How long does a pet turtle live? Why do turtles live so long? What does a turtle prefer to eat at home?

When choosing a pet for the family, future owners must take into account many factors, ranging from lifestyle, routine and feeding habits of the animal to its life expectancy. Last question This is especially concerning for people planning to get a turtle. These reptiles are distinguished by amazing endurance and longevity and, under favorable circumstances, can live for decades. Therefore, before you get such an animal, you need to realize that you will have to take care of its well-being for a long time.

• Show all

  How many years do turtles live?

  It is generally accepted that turtles can live 300 years, although in fact this opinion is erroneous. Of course, among the representatives of this species of animals there are some long-livers, but there is no reliable data that any individual lived to such a respectable age. In many ways, this impression of turtles is due to isolated cases of longevity among large species.

  Life expectancy is affected by the size of the turtle - the larger the species, the longer its representatives can live:

  • small turtles can live up to 50 years;
  • representatives of medium-sized species live up to 80 years;
  • the maximum age of large reptiles is 200 years.

  Being in captivity can either extend a turtle's lifespan or shorten its years. Necessary living conditions, balanced diet and the absence of enemies allow the animal to live long enough, and improper care or feeding with inappropriate food will lead to the rapid death of the pet.

  Land

  Turtles that include more than a dozen genera are called land turtles. They live in Asia, southern Europe, Africa and America. These reptiles prefer open spaces- steppes, deserts and forest-steppes, but are able to feel comfortable in humid conditions tropical forests.

  
  

  The size of animals can be either very small, not exceeding 10 cm, or quite large. Common to all land turtles are a round shell and thick legs with fused toes. Reptiles prefer to eat a plant-based diet.

  In their natural habitat, such animals can live from 50 to 100 years, which is influenced by the type of particular animal, its size and external factors. European land turtles are bred in captivity more often than others, with an average lifespan of 40 years.

  

  Central Asian

  The Central Asian tortoise is one of the representatives of land animals. It differs from other varieties in its shell. This part of the body is divided into sectors and colored yellow-brown with spots.

  
  

  The habitat of these animals covers countries Central Asia. There the turtle is found in the foothills, near reservoirs and in deserts. The species grows only up to 20 cm, therefore it is classified as small. In the natural environment, under favorable circumstances, they live up to 50 years; in captivity, the period is limited to thirty years.

  

  Marine

  Sea turtles live in warm oceans and seas. They differ quite strongly from their land counterparts:

  • the shell has an elongated shape;
  • the front and hind limbs do not retract;
  • the paws are more like flippers.
  
  

  The body length ranges from 70 to 140 cm. Due to their impressive size, they do not live at home. In captivity, they can only be seen in aquariums and large zoos. If the living conditions of sea turtles are favorable, they live up to eighty years.

  Water

  European merman or aquatic turtles live in the southern part African continent, in the Middle East and Asia. These freshwater reptiles small and grow only up to 30 cm.

  
  

  Aquatic turtles are distinguished from other turtles by their smooth, plain or colored shell. These are quite popular pets; in captivity they are kept in special aquariums. Life expectancy both in the wild and in captivity is 50 years.

  Although aquatic turtles are considered to be unpretentious pets, their maintenance requires the creation of certain conditions. In captivity, they live in aquaterrariums, where, in addition to aquatic environment access to the “island” and heating with varying degrees of intensity should be provided. Turtles eat raw fish without bones.

  Red-eared

  The yellow-bellied or red-eared turtle is a representative of American aquatic turtles. It can grow up to 30 cm, with females being slightly larger. Small red-eared turtles are bright green. As they get older, animals darken and acquire a brown or olive color. They have elongated patterns on their body, but the shell is almost entirely painted in one color.

  
  

  Near their eyes there are spots of red or orange tint, for which reptiles got their name. Initially, red-eared animals lived only on the American continent, but then they were brought to other countries. They live in lakes and ponds with gentle banks, where it is convenient to get out onto land. Life expectancy, like that of aquatic species, is 50 years.

  Life expectancy at home

  Reptiles live on average as long in captivity as in natural nature. This happens because of balance. unfavorable factors: in the wild, animals are threatened by predators, but at home, their lives are shortened by human carelessness.

  The following can affect the lifespan of a turtle in captivity:

  1. 1. Balanced diet.
  2. 2. The size of the aquarium, its level of illumination and temperature conditions.
  3. 3. Timely detection and elimination of health problems.
  4. 4. Traumatic.

  Small turtles kept at home can live from 30 to 50 years. Representatives of large species that are kept in large zoos, having created all the necessary conditions, live much longer than in the natural environment.

  Age determination

  The number of years lived for aquatic and land reptiles is determined differently, but the animal’s shell always serves as a guide.

  There are two ways to calculate the age of land turtles:

  The age of aquatic turtles is also determined by their shell:

  All calculations are approximate, especially if we're talking about about old ones large turtles. In such large reptiles it is difficult to count the rings, since they gradually wear off and merge with each other.

Line UMK V.V. Pasechnik. Biology (5-9)

Biology

Natural science

Why do turtles live so long?

Turtles have long won the reputation of being long-lived. How is it that these reptiles, famous for their slowness, live so long? Maybe it's just the slowness? Let's find out together the secret of the longevity of these interesting animals.

The Persian philosopher and poet Omar Khayyam wrote the following wonderful lines:

He who understands life is no longer in a hurry,
Savoring every moment and watching,
As a child sleeps, an old man prays,
How the rain falls and how the snowflakes melt...

Is it possible that turtles have some kind of hidden philosophical attitude to life and that is why they live so long? These mysterious animals, the origin of which scientists are still debating, move so slowly and gaze into the distance for so long that it seems that they really have access to the secrets of the universe. However, it is not.

Despite their unusual lizard-like appearance, they owe their longevity not to the wisdom accumulated over millions of years of evolution (and even slowness has nothing to do with it), but to biology. It is the turtle body structure and its size that are responsible for the enviable life expectancy of these reptiles.

Insidious Metabolism

Any creature owes its life to the chemical processes occurring in its body. Substances constantly react and transform into each other. The activity of a living creature, the amount of food required, the duration of sleep and the time of active wakefulness directly depend on the rate of metabolism - metabolism.

In turn, the metabolic rate is affected by the size of the animal’s body. If a creature is small, then the volume of its body is less than the body surface. When an animal begins to grow, the volume of the body grows faster than the surface area. For example, if you compare a large and small animal - a hippopotamus and a mouse - for the same cubic centimeter of the bodily volume of each of them there will be different quantities centimeters of body surface. Naturally, in a mouse this cubic centimeter is covered by a much larger percentage of the body surface than in a hippopotamus. The animal’s heat is “released” through this very surface, so the mouse has to move more, eat and produce nutrients much more active than the hippopotamus (per unit of body weight). Due to the accelerated metabolism, the food eaten by the mouse is quickly digested, and the body removes it from the body naturally, and now the animal is again forced to look for food.

It is logical that creatures with quick exchange substances are active, as they are energetic and constantly in search of food. However, sleep is very important for such active animals. Toxic byproducts from neurons accumulate in their brains much faster than in large animals. Sleep helps get rid of these harmful substances. Therefore, small rodents can be in the kingdom of Morpheus for up to twenty hours a day, and giants such as elephants can be only two to four hours a day.

Large vertebrates, which cannot boast of accelerated metabolism, have long life expectancies. Elephants, whales and Galapagos tortoises (another name - elephant turtles- the largest species of land turtles existing today).

Fast metabolism - fast aging

But why do animals with slow metabolisms live longer than those with fast ones? After all, it would seem that activity, energy, fast digestive processes should have a positive impact on the life of the animal.

A clear answer to this question has not yet been found. One thing has been established - creatures with a fast metabolism age and accumulate various types of damage much faster than “slow” animals. For example, naked mole rats (we are not talking about naked workers, but about burrowing rodents of the mole rat family) are known for their lack of signs of aging and low level cancer incidence (only two registered cases during the entire observation period). In captivity, mole rats live up to 28 years, with a maximum lifespan of 31 years. Of course, other rodents never dreamed of such a life expectancy - the families of hamsters live for 2-3 years, mice - 2-4 years, pigs ( Guinea pigs) - up to 10 years, squirrel - 10-12, etc. When compared by size, small rodents similar in size to the naked mole rat have a lifespan of three years on average.

But still, thirty years is not a very long life compared to the longevity of large animals, which are much more susceptible to damage, disease and aging. Taking into account all the features of the body naked mole rats, we can conclude that they are practically immortal. And then the end of the life of these rodents can only come in the event of an accident or attack by a predator. However, as practice shows, these rodents die on their own, and not necessarily due to negative factors.

The workbook was developed for the textbook “Biology. Basic level" for 11th grade students (authors I.N. Ponomareva, O.A. Kornilova, T.E. Loschilina, P.V. Izhevsky), included in the system of educational and methodological kits "Algorithm of Success". The tasks proposed in it, which are of a cognitive and educational nature, correspond to the named sections and paragraphs of the textbook. They will allow the teacher to organize differentiated practical work schoolchildren, and students - to acquire solid knowledge of biology.

Change of generations

There is a theory about a certain balance in birth and death maintained in the population. In order for there to appear in the place of the previous generation the new kind, more adapted and perfect, old individuals must die. However, such a change of generations must be correlated with the rate of reproduction. For creatures with accelerated metabolism, everything in life happens faster and more efficiently. This also applies to offspring - “fast” animals leave a large number of cubs for a short time. Accordingly, they cope with the reproductive function faster, and therefore must make room for a new population earlier.

Large animals produce fewer offspring than small creatures. For example, a female elephant can give birth to, on average, up to 12 cubs in her entire life, while a female naked mole rat brings from 12 to 27 rodents in just one litter (and there can be five such litters in a year).

The life of large animals is slower, so they need to live longer in order to have time to do everything that smaller creatures do.

Poikilothermia (cold-bloodedness)

Cold-blooded animals (compared to warm-blooded ones) have the same leisurely life. Due to the peculiarities of thermoregulation, cold-blooded animals do not waste their energy on stabilization high temperature body, that's why fast speed They don’t need metabolism either. Moreover, the exchange rate may vary, but depending on the so-called “lucky chance”. For example, if a lizard managed to get out on a pebble on a hot day and bask in the rays of the sun, then its metabolism will speed up and it will become more active. If the weather is bad and no lucky factors happened during the day, its activity will be the same, no different. high speed. Naturally, it is impossible to predict favorable factors, therefore, in general, the existence of cold-blooded animals proceeds more slowly, unlike their warm-blooded neighbors,

Turtles are cold-blooded animals, therefore their life flows more slowly (which is even noticeable in their lazy movements), which is why they are famous for their longevity. The longest-living record holders among tortoises are the Galapagos tortoises. These large reptiles, weighing more than 400 kg, live for hundreds of years. Among the recorded life expectancy marks Galapagos tortoises in captivity, the maximum result is 180 years of existence.

More interesting materials:

• Why is immunity needed and how does it work? Topic for project activities

“It takes several generations of trainers to train a turtle.”

The slowness of turtles has long caused people to smile condescendingly and is the subject of numerous jokes and anecdotes. Here is one of them. “Once a hare, a squirrel and a tortoise got together to have dinner, but no one had anything to eat. We sent the turtle to the store. They wait for half an hour, an hour, two, but still no turtle. The Hare can’t stand it and starts shouting: “What is this?! Where is this Tortoise?” And the Turtle pokes his head out of the bushes and says: “If you swear, I won’t go anywhere!”

We know that turtles have a slow metabolism, and we see that they are slow, but how do the turtles themselves perceive what is happening? Is reality that slow for them too?

Interestingly, it is the metabolic rate that is associated with the sense of subjective time. The faster the exchange, the slower reality is perceived. The degree of speed of perception of subjective time can be found by establishing the minimum frequency of flashes of light at which the light is perceived by the subject as continuous. This parameter is called the critical flicker fusion frequency (CFMF).

Critical flicker fusion frequency

To establish the critical frequency of flicker fusion in creatures, you need a special transparent drum (correlated with the size of the creature) with vertical dark stripes on the walls. Outside one drum, another drum is placed, capable of rotating at different speeds. Both reels are brightly lit.

When the second drum begins to rotate, it seems to the animal in the first transparent drum that the whole room is spinning. Accordingly, any animal begins to move in such a way as to stay on this moving floor (or in moving water, during a current).

With the acceleration of the rotation of the second reel, at a certain frequency, the creature ceases to feel that the room is rotating, and it stops trying to maintain balance. In fact, the rotation of the drum does not stop, it’s just that for this animal a specific frequency of flickering has been reached, when the vertical stripes on the walls have merged and become invisible. This is the desired KCHSM.

It has been experimentally established that in humans the CNSF is equal to sixty flashes per second, while in a turtle it is fifteen. This means that, according to the turtle’s subjective perception, time flows four times faster for her than for us. This is reflected experimentally by the fact that while we notice 4 flashes, the turtle sees only one. Therefore, in “its time” the turtle moves normally, because its reality moves differently. Therefore, a life of 180 years is not that long for her.

Let's summarize

Everything in the world is relative. His long life turtles owe their slow metabolism. It not only slows down processes in the body, but also affects the perception of reality of this reptile. A person has a faster metabolism than a turtle, so his subjective reality is more dynamic. Only in our minds does a turtle move slowly and live a long time, in its own world These are not such record figures.

There are long-lived animals on Earth, and how many years a turtle lives, which is also included in them, is interesting to know not only for scientists, but also for everyone who is interested in the mysteries of nature.

The turtle is primarily attractive because this species has existed on the planet for hundreds of millions of years, having migrated from water to land and successfully adapted to such conditions. In this they were helped by the characteristics of the body and the unusual cover of the body, excellent the immune system. Some species then returned to the water, which is why there are aquatic and land turtles. Scientists count more than 290 species of these amazing reptiles, each of which is special. There are very small, dwarf ones, for example, the Madagascar spider, or the giant Galapagos spider, which weighs about 300 kg.

Land turtles

According to scientists, these turtles live up to 100 years. And if living conditions are most favorable for them, some individuals can be 120 years old. This primarily applies to Central Asian turtles.

This type is the most common. Not all representatives of this species live very long. Usually average duration life span ranges from 20 to 40 years. But it has been recorded that the marion species can reach an age of more than 150 years, and on the Galapagos Islands, where conditions are ideal for reptiles, there are many centenarians. For them, a life expectancy of up to 180 years is a common date. But scientists, having examined some turtles, made sure that their age was 300 years.

And documents from the Cairo closed zoo claim that until 2006 there lived a turtle who died at the age of 315 years. Her partner died 14 years earlier, but was able to live to almost the 400-year mark.

A very small Egyptian tortoise with a beautiful yellowish-golden shell and black scutes, the carapace length of which reaches no more than 14 cm, lives in natural conditions up to 30 years old. However, in captivity, if the owners create the most comfortable conditions and feed her well, she can celebrate her 50th birthday. By the way, only this turtle, when it senses approaching danger, knows how to quickly bury itself in the sand, which prolongs its life.

The Balkan tortoise, identified by its conical growth at the very tip of its tail and brown shell with dark spots, lives up to 90 years. The wood turtle lives in forests, wet meadows and marshy areas. She is not particularly attached to water, so she can afford to hike on land, covering 100-meter distances per day. Probably, such activity allows her to live up to 40 years, but in captivity her life span increases to 60 years.

Water environment

The most shy of all turtles is the Amboin jointed turtle. When someone approaches, its head and limbs immediately appear under the shell. Such caution allows you to live up to 30-40 years. Although it is aggressive towards its relatives, fighting for territory and food, and can even cripple the female during the mating season. Lives in an aquatic environment.

The best swimmer is the Fitzoria tortoise; in natural conditions, it lives up to 20 years. This reptile can stay under water for three weeks, and it is helped in this by a 10-centimeter anal bladder, with the help of which it takes breaths: from 15 to 60 per minute.

Almost all their lives are huge freshwater vulture turtles, whose shell is at least 66 cm long, rest at the bottom of reservoirs in the thickness of silt. Only females go to land to lay eggs. Newly born babies immediately rush from land to hide in the water, but hungry predators, mostly relatives, are waiting for them everywhere. Those lucky enough to survive may be 80 to 120 years old. In captivity, this species lives from 20 to 70 years.

The loggerhead mud turtle lives only 20 years. Her quarrelsome nature and great aggressiveness are probably to blame for this. This species is unable to hide its huge head under its shell, so the turtle wants to have time to bite everyone who is nearby. When danger threatens, it releases bad smell, resembling rotting meat.

The evil Trionix is ​​characterized by the same aggressiveness, biting any animal, and its jaws are very powerful. It differs in that it does not have a shell. Instead there is a leather cloak that looks like a flat stone. He lives on average from 28 to 30 years.

Measured and quiet life a turtle like Batagur allows it to live to see its 100th birthday. It is usually located at the bottom of a shallow body of water, and only raises its head to allow air to enter its lungs. It is very easy for a bataguru to move under water thanks to its shell - quite flat and streamlined.

How to determine the age of a reptile at home

You can find out for yourself how many years a turtle lives. There are several ways to check this:

• count the concentric rings located inside each shield. Scientists have calculated that 6 rings appear in the first 2 years. In subsequent years, 1 or 2 rings begin to be added. But the older the turtle gets, the more blurred the grooves become;
• shell measurement. If we take the length of a newly born reptile as a basis - 3 cm, and take into account that its length increases by 2 cm per year, you can find out the age using a ruler. Having measured the length of the shell, the number “3” is subtracted, which indicates the length at birth. The number is then divided by two. For example, if the number is “18”, the age is approximately 7 - 8 years.

What is the secret to a long life?

These reptiles have a very slow metabolism. This means that puberty occurs later, and all life processes occur at a slower pace. These are cold-blooded animals, which are distinguished by the fact that they do not have to waste their resources maintaining the required body temperature, and their metabolic rate is lower.

If a turtle appeared in the house as a pet, you should study the advice of specialists on its care. Life expectancy in captivity greatly depends on the comfortable living conditions of the pet reptile and on a properly formulated diet. Good care will help to significantly increase your life.

This doesn't require much effort:

• clean fresh water;
• food that is as close as possible to what is found in the natural environment.

It is also necessary to ensure that the turtle does not injure its shell.

A turtle is an animal of the chordate type, class Reptiles, order Tortoise (Testudines). These animals have existed on planet Earth for more than 220 million years.

The tortoise got its Latin name from the word “testa”, meaning “brick”, “tile” or “clay vessel”. The Russian analogue came from the Proto-Slavic word čerpaxa, which in turn came from the modified Old Slavic word “čerpъ”, “shard”.

The turtle's masonry is covered with soil on top and compacted with blows from the plastron.

Depending on the species, the number of eggs laid can be from 1 to 200. Duration incubation period ranges from 2 to 3 months, however individual species this period can reach six months or more.

During the mating season, a female turtle is capable of laying several clutches.

By their way of life, turtles are solitary animals and find a mate only for the mating period, although some species tend to gather in small groups for wintering.

How to care for a turtle at home?

Keeping turtles at home, both land and aquatic, is very popular today. These animals are unpretentious, and caring for turtles is very simple, so even children can look after their pets. However, you should not choose large species of turtles, which can reach more than half a meter in length, as pets. For comfortable living of reptiles in an apartment, specially equipped aquariums, terrariums or enclosures for turtles are designed, which create conditions as close as possible to their natural habitat.

The hygiene of aquatic inhabitants consists of removing algae that has grown on the shell. Land reptiles should be bathed daily in warm water with added baking soda, washing away food debris and adhered soil. Overgrown tortoise claws must be shortened using a small nail file. In winter, pets need to be periodically irradiated with the rays of a quartz lamp, making a kind of sunbathing. It is necessary to ensure that the light does not shine directly into the animal’s eyes.

About feeding turtles at home is written in detail just above.

If the rules of animal care are followed at home, turtles can live up to 170 years.

• The sex of the offspring is determined by temperature environment during the incubation period. At lower temperatures, males appear, and at higher temperatures, females appear.
• Turtles became the first creatures to fly around the Moon aboard a research probe launched by Soviet Union in 1968, and returned safely. This happened a few months before the Apollo 8 mission.
• In 2013, employees of the Dnepropetrovsk Museum Agrarian University were shocked by the unprecedented incident. From several turtle eggs on display, which long years lay on the shelves, full-fledged offspring hatched.
• The image of a turtle is present in the heraldry of some states.
• Unlike other reptiles, turtles are practically incapable of causing significant harm to humans. However, during mating season male snapping turtles may mistake a person for a rival and attack him. And male leatherback turtles can confuse a swimmer with a female, grab him with flippers and drag him into the depths.
• Turtle meat is a delicious product that can be consumed either without heat treatment or fried or boiled.
• Expensive accessories are cut from turtle shells and used to decorate women's hair.

Having decided to buy a pet for the family, many focus not only on how many times a day they need to be walked with and how difficult it is to maintain, but also on its life expectancy at home. That is why they are increasingly coming out on top different kinds turtles. They are not picky and their maintenance is inexpensive. But before you get a pet, you need to understand the rules of care and how long turtles live at home.

Care land turtle consists of three points: hygiene, habitat arrangement and feeding

Lifespan of turtles

Many people consider turtles to be the record holders for life expectancy. But this opinion is based on rare cases of old-timers belonging to large species. But in fact, the survival rate of young animals is very low, and the population is maintained by large number eggs in a clutch. In the best case, no more than 60% of them hatch, and in the worst case, no more than 5%. The remaining eggs are eaten by predators. Young animals are also a tasty morsel for most animals, as well as for people.

Very few individuals live to be 30 years old. On average, it is believed that a turtle lives no more than 20 years. And the age of old-timers largely depends on the factor of luck. The reptile cannot get out of its shell- it is fused with it.

The larger the individual, the longer its lifespan:

• small ones live no more than half a century;
• large ones - up to 80 years and longer.

If you raise a turtle at home, its life can be either shortened or significantly increased. The latter becomes possible thanks to comfortable conditions contents and absence of dangers.

If you exercise sufficient control proper care, the turtle can live quite long life

Species of reptiles

There are many species of turtles found in nature, each of which has its own characteristics and lifespan. But not all of them can be grown at home. The most popular are:

1. Land turtle - this species includes more than ten genera. Its habitat is the warm latitudes of many continents. Most often, representatives of this species can be found in the desert or steppe, but you can also see them in the forest. They are represented by large-sized individuals with thick legs and a large shell. Distinctive feature are fused fingers. They can live in natural conditions for up to 100 years. Most people do not live in households longer than 40 years.
2. Central Asian - refers to a type of land. A distinctive feature is the shell, which is divided into several sectors and has a yellow or spotted tint. This species can be found in the desert, foothills and near bodies of water. These are small individuals that live no more than 30 years in captivity. Their lifespan in nature is not precisely determined, but on average it is accepted to take 50 years.
3. Marine - most often found in warm waters seas and oceans. They differ from land animals not only in their legs, which look like flippers, but also in their elongated shell. The animal cannot pull its head and legs inside its shell. Most often, sea turtles can be found in large aquariums and zoos. In nature, they can live up to 80 years. But how long do they live? sea ​​turtles It is impossible to determine at home. They are not grown in houses and apartments, because such large individuals will not fit in any aquarium and their maintenance is associated with certain difficulties.
4. Aquatic turtle - refers to small individuals that do not grow more than 30 cm. Most often found in fresh waters South Africa, Asia and Japan. At home he feels great. This turtle lives up to 50 years both in captivity and in the natural environment.
5. The red-eared or yellow-bellied variety is a freshwater species. Its size rarely reaches 30 cm, males are several fewer females. It got its name because of the red spots on the head in the eye area. Makes sounds similar to hissing or squealing. Found in lakes and ponds with fresh water. Able to live up to 50 years.

Not all representatives of these species of reptiles can be kept at home. But still, most of them are found in captivity.

Life at home

Do not give turtles citrus and fruit fruits, nuts, tomatoes

At home, a turtle can live a very long time, compared to natural environment habitat, which is achieved by balancing risk factors.

Several conditions can affect the lifespan of a reptile:

• correctness of the selected diet;
• conditions of detention;
• detection of diseases and their timely treatment;
• possible injuries to the pet.

Small individuals can live in captivity up to 30 years, larger ones - up to 50. But in a zoo, this period increases significantly. This happens due to better conditions in old age.

Rules for determining age

How many years do they live? red-eared turtles or other varieties, is influenced by many factors. But many of the reptiles can become real long-livers. The exact age of an individual can be determined using carbon analysis of the shell. This is how the oldest turtles were identified. But this cannot be done on a living fauna. Therefore, scientists use more gentle methods for this purpose:

1. Shell length. It changes by about two centimeters per year. At birth, it is only three centimeters, and therefore it is enough to measure the shell of an adult and carry out simple calculations to get its approximate age.
2. Counting tree rings. This method is less accurate, but nevertheless quite informative. The scales that gradually grow on the surface of the house are counted. This is much easier to do in young individuals than in old ones. In the latter, the shell is greatly smoothed out.

But no known method can give exact result, because the formation of the shell is also influenced by the animal’s diet, living conditions and health.

Finding out how long turtles live at home is not easy. It all depends on the conditions of detention and nutrition

The oldest turtle

You can determine how long aquatic turtles live by looking at the annual rings on their shells, but according to sources, there are individuals in the world that have survived several eras. And this was witnessed by their owners, to whom the pets were inherited for more than one generation.

Most old turtle It is considered to be the one raised by Charles Darwin. He brought her with Galapagos Islands the size of a saucer. But by the time of his death, the turtle had grown to incredible sizes. Its weight is more than half a centner. She outlived her owner by 105 years and died at the age of 177.

Another well-known long-liver is the Gigantic Tortoise, originally from Seychelles. According to various sources, she lived from 150 to 200 years. There is no more precise information.

The radiant turtle Tui Malila, given by Captain Cook himself to the leader of the Tongan natives, lived to be 200 years old. This fact has not been documented, but an analysis of the shell showed exactly this period.

It is impossible to determine exactly how many years turtles of one species or another live. Their ages can only be given approximately. Therefore, it is quite possible that the grandchildren will inherit a small walking table weighing up to 50-100 kg. But, in any case, the health and longevity of the turtle will depend entirely on how well its owners take care of it.