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Facts About California Desert Turtles

The California desert turtle is also known as the California desert tortoise, the desert tortoise or the gopher tortoise because of its Latin name, Gopherus agassizii. Tortoises and turtles are very closely related, but turtles are aquatic animals while tortoises are land animals. The California desert tortoise is a species of gopher tortoise that lives in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts in California.

Permits
- California desert tortoises are legal to keep as pets in California even though they are a threatened native wildlife species. People who do want to keep a California desert tortoise as a pet require a permit from the State of California Department of Fish and Game, which is free. The permit comes with a tag that must be attached to the tortoise. The permit can also be requested after someone has acquired a California desert tortoise as long as they mention where they got it.
Hibernation
- Like many animals, California desert tortoises go into hibernation during cooler weather. They are able to slow their body down, reducing their body temperature, heart rate and breathing to go into a sleep-like state. California desert tortoises will normally retreat into a den or burrow to hibernate.
Diet
- Unlike turtles, the California desert tortoise is a vegetarian. They do not eat any animal protein and instead eat a wide variety of desert plants. Grasses make up the largest portion of their diet, but they also eat flowers such as desert dandelions and forget-me-nots. California desert tortoises also eat cactus pads and dried vegetation when it is available.
Water
- Desert animals have any special adaptations that help them conserve water, and the California desert tortoise is no different. The California desert tortoise conserves water by storing it in its bladder, as well as urinating a solid white material called urates instead of a liquid urine.

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