Botta’s Pocket Gopher

Thomomys bottae

Botta’s Pocket Gopher is generally a solitary animal that "likes to dig" and spends a large portion of its life underground. The burrow system that these pocket gophers create consists of deep permanent burrows and shallow tunnels used for feeding. The deep lodge systems are usually 3-9 feet below ground and can contain several nesting and storing chambers. Pocket gophers do not leave raised ridges above the ground like moles, rather they throw up fan shaped mounds of soil at the side of the entrances. The entrances are generally kept blocked with soil.

Valley pocket gophers are solitary and territorial except during the reproductive season. Another common name for Thomomys bottae is Valley pocket gopher.

Family:

Geomyidae (pocket gophers)

Description:

Botta's pocket gophers are medium-sized gophers. Males in this species are larger than the females and are believed to continue growing throughout their life. These animals have smooth, short and soft fur which varies in color from grey, to brown and to almost black. Botta's pocket gophers have short legs with long front claws. They have small eyes and ears and deep fur-lined cheek pouches. They weigh about ½ pound and can run to about 11 inches.

Habitat:

Botta’s pocket gophers are primarily fossorial. They burrow in various habitats including high mountain valleys, deserts, and sometimes in agricultural areas with artificial irrigation in the milder climate areas.

Range:

Thomomys bottae ranges from southern Oregon and central Colorado to southern Baja California and central Mexico.

Diet:

Botta's pocket gophers are strictly herbivorous, feeding on a variety of plant matter. They eat mainly shoots and grasses, supplemented by roots, tubers, and bulbs during the winter.

Breeding:

Little is known about the mating system and reproductive behavior of Botta's pocket gophers. In areas with sufficient food, breeding can occur year-round. In the north, and other, less hospitable, environments, it occurs only during the spring. The gestation period lasts 18 days after which a litter of up to 12 pups is born, although 3 or 4 are more typical. The young are born hairless and blind, and measure about 5 cm (2.0 in) in length. Eyes and ears open after 26 days and pups become weaned between 36-40 days. They become independent and leave their mother after 60 days, and grow the coat of adults after 100 days. Females are ready to breed within the same season they are born, or within 3 months of their birth. Males are ready to breed when they are 6-8 months old.

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