The red foot tortoise has long been a favorite in the herpetocultural trade. The scientific name of this tortoise is Geochelone carbonaria. However, it is often called the red foot, the red leg and the Savanna tortoise. There is also another variety which is the “dwarf” variety and it is a little smaller than the normal sized redfoot. This variety is commonly called the Cherry head and it attains a length of 10 to 12 inches only. It weighs almost 30 pounds. The common redfoot tortoise however, attains a length of usually 10 to 14 inches. In some cases, it can however grow up to 16 inches long or more. The redfoot tortoise is a native of South America. It is mostly found in the East of the Andes in Columbia, Bolivia, South Eastern Panama, Venezuela, Paraguay, Brazil, Guyana and North Argentina. The redfoot tortoises prefer a humid environment. They are mostly prevalent in dry grasslands and rain forest areas. These are a very rare species of tortoises and are probably the only ones that do not hibernate.The male redfoot tortoises are larger than the females. They have a long carapace and weigh more than their female counterparts, but are not taller and wider than them. Nevertheless, they have tails that are wider and longer than females. Their plastron is concaved. Both the sexes gain a unique mid-body constriction which resembles an hourglass, after they mature. However, this “hourglass” figure is more developed in males than females. There is a lot of variation in the color of the redfoot tortoises; hence there is no exact description in their case. But, most of them have scales that range from pale yellow to bright red in color. They have red spots on their tail, head and limbs. As a result of this, they have derived the name “redfoot”. These tortoises are basically omnivores. They not only love to eat grass, fruits, flowers and small plants, but also love to hunt insects. These tropical species of tortoises are housed both indoors and outdoors. If proper care is taken of these tortoises and they are given a good diet, they can live as long as 50 to 70 years.
Even though, the redfoot tortoises are not considered to be an endangered species, they are most likely to be called so in the near future. This is because they face excessive hunting and most of their habitat has been lost. However, efforts are being made to conserve the species and thus, wild life sanctuaries and national parks are trying their level best to prevent the hunting of the redfoot tortoise.