Mojave desert tortoise Facts for Kids
Gopherus agassizii · GOH-fer-us ag-uh-SIZ-ee-eye
It spends most of its life in underground burrows, away from desert heat.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 7.9 to 15 lb3.6 to 6.8 kg1
- 📏 7.9 to 15 in20 to 38 cm1 long
- 🎂 50 to 80 years50 to 80 years1
- 🍽️ plants
- In great danger (Critically Endangered)
The desert tortoise has a high, round shell and strong front legs for digging. It digs a burrow to stay cool. It eats desert plants and flowers.
Desert tortoises spend most of their lives in burrows they dig themselves, safe from the hot sun and the cold winter nights. Their flat front legs work like shovels. A tortoise gets water from the plants it eats and can store water in its body, so it can go a long time without a drink.
In winter, desert tortoises rest deep in their burrows in a long, sleep-like state called brumation. After a rainstorm they come out to drink, and sometimes dig little basins to catch the water. Mojave desert tortoises are threatened, because roads, building and fires have changed the desert and a sickness can spread among them. People help by protecting wild land, building fences along roads so tortoises do not wander into traffic, and caring for rescued tortoises.
How big is a Mojave desert tortoise?
Mojave desert tortoise in numbers
| Length | 7.9 to 15 in20 to 38 cm1shell length |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 3.9 to 5.9 in10 to 15 cm1shell height |
| Weight | 7.9 to 15 lb3.6 to 6.8 kg1 |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 50 to 80 years50 to 80 years1 |
| What it eats | grasses, wildflowers and cactus pads |
| Where it lives | the Mojave Desert of California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah |
| What kind | Reptiles |
| Is it in danger? | In great danger (Critically Endangered)2 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- A tortoise stores water in its body for dry times.
- A scared tortoise may let out its stored water, so never pick up a wild one.
- It spends winter in a sleep-like rest called brumation.
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Books about the Mojave desert tortoise, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the Mojave desert tortoise for free.
Where these numbers come from
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, species profile, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Mojave desert tortoise (Q914356), checked 30 October 2026.