Buying a small turtle at a bird market or pet store, we hope that we will be able to bequeath it to our grandchildren - after all, we have heard that these ancient land and water reptiles live long, like in a fairy tale. But two or three years pass, and our pet dies. In fact, how many years do turtles live? There is no single answer to this question. The life expectancy of these reptiles largely depends on the species, and there are about 270 species of them on planet Earth (seven of them live in our country).
Appearing somewhere in the Mesozoic era (about 220 million years ago), they were reluctant to make concessions to evolution and appeared before our eyes almost the same as their ancestors at that time, when there were no birds or mammals on the earth . However, such a “prehistoric” appearance did not prevent these armored clumsy creatures from colonizing the whole earth: they live on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Prefer animals, of course, warm latitudes, because the shell is a poor protection from the cold. But it happened to see sea turtles in the Baltic, Barents and even the Bering Seas! They mastered all the oceans, live in freshwater rivers and lakes, swamps and, of course, on land. But how many turtles live is difficult to calculate.
All these reptiles are unusually tenacious. A wounded individual with a shredded head can crawl for dozens of days, and one specimen with a removed brain safely lived without it for six months. Due to its ancient origin and proximity to the dinosaurs by genealogy, which, as modern scientists have discovered, did not have a single life center, turtles quickly recover from their injuries and are resistant to infections. Of course, these are not worms that can grow lost body parts, but nevertheless, these reptiles amaze us with their amazing vitality. So how long do turtles live on average?
The age of the specimen of the marion species, which lived at the French naval base on the island of Mauritius for 152 years, is documented. However, scientists assure, this age is not the limit for this species: marions can live happily up to 200 years, if, of course, they create the most favorable conditions for them. In the monasteries of Jerusalem, thorough chronicles of the life of the monastery were kept. Studying the detailed life of the brethren and the “domestic animals” that have been attached to it, you can get an approximate idea of how long the turtles of the Mediterranean species live - on average about 120 years. The life path of the Balkan turtles is somewhat shorter - 90 years. A red-eared turtle, found in freshwater bodies of water, can last only up to 50 years.
Observations of animals held in zoos around the world help determine how many turtles live in captivity. Longevity records are primarily set by huge species of turtles: a giant tortoise - 180 years old, an elephant - 150, and the so-called "spurry" - about 115 years. But only the same beauty from the Seychelles that survived more than one generation of French sailors on the island of Mauritius got into the Guinness Book - 152-odd years. No one knows the record age of the largest tortoise on earth - a gigantic leathery one, since this animal is very rare.
Unfortunately, all the long-lived record holders in this armored family belong to the category of aquatic. And in our apartments, as a rule, terrestrial turtles live as pets - small individuals whose carapace does not exceed a few decimeters in diameter. The life expectancy of these reptiles is largely dependent on their care. The owners should provide the animals not only with a sufficiently balanced food (including fresh), not only increase the domestic hermits during the winter daylight using a special heat lamp, but also make sure that the turtle moves a lot. A healthy lifestyle is the key to your pet’s longevity, and if properly managed, it can live up to 50 years.