Red foot and cherryhead

[deer_tribe_gold]

I am thinking about getting a cherryhead tortoise and was wondering what the difference is between them and a red foot other then the red markings on their head and size...why are they significantly more expensive?

 

[Steve_McQueen]

Cherryhead's being smaller is a myth. They're from Brazil, which is one of several different locales that they can be found in.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-48610.html

 

[abclements]

Personality wise there is no big difference. It always varies tort to tort, but usually theyre both outgoing and curious. The care is basically identical as well... Cherrys average just a smidge smaller... 10-11 inches instead of 11-12 inches but both can get up to 14-15 if you get a really really big one!

I think cerrys cost more due to the fact that they are a little more sought after in the pet industry. The deep red that they can show is something that you just dont see in other redfoots, also marbeling occurs in a much larger percentage than its northern cousin.

 

[Madkins007]

Here is an article about this- https://sites.google.com/site/torto...formation/chelonoidis/red-footed--cherry-head

They average a bit smaller (and are often sold as 'dwarf', which is pretty much a lie), come from a more 'scrubland' habitat for the most part, although little is known about their total range. They MAY be a different species or subspecies, but not all of them are actually 'cherry-headed. (Where they come from, red-footeds are commonly broken into two groups- yellows and reds. Yellows look a lot like the typical red-footeds but with darker plastrons. The 'reds' are what we call 'cherry-heads'.

They are more cold and heat tolerant than typical red-footeds. Lots of keepers comment on the fact that they are active when their other red-footeds are in shelter. Males are also often more aggressive and may fight- more like yellow-footeds than most red-footeds- although not all keepers mention this.

They are also more colorful and a bit different- key points in the pricing structure in the pet industry, whether we are talking fish or hamsters or tortoises.

 

[Michael in MO]

I am thinking about getting a cherryhead tortoise and was wondering what the difference is between them and a red foot other then the red markings on their head and size...why are they significantly more expensive?

how's your redfoot doing? Has it been eating and become more interactive? a few thoughts, if your redfoot isn't better yet you probably don't want another tort in the mix, if it is better you might want to give yourself at least a summer to interact with it in a less hostile season for a tropical tortoise. Lastly for your sake and the tortoises sake if you're set on having two you'd really benefit from planning for space for two adult tortoises. If they're shoe horned into a way too small area you won't enjoy the personalities they would have if they weren't stressed by trying figure out how to turn around..