Other Turtle Discussion :: Age?

[Blue Flamingo]

Is there any way to figure out how old a turtle is? Or guesstamate.

[marisa]

Reliably if you don't know when your turtle was hatched? No.

How big was he when you got him (the length of the shell not including the curve), how long have you had him, and how big is he now (same measurement)?

[Mnuemonix]

I've always wondered this too...I haven't the slightest idea how old my turtle was when I got him, or how old he is now.

[cam722]

If you got your turtle when it was really small, then you could guesstimate by that date.. more than likely it was hatched not long before.. Although this wouldn't hold true for some turtles that are "frozen/hibernated" before selling.

[Blue Flamingo]

My turtle is around 4in by 4in. I only got him just recently.

[cam722]

Size is not an indicator of age as there are many factors that can contribute to their size... so as was said earlier, unless you knew when it was hatched there is no way to know for sure.

[ange1koko]

how can u tell the age of a turtle? ppl say if u see the lil circle, then u will know he or she is 2 years old...but i dunno if its true..

[ange1koko]

just lil mistake...repeat. if u see two circles that means the turtle is 2 years old?

[missibsu]

There is no way to tell the age of a turtle unless you know when it was born. Turtles all grow at different rates, due to genes and living conditions.

[marisa]

The rings indicate that a turtle is growing, but if you see a lot of rings, the turtle is most likely has grown/is growing too fast (there is no set number of rings a turtle will have per year).

[Blue Flamingo]

What do you mean by rings any ways?

[steve]

Those are growth rings around the scute. You can easily see it on a young turtle but it will eventually smooth out.

[marisa]

Unless the turtle is continually overfed. Some larger RES I've seen have pretty rough-looking shells.

[sarah]

My turtles were very very small when I got them...

I knew for a fact that Bobbi was OVER 3 years old...
So I don't know that you can go by size at all.
Unless I suposse, you know what the living conditions were... Then you could guess.