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Its front legs are muscular and flattened with long claws, and are very well adapted for digging deep burrows. Desert Tortoises can make hissing, popping, and poinking sounds, usually out of fear or distress. Its domed, brown shell (carapace) can grow to be 9-15 inches in length, 4-6 inches high, and the tortoise can weigh from 8 to 15 lbs. They usually live to be about 80 years, but some have been known to be a 100 years old.
Three species of tortoises occur in the United States and a fourth is found in Mexico. The desert tortoise (Xerobates [Gopherus] agassizii) is found in the Mojave and Colorado/Sonoran deserts of California, southern Nevada, Arizona, southwestern Utah, and in Mexico. The Texas tortoise (Xerobates [Gopherus] berlandieri) occurs in southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. Some can be found in California, where they were sold in the past for pets. The third U.S. species is the Gopher or Florida tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), which lives in southwestern South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and extreme southeastern Texas. The fourth species is the Bolson tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus), which is found in a very small area in Chihuahua and Durango, Mexico.
Temperature
To escape the heat of the summer and the cold of winter the desert tortoises live in burrows which they dig. Some of them can be three to six feet deep. They will spend November through February in a torpid state in their underground burrows. Some burrows have been used for over a hundred years. 95% of a tortoise's life is spent underground.
Housing
Given the tremendous amount of room these tortoises need to roam, maintaining them inside year round is not advised. Temporary indoor housing, as for hatchlings (see section on hatchlings below), sick individuals or during inclement weather, can be set up. Such indoor housing must include both basking and cooler retreat areas, and a den box in which to burrow. An area for feeding and a shallow water dish must also be provided. Ultraviolet B lighting must be provided as well as suitable temperature ranges during both the day (80 F (27 C) with a basking area (100 F (39C)) and night (72 F (22 C)).
Bedding
A mixture of soil and sand for burrowing with areas of sunshine and shade should be provided.
Food
A desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) diet is comprised mainly of safe grasses and weeds, leafy greens, with small amounts of hard vegetables and moist fruits. A good basic salad can be prepared a week in advance and fed daily with selections from the following served in addition to it.
All tortoises need pesticide- and herbicide-free forage (grasses and weeds) for grazing. You can grow your own in your backyard and let your tortoises graze on it, after first making sure your yard is escape-proof. Another way is to build a safe pen or corral for the tortoises, and seed it with the forage. You can make it more decorative by planting edible ornamental plants around the perimeter and inside.tire page, so I have reorganized it to put the emphasis on the forage.
Cleaning and Handling
Daily cleaning of the yard or enclosure is required to keep it sanitary.
