Roadway

Mojave Desert Tortoise Ambassador

Roadway
Sex:

Male

Arrival:

2019 / Adult

Injury / Condition:

Imprint

About Roadway

Roadway, a Mohave tortoise, was given to us by a friend of Liberty Wildlife who had rescued him from someone else in 1988. Our best estimate of his birthday is 1986. She could no longer care for him herself and knew that he still had a long life span ahead of him.

Description

The Mojave Desert Tortoise is one of two native species of desert tortoise in Arizona. The other species is the Sonoran. Not to be confused with turtles, these tortoises are larger-bodied animals. They have short, broad, and club-shaped legs to help them move over desert terrain as compared to turtles that swim in water. They are able to withstand desert heat and periods of drought.

Habitat

The Mojave Desert Tortoise is found only in the Mojave Desert.

Range

Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah (North and west of the Colorado River). This Desert Tortoise is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, due to habitat loss.

Life Span

Tortoises can live 50 – 100 years.

Prey / Food

Tortoises are mostly herbivorous, but occasionally eat invertebrates and carrion.

Babies / Nests

Tortoises lay 3 – 12 soft-shelled eggs in a clutch. The eggs hatch somewhere between 70 – 120 days depending on the ambient temperature. Hatchlings break out of the shell using an egg tooth. Desert tortoises do not reach full maturity until 15 – 20 years. Breeding begins after the onset of the monsoon season, when eggs are laid near or inside a burrow.

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