Baby Gopher Tortoise Care

The gopher tortoise gopherus polyphemus is a species of turtle in the family testudinidae the species is native to the southeastern united states the gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provide shelter for at least 360 other animal species.

Baby gopher tortoise care.

Tortoise eating fruit in south west florida. In general the care and general requirements for keeping baby tortoise is quite similar to those of adult animals. Gopher tortoises have a polygynous mating system in which a single male will mate with multiple females. Make sure the tortoise always has access to water for drinking and soaking.

With this it is important to know that it is known for eating about 1 000 plant species. Gopher tortoise eggs take 80 to 110 days to hatch and babies are independent from birth they receive no parental care. Polyphemus is threatened by predation and habitat destruction. Mating is from april through november with peaks in august and september.

The gopher tortoise can live for 60 years in the wild. Next cover the bottom of the container with a combination of earth and sand and provide a shallow bowl of drinking water. The gopher tortoise gopherus polyphemus is a cold blooded reptile that averages 25 cm 10 in long and 4 kg 9 lb in weight they are extremely long lived animals. We also offer captive bred wood turtles water turtles painted turtles spotted turtles for sale and box turtle for sale including baby box turtles for sale.

The gopher tortoise is a representative of the. Some species include baby russian tortoise red foot tortoise sulcata tortoise leopard tortoises greek tortoises eastern western hermann s tortoise indian star tortoise and more. After it survives the hatchling stage 80 of the diet of a gopher tortoise comprises of grass such as st augustine centipede and bahia. To care for a tortoise feed the tortoise a diet of leafy greens mixed with other vegetables and sometimes fruit.

To take care of a baby tortoise use a large plastic container as a habitat and set up a heat lamp to maintain temperature and humidity. If possible create an outdoor enclosure for the tortoise to enjoy good weather in addition to an indoor enclosure in case of bad weather. At this time males will visit the burrows of the females in their colonies and make short rasping calls in order to. Understanding the diet of a gopher tortoise is a crucial part of pet care.