Environmental & Extension Services Department - Natural Resources Division
Florida Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)
Charlotte County Gopher Tortoise Review Procedures
Description: The gopher tortoise is a medium sized land tortoise that averages 9 pounds and is usually 9-11 inches long. The top part of the shell (which is called a carapace) is gray or various shades of brown and the bottom part of the shell (known as the plastron) ranges from yellow to brown. Hatchlings are 1½ inches long and have a yellow-orange carapace. The gopher tortoise lives as long as 40-60 years under natural conditions and up to 100 years in captivity.
Status: It is estimated that gopher tortoise populations in Florida have decreased by 30% in recent years. Gopher tortoise are protected by The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under the Endangered Species Act and Chapter 39, Florida Administrative Code, respectively. The FWS lists the gopher tortoise as Threatened, while the FWC lists it as a Species of Special Concern. This protection makes it illegal to possess, harm, or harass gopher tortoise.
Range: Historically, the range of the gopher tortoise included the coastal plain of the southeastern United States, from South Carolina through Florida. Currently, most gopher tortoise are found in Florida and southern Georgia.
Habitat: Gopher tortoise can be found in a variety of upland vegetation communities. In Charlotte County, they can be found in pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, scrub, and even on the beach. In urban-suburban areas they can be found in fields, pastures, and roadsides. Their main requirements include well drained, sandy soil, herbaceous ground cover, and open spaces in the tree canopy where sunlight can penetrate through to the ground. The average home range for males is approximately 2½ acres and half an acre for females. The home ranges of different individuals often overlap.
Burrows: Gopher tortoise spend the majority of their time in burrows that they dig with their specialized shovel-like forelimbs. The burrows average 15 feet long and 6 feet deep, but have been recorded as large as 40 feet long and 10 feet deep. The width of the burrow is equal to the length of the tortoise, enabling it to turn around in the burrow. In fact, burrow widths can be measured to determine the approximate length of the resident tortoise. Individual tortoise usually have multiple burrows, which sometimes are shared among individuals. Males generally have more burrows than females. In central Florida, males have an average of 17 burrows while females have an average of 9 burrows. Burrows are usually situated in sunny spots, yet remain at a fairly constant temperature and humidity. This offers protection from excessive heat in the summer, and cold temperatures in the winter. Burrows are also used as an escape from predators and offer protection from fires.
Other Burrow Inhabitants: Over 350 species of animals have been found in gopher tortoise burrows including protected animals like the Eastern indigo snake, Florida mouse, gopher frog, Florida scrub-jay, and burrowing owl as well as more common animals like the raccoon, armadillo, and skunk. The burrows benefit these animals in much the same way that they benefit the gopher tortoise, offering a relatively constant temperature and humidity, protection from predators, and refuge during fires.
Food: The gopher tortoise is an herbivore, commonly eating plants such as broad-leaved grasses, forbs, legumes, wire grass, gopher apples, and the pads, flowers, and fruit of prickly pear. Sometimes, however, they eat animal bones, which probably supply calcium or other micronutrients. The gopher tortoise usually feeds within 165 feet of their burrows.
Reproduction and Hatchlings: Gopher tortoise reach sexual maturity at 10 to 20 years of age. Breeding occurs from February to June and results in a single annual clutch averaging 6 eggs. Eggs are deposited in nests that are dug in sunny places, often in the sandy mound at the entrance of the burrow. Incubation takes 70 to 100 days depending on the temperature and humidity of the nest. Like many reptiles, the sex of the hatchling is temperature dependant. Eggs incubated at temperatures above 85@ F become females and those incubated below 85@ F will be males. Predation on the eggs and hatchlings is high. Predators including raccoons, opossums, armadillos, foxes, cats, dogs, and fire ants destroy up to 80% of the nests. Young tortoise are 1½ to 2 inches at hatching and grow less than an inch per year. Hatchlings often dig side burrows off of the adult’s burrow but sometimes dig their own burrow.
Threats: The biggest threat to the gopher tortoise is loss of habitat due to construction of buildings and roads. As development increases, habitats become fragmented and can lead to isolation of populations or leave individuals without mates. Vehicles hit and kill many gopher tortoise. Additionally, fire suppression causes vegetation to become too thick, altering the physical structure of the habitat and screening out the vegetation that the tortoise eat. Other threats to the gopher tortoise include free-ranging or feral cats and dogs which eat many young tortoise and eggs. A disease called upper respiratory tract disease (URTD), caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma agassizii, is currently affecting gopher tortoise. The signs of this disease include inflamed respiratory tract, wheezing, runny nose, and swollen eyes. There is no known cure for the disease. Individual tortoise should not be moved to new locations because of the risk of spreading the disease to uninfected populations.
What You Can Do to Help: If you are planning to build a structure where there are gopher tortoise please call FWC or Charlotte County Natural Resources Section. Keep cats and dogs from roaming, since they may harass or even kill young tortoise. Watch out for gopher tortoise and other wildlife while you are driving. Do not transfer tortoise from one location to another, since the tortoise may be infected with URTD, and signs of the disease are not always evident. Keeping gopher tortoise as pets is illegal unless you have a permit. The gopher tortoise is a protected species and may not be handled. Continue to read about gopher tortoise and other wildlife at the library or on the Internet. Suggested Internet sites include: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_UW048 and http://www.fws.gov/r9endspp/I/c2v.html
Selected References:
Cox, J., Inkley, D., and R. Kautz. 1987. Ecology and habitat protection needs of gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) populations found on lands slated for large-scale development in Florida. Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, Nongame Wildlife Program Technical Report No. 4.
Puckett, C. And R. Franz. 1991. The gopher tortoise: A species in decline. Gopher Tortoise Council and University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Charlotte County
Natural Resources
743-1239
7/99 (updated 2/01)
For more information
Charlotte County Environmental & Extension Services
25550 Harbor View Road, Unit 2, Port Charlotte, FL 33980
941.764.4360
