How do you determine the age of a box turtle?

Answer by  dragonmagic1116 (16)

The age of a box turtle can be determined by closely examining it's shell. The shell is made up of individual scales. If you look at the scales, they have rings, similar to a tree. As the turtle grows, new ring is formed each year of the turtle's life. So you can count the number of rings to determine age.

Answer by  Milette (1105)

You can use the method very much like counting the rings on a tree. Count the rings on the turtle's plastron (the under portion of the shell of the turtle).Each ring represents a year. It is a very accurate way to determine the age of the turtle until it reaches the age of about 10 years.

Answer by  Versteck (23)

The top of the shell (known as the carapace) has 'plates' on it (known as scutes). On the 'plates' there are rings. By counting the number of rings you can find out the approximate age of the box turtle. They commonly live to be 30 years old, and some may live longer than that.

Answer by  monniemonster (74)

To get the a approximate age of a box turtle you count the rings or plates on the top shell (carapace)remember this is only a approximate as there is no way of knowing the exact age of the turtle unless you brought it from someone who told the hatching date.

Answer by  justmesuzanne (625)

With box turtles that live outdoors and hibernate yearly, you can count the number of rings within the individual sections on the shell. One ring per year. If the turtle has been indoors and has not been hibernating, this is not a reliable method. A mature box turtle (5+ years) is about the size of half a large. grapefruit.