Adult males, at an average of 13.25 inches (30.4 cm) long, are somewhat larger than the females, which average 11.25 inches (28.9 cm) in length. They are sexually mature at a smaller size than this, and tortoises owned by one of us (D.S.) have successfully bred at about 8" in length. Males have a concave plastron, just as our own desert tortoises do, and have lower, flatter, and a more pronounced hourglass shape to their carapaces than do females. Males also have longer, thicker tails than the females do. Pritchard reports that the largest red-footed tortoise on record is 17.75" long. Its shell is in the American Museum of Natural History. Although no sub-species have been described red-foots occur over a huge geographic area and there is considerable variation in size and color. Recently, importers and animal dealers have been offering so called "dwarf" red-footed tortoises for sale. These are brightly patterned with scarlet markings, reach a length of 6" to 8" or so, but are otherwise indistinguishable.

The handsome red-foot shares some of its range in the wild with the yellow-footed tortoise (Geochelone denticulata). While both species are found in tropical forests, in Surinam, where there is forest and open grasslands (created by man as a result of "slash and burn" agricultural methods), Pritchard mentions that only the red-footed tortoises appear to have ventured out of the forest into the grasslands. The yellow-footed tortoises have stayed exclusively in the forest.

The mating ritual of red-footed tortoises involves some very distinctive head movements on the part of the male. He begins by standing side-by-side with another tortoise and moving his head suddenly to one side, then returning it to the middle, in a series of sideways jerking motions. (Not like the front facing, head bobbing desert tortoise that many of us are familiar with.) If the second tortoise is a male, he will respond with similar head movements, and some characteristic pushing and shoving may then ensue. If, however, the second tortoise is a female, she will not move her head in response. The male will move around to sniff at her tail, to confirm what he already suspects, before mating begins. Experiments have shown that in order for mating to proceed, not only do the movements of the head have to be precise, but also the coloration of the head has to be correct. An artificial head not colored to match the species pattern, did not elicit the appropriate response from either male or female.

Perhaps the most usual thing about their breeding behavior is that the male makes a clucking sound during courtship and mating. The clucks sound amazingly like a hen; however, they rise and fall in pitch according to a set pattern.

In the wild, the red-footed tortoise lays clutches of 5 to 15 eggs between July and September. They are generally buried in a nest in the ground in typical tortoise style. However, Pritchard reports that locals in Panama have observed eggs laid in leaf-litter on the forest floor. Eggs are oblong (about 2" x 1.5") and have brittle shells. The hatchlings are round and flat, and are about 1.5" in diameter. They have none of the tooth-like projections on the edges of their shells found in the yellow-footed tortoises.

Red-footed tortoises show intense mating activity throughout the winter months. Two clutches of 4 eggs have been laid in early summer in two consecutive years. Young from one of these clutches hatched after 120 days incubation at a temperature of about 80°F.