How to know the age of the tortoises

To give detailed information about agee the tortoise and the intricacies of its content - the task of breeders. But they are not always able to accurately determine age. There are only a couple ways to do it. One of them is to measure the length of the carapace. Put the shell of a ruler and record the distance of the farthest apart dots. Compare the results. Newborn land turtles are born the size of a little more than 3 cm To one-year-old agetheir carapace grows to 5 cm, for two-year-old up to 6 cm In 3 years, the size increases to 8 cm, 4 to 10 cm 5 to 12 cm, 6 to 14 cm depending on forage quality, level of daily intake of calcium and conditions of the turtles, their growth may reach large sizes, but rarely exceed 18 see Land turtlesliving in the wild reach almost 30 cm in size.

Carefully consider the number of rings on the shell. The first of them appear closer to one year old age. It was during this period tortoise is growing most rapidly. During the first year of life on the shell there are 2-3 rings. In each subsequent year, as a rule, are formed even at 1 or 2. In turtles long-lived they fade much with ageω be smooth. It should be noted that this method of determining ageand works in conjunction with the first, and entirely on his results should not be relied upon.

Land turtles become sexually Mature by 5-6 years in the wild to 10 years. In females, the process begins later than males. During this time, the carapace of both sexes acquires an elongated shape and dark. The males grow long claws and tail, they become more aggressive toward each other and pay more attention to the females. But when good conditions of puberty can occur much earlier, therefore this method is not accurate and is not taken into account without the first two.