The desert tortoise is an herbivore. Their diet consists of grasses, herbs, wildflowers, some shrubs and fruit, new growth and flowers of cacti. They lay 4-8 eggs per clutch, with 1-2 clutches per year. The are incubated for 90-120 days. Hatchlings from only a few eggs out of every hundred actually survive the 7-15 years to adulthood.

The desert tortoise is native to the Mojave desert and Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Their species is considered threatened due to loss of natural habitat , urbanization, vandalism of egg and illegal collection by humans. Their natural predators include ravens, Gila monsters, fox, badgers, roadrunners, coyotes and fire ants which feed on the eggs.

The desert tortoise spends at least 95% of it’s life in burrows. Much of their water intake comes from what they eat. An adult tortoise can survive a year or more without access to water. They can grow from 4-6” in height and weigh 8-15 lb(4-7kg) when fully grown. They can live to be 80-100 years old.