Many modern people choose as pets not of fluffy cats or faithful dogs and even not bright parrots, but the most real overland skulls. At the correct and careful leaving these unusual reptiles can live up to 50 years in house conditions. Most often, overland turtles fall into caring hands of the owners already adult. Therefore not each owner of a reptile can tell with confidence how many years to his pet. Actually, to determine the age of an overland turtle not so difficult.
Instruction
1. It is possible to recognize age of a turtle by her weight and the size. As a rule, tortoises of 30-34 mm in height and weighing 10-12 g are born. By a year of life the overland turtles grow to 48-52 mm, and their weight fluctuates from 25 to 35 g by this time. In two years the reptile reaches the sizes of 56-60 mm, and 48-65 g weigh already. Height of a three-year-old overland turtle is 75-90 mm, and the weight of 95-150 g. By ten years of life the turtle grows even to 13-16 cm. In spite of the fact that young overland turtles grow pretty quickly, with a length of armor of 18 cm their growth considerably slows down, and quite often and stops at all. Though in the nature also the individuals reaching 25-28 cm in length meet. By the way, adult females, as a rule, 2-3 males larger.
2. Owners overland skulls should remember also that the sizes of their pets directly depend on conditions of keeping, spaciousness of a terrarium, a food allowance, frequency of feeding and addition in a calcium forage.
3. active growth of an overland turtle. In a year on one scale of an armor 2-3 rings are formed. Thus, than the overland turtle is more senior, especially smooth is her armor. Annual rings at the same time turn pale and become less bright.
4. To determine the age of an overland turtle more precisely, it is possible to count annual rings on several scales of an armor, and then to find their arithmetic average value.
5. But also it is impossible to call this way of determination of age of an overland turtle for 100% certain. The quantity of rings on scales of an armor of a surprising reptile depends as well on a condition of keeping, both the number of its hibernations, and quality of a forage.