Interesting Facts

• Their name comes from the brightly colored scales on their limbs. The scales can range from yellow in color to bright red.
• Red-footed tortoises are one of three species of tortoise native to South America. The other two species are the Argentine tortoise and the yellow-footed tortoise. Yellow-footed tortoises look very similar to the red-footed species, but are more likely to be found in humid forests and have slightly different coloration.
• There are a few easy ways to tell a turtle from a tortoise. Tortoises are built for life on the land, so they have short, sturdy legs with nails for digging. They also have heavy, domed shells. Turtles, however, are usually aquatic or semi-aquatic, so they have flipper-like limbs for swimming and streamlined shells.

Conservation Status

Threats

While common, these tortoises are threatened by habitat loss and the pet trade.