I present to you: the red footed tortoise! Very closely related are the cherry foot and yellow foot, but these little guys are my absolute favorite. All three make absolutely amazing pets, though! If you’re interested in owning a reptile and don’t know where to start, I can highly recommend them. Even if you’re experienced, these dudes are super rewarding.

First of all, red foots are just super cute. I mean look! Their eyes are so wet, and their they’ve got adorable little feet. I’ve owned several throughout the years, and they’re even better in person! Mine often show affection by pressing their nose to my skin, and it always makes me so frickin happy. I’ll often let mine crawl on me while I lay down, so she’ll often do it around my cheek and neck. It’s pretty dang sweet.

I also think they’re the perfect size. Not too big like the galapagos but not too little like the box turtle. Their sizes can vary quite a lot, but the biggest shells you’ll see are roughly the size of a basketball (much like the one pictured). Mine is smaller, probably the size of my head. That’s small enough to sit on your desk or lay on top of you, but not so small that they’re impossible to interact or play with.

On top of that, they’re super easy to take care of! That’s not to say that you can mistreat them by any means, but red foots and their relatives are definitely easier than a lot of other reptiles. They of course love stimulation but don’t need it non-stop if you get too busy. If you don’t have the time on a particular day, just drop their share of food in their enclosure, maybe cram a tasty berry into a wiffle ball for stimulus, and call it a day. Sure, the up-front cost of a large enough terrarium, heat lamps, and decor/hides can be daunting, but their reoccurring costs are next to nothing. Tortoise food and supplements are cheap at pet stores, and you can get veggies almost anywhere. I love to spoil my red foot, and even that doesn’t break the bank!

Lastly (and this is a weird one), THEY DON’T STINK. You rarely have to change their substrate because (if treated properly) they only poop during baths. I like to regularly scratch mine’s shell with a toothbrush for both stimulus and to get bits of dirt off, but a good warm soak once a week with a bath afterwards is more than enough to keep their insides and outside spic and span! I can’t recommend these animals enough.