NEWS112
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he latter is especially important when
keeping thespecies in temperatezones
whereclimatic conditionsmakeyear-round
outdoormaintenance impossible.And large
specimens requirea lotof space.The largest
Red-Footed Tortoise known to date had a
carapace length of 59 cm! However, the
individuals imported from the Guianas by
reptilia24 don't grow anything like as large
andare full-grownat onaverage just 30-35
cm long,withasingleexceptionattaining40
cm. Males grow larger than females. Red-
Footed Tortoises have been artificially
introduced to several Caribbean islands by
humans, and although different climatic
conditions prevail there, Red-Footed
Tortoiseshaveproved tobeveryadaptable;
they are very resistant to stress, and very
readily get used to humans, becoming
extremely tame!Thismakes them ideal and
veryattractivepets.Despite theirenormous
distribution,populations of theRed-Footed
Tortoisearedeclining,at least locally.Asever
environmental destruction is the number
one threat,but theuseof these tortoises as
food -notonly inSouthAmerica,butalso in
China! - is also causing their populations to
contract.Bycontrast, the international trade
in livespecimens forcaptivemaintenance is
well-regulated
by
the
Washington
Convention (CITES) and appears to be
havingnonoteworthyeffectonpopulation
levels. It is nevertheless important that we
develop techniques for successfulbreeding,
as on the one hand it is possible that an
export banmay be imposed and thenwe
willbe reliantoncaptivebredstocks,andon
the other hand exports are taking place
from just a tiny area relative to the overall
The Red-Footed Tortoise (
Geochelone carbonaria)
is one of the most
beautiful species of tortoise. It is widespread in South America and,
reflecting itswidedistribution,therearenumerousdifferent local variants.
Thesediffer indetailsof their colorationand their potential eventual size.
Successfulbreedingofthe
Red-FootedTortoise
byChristophFritz,www.reptilia24.com
Turtles
T
Lexicon
Red-FootedTortoises
Geochelone:
means "land turtle".
carbonaria:
means "charcoal burner",
ie the "oven" used for the
manufactureof charcoal.
Adult pair of theCherry-Head variant of the Red-FootedTortoise.The left-hand individual (a female) is
marbled (marbledvariant). Photos:ChristophFritz,www.reptilia24.com
distribution region.Itmaywellcome topass
very rapidly that a conservation breeding
programproves necessary as the onlyway
tosavespecificpopulations fromextinction.
By then itwill be too late toexperiment,we
must already have tried and tested
techniques in place for breeding these
lovely tortoises. In their general criticism of
the pet trade and pet owners, so-called
"animal protectionists" repeatedly overlook
the fact that practically all our knowledge
regarding thedetailsof thebiologyof small
animalsderives fromprivateanimalowners!
Iwilldetailbelow theessentialprerequisites
for the successful breeding of the Red-
Footed Tortoise in captivity in temperate
climates.
Accommodation
The official advice on the minimum
requirements for the maintenance of
reptiles recommendsabottomareaof8x4
timesthe lengthof theplastron (lowershell)
of theRed-FootedTortoiseas theminimum
size foroptimal long-termmaintenance.This
recommendation may not be law, but is
almostalwayscited incourtcases regarding
animal maintenance.On this basis a 40 cm
long Red-Footed Tortoise requires a
terrariumwith a bottom area of 320 x 160
cm in the long term; the height is
immaterial. I initially kept my tortoises in a
terrarium, then in a room specially
converted for them, but I would
recommend first trying the method I use
now, namely maintenance in a heated
greenhouse, as being themost satisfactory
forall concerned.Mygreenhousehasa floor
area of 21m2 (7 x 3m) with an adjoining
outdoor areameasuringaround60m2.The
greenhouse has 16-mm triple-glazing. The
front is 15 mm insulated glass for better
