Some get to their new owners at venerable age, but they live relatively long, some up to 50 years and more. It's no wonder that people are interested in the age of their turtle. I wonder how much she will live under the same roof with the owners, pleasing us with their amusing behavior?
How to determine the age of land tortoises?
The newly born babies have a length of up to 34 mm and weigh only some 10-12 grams. Initially, they add about 2 centimeters per year, but then, after reaching the length of the armor of 18 cm, the growth of the reptile almost completely ceases. An approximate table of length and weight of a turtle in the first years of her life looks like this:
| Age of turtle | Shell length | The weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 3.4 cm | 10-12 grams |
| 2 years | 6 cm | 48-65 g |
| 3 years | 7.5-9 centimeters | 95-150 g |
By the age of ten your land turtle can grow to an impressive size - from 13 to 16 cm. But all these data can be called conditional. After all, as owners manage with the pet, the quality of the feed, the temperature regime and other parameters greatly affect its growth.
How to determine the age of red-bellied turtles?
Unlike land brothers, the size of these reptiles largely depends not only on the conditions of detention, but also on its sex. If in one year the male and female red-bellied turtles have approximately the same armor length of about 6 cm, then the female representatives begin to overtake their "cavaliers" a little. In two years, this difference is already 1 cm (9 cm and 8 cm, respectively). In the future, the difference in size only increases:
| Age of turtle | Length of the carapace of the female | Length of the shell of a male |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 14 centimeters | 10 centimeters |
| 4 years | 16 centimeters | 12 centimeters |
| 5 years | 18 centimeters | 14 centimeters |
| 6 years | 20 centimeters | 17 centimeters |
In the respectable for turtles 50 years of age, at the decline of her life, she can reach even the length of the shell to 30 cm.
General methods of counting how many years of turtle
There are some signs that are suitable for all reptiles, regardless of their kind. All turtles have on the armor characteristic rings, which begin to appear at the age of one year.
There is another way, how to find out the age of the turtle - examine the seams between the shields of the shell. At first the carapace remains light, but beginning from the age of 4, it begins to darken. Young rings get the color of the previous ones, which in turn become even darker. The oval form of the shell indicates a more age of the reptile, its darker coloring, large claws and a powerful tail.