Desert Tortoise Habitat – sonoran desert tortoise for sale

Desert tortoises are a keystone species, which means they have a higher influence over their ecosystem than other species. Many other species use their burrows and benefit from having desert tortoises around, including the Gila monster, collared peccaries, roadrunners, and burrowing owls. They eat a variety of grasses, shrubs, cacti, and wildflowers, and get much of their water from succulents.

Desert tortoises rely on areas with high plant species diversity both for food and protection from weather and predators. However, fires can easily destroy their desert habitat, which is not adapted for fire. When fires are more frequent, they can turn thriving desert landscapes into nonnative grasslands.

Desert Tortoise Adaptations – african desert tortoise for sale

Desert tortoises are built to thrive in their desert environments. They can fully retract their heads and legs inside the shell when disturbed, protecting the softer body parts from predators. Although mortality is high for young tortoises, once they reach adulthood desert tortoises are rarely killed by predators.

Their front legs are slightly flattened so they can easily dig into desert sand and dirt and build shelters to keep warm on cold desert nights. They stay in these burrows in a light hibernation through the coldest part of winter, occasionally emerging if the weather is nice. Desert tortoises also use their burrows for temperature control when it gets too hot in the summer.

Desert tortoises are usually solitary, but sometimes they share burrows. When males come across each other, they might fight for dominance by trying to flip one another over. Males are larger than females and can be identified by curved horns on the lower shell, beneath the neck. Once they reach adulthood, desert tortoises can live between 30-50 years in the wild, and sometimes up to 80 years. Unfortunately, due to habitat destruction desert tortoises are struggling for survival.