FACTS ABOUT THE GOPHER TORTOISE

Facts about the Gopher Tortoise

Facts about the Gopher Tortoise

Introduction

“Gopher tortoises are reptiles that have a gray-brown, oval shell (carapace) with a flat top. The bottom of a male gopher tortoise's shell (plastron) is concave, and the female's plastron is flat (Hill, 2001). The plastron is yellow for both sexes. Gopher tortoises eat grasses, grains and fruits of plants such as gopher apple, papaya, blackberry and blackberries. Their forelimbs are flat and shovel shaped, which is great for digging burrows. Gopher tortoises live 40-60 years, with the females maturing around 10 years or older (John, 2009). These ...