The lifespan of a turtle can be very long. With proper care and maintenance, turtles can live and serve a person lifespan for a lifetime or several generations. In the wild, every six turtles in the wild dies because of human interventions near the water. A lifespan of a turtle varies depending on the species, environment, and age of a turtle.
Certain turtle species such as the Leatherback, Map Turtle, Painted Turtle, Spiny soft-shelled turtle, and the Red Eared Slider can live up to forty years if proper care is given. However, a leatherback turtle has the longest lifespan of all the known turtle species. It can live more than a century or two. Map Turtle lives for between twenty and thirty years. While a Spiny soft-shelled turtle can live for between fifteen and twenty years.
Lifespan estimation is usually done based on survival data collected in captivity. The calculation of lifespan is made based on how long a turtle lives, compared to the number of years it is supposed to live in the wild. Because it is difficult to determine the exact life span of a turtle at the wild, a reasonably good estimation can be made using captive bred turtles that were maintained under controlled conditions. A mortality rate of fifteen percent is used to determine the lifespan of a turtle. This means that out of every 100 adult shelled turtles, 15% will die during their lifetime. Visit here for more information best turtle for pet
If you are thinking about buying a pet turtle, you must take into account its lifespan. Although long time is important, so are health and safety. You have to choose your pet carefully so that you know it for its lifetime. If you are going to keep it as a pet, you must make sure that it is healthy and safe so that you can take proper care of it. You must have a long time commitment if you want your pet to grow old gracefully.
There are several signs that indicate the growth annulus or the age of a turtle. Growth annulus is a thin bump or hair line that forms on the side of the neck near where the eye joins the lower shell. If the growth annulus is present along with white teeth, then the turtle is probably an adult.
In looking for the lifespan of a turtle, you should know that mature adults reach a maximum growth age of twenty-five years. After this time period, they turn into adults and slow down because they enter into a stationary stage in their life cycle. For example, some species of turtles live up to forty years or more. So keep in mind that the exact number depends on how old your turtle is, its growth annulus, and the age at which you obtained it.