The Yellow footed tortoise can make a sound like a baby cooing with a raspy voice. Tortoises also identify each other using body language. The male tortoise makes head movements toward other males, but the females do not make these head movements. Male tortoises also swing their heads back and forth in a continuous rhythm as a mating ritual. Mating occurs all year round for the Yellow Footed Tortoise. There is no parental care of the young and the baby tortoises will fend for themselves as soon as they hatch, starting by eating calcium rich vegetables.

The bigger the female is, the more eggs they will lay. On average, a female will lay approximately 6-16 eggs per year, although some females may not reproduce each year. The eggs have brittle shells and are elongated, approximately 3-6 cm in diameter. The egg size will increase with the body size of the tortoise.

Mature specimens have distinctive incurving of sides, giving them a well-defined "waist". It is easy to distinguish male and female. The plastron (underneath) is extremely concave in adult males and is subsequently much lighter. There is a pinching off at the midsection of the carapace. The female is much heavier, with a flat plastron and more symmetrical, curved carapace. The female also has a shorter tail compared to the male.