yellow footed tortise

Question
a friend recently got a yellow footed tortoise and he has
little like spike things on each side of his behind they are not sharpe and i can't find anything on line that mentions that or any pictures showing that so you think you could help ?

Answer
The jagged, tooth-like serrations along the back edge of the shell is typical of the Yellow-foot, and is both a main tool for telling Yellow-foot from Red-foot, and the characteristic the Latin name is named for.

The scientific or Latin name is Geochelone denticulata- or 'Earth turtle with tooth shapes' or something like that.

The teeth are bigger on the young turtle and grow out as it grows.

Now- if the shell is flattened and the spikes are long and thin, then you might have a Spiney Turtle instead!

You can try the photo gallery World of Turtles at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com to see if it helps.

For good cares, try http://www.tortoisetrust.org

These guys are great... if you can give them the warm, very humid conditions and varied diet they need.

Good luck!