Information on the Yellow Footed Tortoise

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Yellow Footed Tortoise

Scientific name: Geochelone (Chelonoidis) denticulat
Family: Testudinidae
Order: Testudines
Class: Reptila

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

The Yellow Footed Tortoise ranges in length from 41-76 cm. The closest related species to Geochelone denticulata is G. carbonaria. These two species may have been a single species, or may have descended from G. hesterna. There is no way to distinguish between G. denticulata and G. carbonaria using just one characteristic. Their common names are Red and Yellow-footed tortoise, but that does not necessarily mean that that is the color of the animal. Their colors are very similar and both tortoises are often misidentified. The Yellow Footed Tortoises limbs, head, and tail come in colors like brown with orange markings and bright yellow. The skin or scales are black or brown with yellow markings or patches of yellow. Female tortoises tends to grow larger than their male counterparts, and the male tortoises tend to have a concave belly.

DISTRIBUTION and HABITAT:

Yellow Footed Tortoises are found in South America. During recent times, humans have spread these tortoises throughout the world by trade. These tortoises like to build their nests in the dense rain forest, the tropical lowlands, or hidden in the growth of a thick forest.

BEHAVIOR:

These turtles make a sound like a baby cooing with a raspy voice. Tortoises also identify each other using body language. The male tortoise makes head movements toward other males, but the females do not make these head movements. Male tortoises also swing their heads back and forth in a continuous rhythm as a mating ritual. Mating occurs all year round for the Yellow Footed Tortoise. There is no parental care of the young and the baby tortoises will fend for themselves, starting by eating calcium rich vegetables.

DIET:
This South American tortoise eats many kinds of foliage. They are too slow to capture any fast animals. In the wild, their diet consist of grasses, fallen fruit, camion, plants, bones, mushrooms, excrement, and slow moving animals such as snails, worms, and others they are able to capture. In captivity, they are fed oranges, apples, bananas, hard-boiled eggs, kale, endive, collard greens, spinach, carrots, and alfalfa pellets. Each Yellow Footed Tortoise in the wild reaches the age of maturity at about 8-10 years. The fecundity of a female generally depends on the size, the bigger they are, the more eggs they can produce. On average, a female will create approximately 6-16 eggs per year, although some female individuals may not reproduce each year. The eggs have brittle shells and are elongated to spherical, approximately 3-6 cm in diameter. The egg size will increase with the body size of the turtle. The young are self-sufficient from birth. The Yellow Footed Tortoise can live for approximately 50-60 years. Geochelone denticulata is an endangered species. The major populations are located in South America, and they are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, also known as CITES (Appendix II).

Suggested Reading:
Alderton, David. Turtles and Tortoises of the World. New York: Facts on File Publications,1988.

Halliday, Dr. Tim, and Dr. Kraig Adler, eds. The Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1986.

Hagan, J.W. "What's the Difference: Differentiating Geochelone denticulata and Geochelone carbonaria Tortuga Gazette 1989. www.tortoise.org/archives/carbdent.html

Ward, B. Sedgwick County Zoo. 2 May 2001. www.scz.org/animals/t/satort.html