Coloration varies somewhat throughout the range, but the typical Redfoot has a black or dark brown carapace, with a small yellow spot in the center of each scute. The plastron is usually a light horn color, sometimes with darker reddish brown patterns along scute sutures. The head and lower jaw typically have yellow markings, and the limbs and tails have scales marked with red. In some parts of northern Argentina and Paraguay, a smaller form of Redfoot occurs, with head and limbs marked with a deep scarlet. These are known as "Cherry Heads" and are quite popular among tortoise keepers, but are available in smaller numbers. Beware of unscrupulous people who claim that a Cherry Head will "turn red as it grows" - they're probably trying to sell you a regular Redfoot at a much higher price. Cherry Heads come out of the shell a shocking red!
The carapaces of many adult male Redfoots are slightly pinched in the middle, giving them a waist of sorts. Females are usually a bit wider at mid-body. Adult males average about twelve inches (30cm), and females are typically a few inches smaller. The record length is just over seventeen inches (43cm). Males can easily reach twenty pounds (9kg) or more, while females weigh a bit less. There are living Redfoots that have reached sixty or more years; thirty and forty year olds are not uncommon. Sexual maturity is usually reached between eight and twelve years of age.
Redfoots are related to the large Galapagos tortoises (also in the genus Geochelone). The Yellowfoot Tortoise (Geochelone denticulata) is a close relative, but is more restricted in habitat, strictly a forest dweller. The two species seldom compete for habitat, and do not readily interbreed.
Redfoot Tortoises spend the daylight hours foraging for fallen fruit, flowers, grasses, succulents, fungi, and leaves. They are omnivorous, eating insects and other invertebrates, and carrion. Like many other tortoise species, they are known to gnaw on bones, presumably for the calcium and other minerals they contain.