How can you tell how old a Hermanns Tortoise is?

Question

I have been given a Hermann Tortoise that was found in the garden of an abandoned house. I know a little about tortoises in general (diet, hibernation process etc) from having been around other types of tortoise. I know that he is male as he has the longer tail which I guess would make him at least 8 years as they are hard to s*x before then. How do you tell what there age is? Weight/Length to years etc?

Thanks!

Answer 1

um i thnik u have 2 count the rings on its shell ok bye

Answer 2

usually it is very hard to s*x a tortoise until they reach maturity at 5 -8 years, you don't count the rings on the shell as they can have more than one growth spurt a year, and if a tortoise has been fed the wrong diet (especially containing cat or dog food) then the counting of the rings is unreliable due to the excessive growth they have, most of the time people who know tortoises can tell by the wear and tear on the scutes around the edge of the shell, but most of the time you can only estimate the age of a tortoise by the size and wear of the shell, i got my tortoises aged by sending a photo to the tortoise trust and they told me roughly how old one of them was, but it is hard to say the exact age unless you have a full history of the tortoise,

Answer 3

Tortoise growth varies depending on temperature, length of growing season, and quality and amount of food, so size is not a dependable way to age them. Ring count is an old wives tale. The only way to know the age of a live tortoise is to have been there when it hatched.

Answer 4

I am Not sure, But one thing I do know from when I studied them as a Youth, They have life spans that will outlive you.

The Galapagos Tortoise lives well over a Hundred years, One in one Zoo, i am not sure where, that Died recently, was brought over During the 1800's