How to Determine the Age of a Turtle

Unless you know when the turtle was born, it is difficult to guess its age. Although you can guess the age by counting the number of veins on the turtle’s belly, this method is only effective in guessing whether the turtle has eaten or not. If the turtle is young, you can compare its size with those of the same species to get a rough idea of its age.

Table of Contents

Counting turtle shells

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Pick a piece of “armor” and count the veins. You can count the veins on a piece of armor on the shell to determine the turtle’s age. Armor is the large scales that cover the turtle’s shell. Remember, this method only gives you a rough estimate, because these ridges develop differently through the turtle’s periods of satiety. In other words, turtle shells will develop more veins when they are very hungry or eat a lot, not just in summer and winter. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Count streaks. The veins on each piece of armor are often alternating, consisting of large veins of a different color and narrower veins of a different color. Theoretically, the wide ridge represents a period of abundant food, usually summer. On the other hand, the narrow veins represent a period of food scarcity for the turtle, which is usually winter. So, if you count the number of rings and divide by 2, we get a rough guess of the turtle’s age. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Look at the ridges. You don’t have to count the armor pieces as they don’t show the age of the turtle. Instead, you have to look at the ridges inside the armor piece on the turtle’s shell. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Guess age. After counting the rings, guess the age of the turtle. For example, if a turtle has 14 rings, we can guess that the turtle is about 7 years old, because each 2 rings represents one year of the turtle’s life.

Turtles develop veins whether in captivity or in the wild.
It will be difficult to predict the age of the turtle after 15 years of age, because the veins are growing closer together. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Check size

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Measure the size of the turtle. The size of a turtle can tell you how old it is, especially when they are quite young. We start measuring from head to tail to get a glimpse of its size. An attractive snack can lure turtles to poke their heads out of their shells to measure. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Determine the typical size of the species. You should find the growth chart of the breed of turtle you are measuring. Be sure to find the correct size chart for the specific species of tortoise, because despite the same name, each species of tortoise has a different size. You can look it up online or find books about your turtles in the library. ^{[6] X Research Source}

For example, a southern painted tortoise is usually no larger than 15 cm, while a western painted tortoise can grow up to 20 cm.
Turtles born in captivity tend to grow faster than their wild counterparts. Note that this difference in size may lead you to guess the turtle’s age incorrectly.

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Compare the size of your turtle with the growth chart. Once you have found the growth chart, compare the size measured in the turtle with the size mentioned in the table. You will probably be able to calculate the age of the turtle if it has not yet reached its maximum size. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Advice

The age of the turtle is difficult to predict if it is older than 5 years.
If the tortoise shell is in poor condition, it will make the turtle look older. For example, a tortoise that hasn’t been fed well for many years will have a rough, rough shell, which makes it difficult to guess their age. Do not overemphasize the appearance of the turtle when trying to guess the age.

Steps

Counting turtle shells

Check size

Advice

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