Redfoot tortoises have red scales on the limbs, as well as red, yellow, and/or orange facial markings. Redfoots will normally reach between 10 and 14 inches (25.4 - 35.6 cm) in carapace length, although in rare cases may grow up to 16 inches (40 cm). There is also a smaller phenotype commonly called the 'cherryhead' redfoot, which can be identified by its' bulbous nose and darker plastron. This phenotype, which does not bear subspecies classification at this time, ranges in size as an adult from 10-12 inches (25 - 30 cm).

Redfoot males are larger than females in carapace length and weight, but are not wider or taller. Males can easily reach twenty pounds (9kg) or more, while females weigh a bit less. As with other tortoise species, male redfoots have a concave plastron. As redfoots mature, both sexes develop a unique mid-body constriction (some have referred to it as a "waist") that, from a top view, gives the tortoises a decidedly hourglass appearance.[4] This "hourglass" figure is much more developed in males than in females. Mature males also have longer and wider tails than females.

A redfoot tortoise generally lives 40-50 years.