Leopard or Red Footed Tortoise

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Hello, i am new in this, and i know both leopard and red footed grow about the same size wich is why they are my two options but i dont know wich one is better as a pet, can anyone tell me??(i live in a cold/hot and dry weather)
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

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welcome to the forums! leopards get way bigger than red foots, a big red foot wound be 12 inches long and some leopards get 100+ pounds. where are you located? how big of a winter and summer enclosure will you be able to provide for them?
 

leigti

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Read foots require more humidity as adults than leopards do. As babies they both require a good deal of humidity. For outdoors you can give your ride foots more humidity by providing lots of plants and keeping them watered and sprayed. Your leopards will be more tolerant of dry weather. No tortoise tolerates cold and wet. What state are you in? Check out the care she needs for both of them and also check out the species specific sections for ideas on enclosures and care.
 

naturalman91

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welcome to the forums! leopards get way bigger than red foots, a big red foot wound be 12 inches long and some leopards get 100+ pounds. where are you located? how big of a winter and summer enclosure will you be able to provide for them?

i actually saw a post where someone had a 16-17" redfoot 12 is like average tho
 

naturalman91

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The record, I think, is 29" for an RF but 16" is a beast. 12 - 14" is a much more reasonable expectation for an old and well cared for RF.

29"? are flippin kidding me ? wow thats HUGE for a red do you know was it male or female?
 

ZEROPILOT

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There are sub species of Red Foot. They vary in size according to location. I think the biggest are from Bolivia. (Mine are all Colombian.)
Are you going to have a place for your tortoise to live outdoors? Even a small tortoise will need an area that is quite large. Are you deciding between these because they are your favorites? there are much smaller tortoise species out there.
 

Chenderson

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I am new to tortoises also. I got my Redfoot about 6 weeks ago, and am very happy with her. However if I could rewind time, I would spend atleast a week or so looking on these forums deciding what kind of care you can actually provide to a tortoise, I also live in a cold/wet environment, and I will have to take extensive measures to provide a comfortable environment later on in my torts life.
 

HLogic

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29"? are flippin kidding me ? wow thats HUGE for a red do you know was it male or female?

My aging brain cells cheated me again. It was 24" and 28 Kg. It was probably a male but I don't have the reference handy nor remember exactly.
 

Tom

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Where are you? Knowing your climate will give us more insight. You can be vague, but just tell us the general region of the world you are in.

One of these is not "better" than the other. They are both great species. Generally RFs will be more personable and outgoing than regular leopards, but there are plenty of exceptions both ways.

If your climate is dry, a leopard will be easier to maintain over the long term. I live in a dry climate and the people around me who attempt RFs usually end up pretty disappointed with the results.
 

Tom

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welcome to the forums! leopards get way bigger than red foots, a big red foot wound be 12 inches long and some leopards get 100+ pounds. where are you located? how big of a winter and summer enclosure will you be able to provide for them?

No leopard tortoise available in the states gets anywhere near 100 pounds. The largest and oldest giant South African leopards will only reach 65-75, and that is rare to see. The typical leopards that people would be buying here will seldom exceed 16-17 inches or 25-30 pounds, and that would be a big SA mix.
 
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Hi, i live in a semi desert climate in San Antionio Wich is really dry it can get to cold temperatures during winter but during summer it is really hot.
 

tglazie

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You live in San Antonio? I live in San Antonio. Yeah, San Antonio is a good place for tortoises. If you have a house, outdoors is the place to keep tortoises. Honestly, I wouldn't describe San Antonio as desert. It's... it's subtropical, in many respects. And compared to Jersey or Colorado or even Oklahoma or Nevada, it's pretty warm. Like, Tom, Yvonne and them live in the desert. There are tumble weeds, brown shrubs, and sandstorms where they're at, with humidity that can be in the teens. San Antonio is a tropical rainforest by comparison, with humidity that typically bottoms out at 30%. Granted, we've had some droughts over the past few years, and we aren't Louisiana or Florida humid, but San Antonio is no desert, at least not full time.

Anyway, my uncle keeps both species. He has a huge herd of redfoots (fourteen animals, last I visited), and a small group of leopards. But that's the thing. San Antonio is awesome for tortoises. I've successfully kept Greeks, Hermanns, Marginateds, and Sulcatas, and I've fostered leopards, Russians, redfoots, pancakes, and various box turtles. The climate is nice and warm, with few cool days, and the soil is infused with limestone, meaning that it is calcium rich (it's part of what keeps the native Texas tortoise so healthy). Word of advice, if you keep them outdoors, ensure that part of the enclosure is shaded by a tall tree (I have a couple mulberry trees in the backyard to provide this shade). But yeah, the folks on here are spot on. So long as your torts have adequate access to water in well planted enclosures, humidity shouldn't be a problem, especially in South Texas. Man, part of me is looking forward to the warm humid days when my margie adults can stay out full time. But another part of me is thinking about driving to work in that sweltering heat and oppressive humidity.

T.G.
 

sissyofone

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Hi Alexis, And Welcome To TFO. I'm in San Antonio also. I have Redfoots, Cherryhead, and Sulcatas.Good Luck in Finding The Right Tort for You. I think they are all great. But Redfoots and Cherryheads are my favorite.
 

mike taylor

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I say red foot! Thats just because they are awesome . I have five . Also have two leopards and three sulcatas . By far the reds are more active .
 

mikeylazer

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I have both but I would say get a leopard. The humidity for a red foot can be a pain for new parents, and the humidity for red foots 80% is necessary for a healthy red foot. I feel like leopards can have the humidity slip and somewhat as babies and they will be fine being in a climate with lower humidity in general. Also the diets vary a lot. Red foots need greens, fruits, some veggies, and occasional protein. Leopards mainly feed on greens, grasses and weeds, and the occasional cactus pad. Leopards in my opinion are easier in most ways, but red foots definitely are more colorful and outgoing in my opinion.
 

Donna/Turbo

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Hi Alexis, And Welcome To TFO. I'm in San Antonio also. I have Redfoots, Cherryhead, and Sulcatas.Good Luck in Finding The Right Tort for You. I think they are all great. But Redfoots and Cherryheads are my favorite.

Is there also a breed called a Cherry Head Red Foot?
 

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