Diet
Omnivorous. Leafy greens, fruits and carrion & invertebrates.
Habitat
Northern South America. Savannah to forest edges
of the Amazon basin.
Fact
Eggs, hatchlings and juveniles are predated upon by many animals, but the main threat to adults are jaguars and humans
Scientific Name
Chelonoidis Carbonarius
Named after the red scales on their legs, the red-footed tortoise is a popular pet, and it is this popularity that has led to over collection from the wild, leading to their vulnerable conservation status.
Strangely for tortoises, they regularly eat meat as part of their diet, snacking on carrion that they find lying around. As such, we regularly feed these tortoises worms or a defrosted pinkie mouse once a week for essential proteins.
They are a fairly social species, and are happy to share food without fighting, although scuffles occasionally break out when competing for the attention of a female.
Sexing tortoises is easy with a quick look at the “plastron”, or the underside of the animal. Females have a flat plastron, whereas males have a concave one which helps them to fit on top of the female when mating.
More of our animals you may like to meet
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