• Moderate-sized, terrestrial turtle (9-11 inches in length).
• Stumpy, elephantine hind feet and flattened, shovel-like forelimbs.
• Oblong shell; typically tan, brown, or gray in color.
• Live in well-drained, sandy areas with a sparse tree canopy and abundant low growing vegetation.
• For more information about gopher tortoises, visit FWC’s gopher tortoise species profile webpage.

Gopher tortoises are sometimes mistaken for other native turtle species including box turtles and non-native tortoises such as the sulcata. Box turtles have a single hinge on their plastron (underside of shell) and can seal themselves completely within their shells. Sulcata tortoises are an exotic species, common in the pet trade, with a strongly flared outer shell and large forearm spurs. This tortoise species also lacks a nuchal scute (a central bony plate located directly above the tortoise’s head). Juvenile sulcatas also share these characteristics. Find more information on box turtles and sulcata tortoises below.

Florida Box Turtle

Sulcata Tortoise

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