Fact Sheet: Redfoot Tortoise
Chelonoidis carbonaria
Description:
 Size: About 12-14 inches
 Weight: Up to 11 lbs
 Develop distinctive hourglass shape as they mature – from above, adults look as though
they have a slight waistline
 Sexual dimorphism – males are longer and heavier and have a more prominent
concavity in their plastron (lower shell)
 Have dark red scales on feet and yellow scales on head
In the Wild
Habitat and Range:
 Native to southern Central America to South America, including the countries of
Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana, Brazil, Bolivia,
Paraguay and Argentina
 They are also found on several Caribbean islands where they were introduced centuries
ago
 Can survive in a variety of habitats and it is unclear which they prefer – are found in dry
forests and grasslands, as well as in humid rainforests
Diet


Herbivore: Eat fallen fruits, wild vegetables and grasses
Will eat carrion when they come across it
Adaptations
 Heavy shell protects them from predators
 Like all tortoises, have strong limbs, good eyesight, and a keen sense of smell
 No teeth but have sharp, powerful jaws similar to bird beaks
 Males have a pronounced concavity of their plastron (lower shell) to help during mating
Lifespan
 May live 50 years or more
Reproduction
 Breed during the rainy season, from June to September
 Female lays 5-15 eggs, either in a hole that she digs or on a patch of ground that she
clears
 No parental care
 Eggs hatch after about 3-7 months
 Temperature determines sex of offspring – temperatures higher than 88° F will produce
female offspring and lower than 82°F will produce male offspring
 Few babies survive to adulthood
1/27/2015
Redfoot Tortoise
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
Activity
 Diurnal
 Most active immediately after the rainy season
Other “fun facts”
 Males make a clucking sound during courtship and mating – the clucks sound amazingly
like a hen
 When the weather turns cool, their metabolism slows down considerably, allowing
them to survive on minimal food – with the temperature in the sixties, for example, a
mature individual can survive nearly a month on a single banana!
Conservation Status and Threats:
 Listed on the IUCN Red List as Least Concern
 Protected under Appendix II of CITES – they cannot be exported from any home country
without a permit
 Threats:
o Habitat loss – can survive in open savannas, but are more easily captured there
and often perish in fires set by farmers practicing slash-and-burn agriculture or
by hunters flushing out other wildlife
o Hunted for their meat
o Collection for the pet trade
 Within some countries, efforts are also being made to protect and preserve their habitat
by creating national parks or private reserves
At the Zoo
Jake and Ellwood are both males purchased by the zoo in 1986. Their ages are unknown.
What We Can Do


Make environmentally responsible lifestyle decisions to help conserve habitat –
conserve energy, reduce litter and pollution
Do your research before buying a pet
o Make sure you are not purchasing a wild-caught individual – captive-bred turtle
species are often easy to find
o Make sure you know how to properly care for any animal before you decide to
buy it as a pet
 Some things to consider include adequate housing, diet, temperature
requirements and lifespan
 Some pets also require a lot of time and money to be properly cared for
References:
 http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Chelonoidis_carbonaria/
 http://www.tortoise.org/archives/carbonar.html
 http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/RMHredfoot.htm
 http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/9008/0
1/27/2015
Redfoot Tortoise
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore