Pet gopher tortoise
The gopher tortoise is a large terrestrial turtle that belongs to a group of land tortoises. They are a cold blooded animal that can grow up to 25 cm in length and 4 kg in weight. The life span of gopher tortoise in captivity is 100 years. They are quite admired by people as pet because of their long life span. These animals have the ability to dig large and deep burrows. They require equal amount of care like other tortoises. You should monitor the activities of gopher tortoise regularly in order to make sure that they are comfortable. Some of the gopher tortoise care tips are mentioned below to give you general idea about pet gopher tortoise,
Gopher tortoise care tips:
1. Gopher tortoise enclosure: Large and comfortable enclosure should be provided to pet gopher tortoise. It should be spacious enough so that pet gopher can stay rest and sleep properly. The ideal size of male gopher enclosure is 1.9 ha and of the female gopher enclosure is 0.65 ha. Make sure that their enclosure contains sandy soil as they require it for digging, burrowing and nesting. You can decorate your gopher tortoise enclosure with small grass but make sure that the grass you are putting in the enclosure is not poisonous. Ensure that the walls of enclosure are high in order to prevent their escape. The gopher tortoise enclosure must not contain any poisonous item. it is a good idea to provide two enclosure to gopher tortoise, one to eat and another to stay in. It is important for owner to maintain cleanliness in your pet gopher tortoise enclosure in order to prevent it from bacterial infections.
2. Gopher tortoise food: It is important for owner to offer fresh and healthy food to his pet gopher tortoise. Gopher tortoises are herbivores and like to have low grown grass in their diet. Grasses and legumes are good option for gopher tortoise. You can also serve pads, fruits and flowers of prickly pear cactus to gopher tortoise. As gopher tortoises are messy animal therefore it is advisable to feed them in some other enclosure.
3. Breeding gopher tortoise: Gopher tortoises usually mate in the months of April and May. After mating process female gopher will lay eggs either in sunny spot or sandy mound. It will lay around 13 to 15 eggs at one place. The eggs will take around 70 to 100 days to hatch. Allow the baby gopher to stay in its mother’s burrow as they love to spend most of their time there. After 10 to 15 years baby gopher will reach to its maturity.
The above mentioned information will help you in keeping your pet gopher healthy. You must take your pet gopher tortoise to vet once in every 150 days. If you notice any of change in gopher tortoise regular activities then consult it to a vet.