How do I figure out the age of my red footed tortoise?

Question

Yes, I've googled it, I couldn't find anything.

Answer 1

1. The only way to KNOW the age is to see it be born.

2. You can GUESTIMATE the age by size. Use a growth chart, such as this one: http://www.geocities.com/redfoot_tortoise/index2.html (I know there are better logs out there, but they are hard to Google.

3. It does not really matter what age they are. Red-foots are usually separated by size rather than age. They become sexually mature at around 7" long, are considered babies to about 4", etc.

Answer 2

The only way I know is by getting captive born , I have 2 col.red foots that are 1 yr and are about 3 1/2" long ....My leopards aer 10" and 4 1/2" long , Now adays it's so hard to know just how old an animal is unless you get it captive bred...Unfortunatly not all the pet breeders are honest,and they sell wild caught as captive born...So if you got one as a hatchling and were raising it you could get a good idea on its age , other wise it's tough......

Answer 3

That's a tough one because growth rate varies so widely with diet and temperature. My hatchlings are about 3 1/2 to 4 inches straight carapace length after a year, 2 year olds are about 5 to 6 inches. Once they are adult size a 30 year old does not look any different then a 10 year old.