The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a species of tortoise native to the Mojave desert and Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The species name agassizii is in honor of Swiss-American zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz.The Sonoran Desert Tortoise is flat and pear-shaped, compared to the Western Mojave tortoise which is more of a butterball shape; they are usually active in spring. The Sonoran Desert tortoise is more active in summer and seeks shade under large rocks and boulders. It is possible that northern and southern Desert Tortoises may one day be designated as different species or subspecies.
Ten Facts about Desert Tortoise
- This tortoise may attain a length of 10 to 14 inches (25 to 36 cm).
- weigh 8-15 lb (4-7 kg) when fully grown.
- Desert Tortoises make hisses, pops and poink sounds, perhaps as fear and distress calls. Males to grunt when mating.
- Desert tortoises inhabit semi-arid grasslands, gravelly desert washes, canyon bottoms and rocky hillsides below 3,530 ft.
- Herbs, grasses, some shrubs and the new growth of cacti and their flowers comprise a major portion of the diet.
- A mature female might lay 4-8 white, hard-shelled eggs in a clutch and produce 2, sometimes 3 clutches in a season.
- Hatchlings from only a few eggs out of every hundred actually make it to adulthood.
- Cooler temperatures, 79-87 degrees F. produce all males; at 88-91 degrees F. all females.
- Reach sexual maturity for 15 to 20 years.
- Ravens, Gila Monsters, Kit Foxes, Badgers , Roadrunners and Coyotes are all natural predators of the Desert Tortoise.
