Who is a gopher? Where does he live? What does the ground squirrel eat? If you are interested in finding answers to such questions, then read this article.
Description
Gopher - a small mammal of the order of rodents of the squirrel family. On earth, there are about 40 species of this animal. They differ in body size from 15 to 40 cm, of which the tail occupies half the entire length. Colors are different (from green to purple, with different stripes or specks along the back). These rodents live in large colonies.
As a rule, they live as a family in dug holes, the length of which varies from 5 to 20 meters, depending on the type of soil. Each gopher digs burrows independently, at females deeper dwellings, at males less. Often these animals after hibernation occupy unoccupied shelters and gradually deepen them.
Each hole has a special room insulated with hay, straw and leaves, in which the animal remains hibernated until spring. All food supplies are dragged there. Her gophers eat the entire period of sleep. During the wintering, all the passages leading to this room are closed, and the animal makes a small indentation up. In the spring, the rodent exits vertically upward. All species of ground squirrels are characterized by stocking up large volumes of provisions for hibernation. It is noteworthy that this species of mammals hibernates not only in winter during periods of cold weather and lack of food, but also in summer during droughts, especially rodents living in desert territories. But, for example, the Arctic gopher is in a state of hibernation for up to nine months a year.
Hibernation
The state of numbness or hibernation in these animals is a unique phenomenon that many scientists to this day can not solve. Specialists, for example, cannot understand how gophers manage to support the body under the following conditions:
- Their body temperature drops to -3 degrees.
- The heart rate is from one to five times per minute.
- Breathing is variable from a series of ten breaths to a one-hour break.
The hibernation period is interrupted by rare awakenings for warming up the limbs, emptying and eating food.
Life expectancy and some other characteristics
In a state of activity, the ground squirrel body temperature is about forty degrees, the pulse is more than 350 beats per minute, the respiratory rate is more than 200 times. Life expectancy is short enough and, depending on the variety, does not exceed five years.
Reproduction and nutrition
Females in late April-early May bring from 3 to 8 cubs, which are hatched for about a month. A distinctive feature of the female is the presence of four to six pairs of nipples. By autumn, the cubs are already independent enough to dig their own holes for hibernation and prepare the necessary supplies of provisions. Animals reach puberty in the spring during the rutting season.
Young individuals hibernate last, just after adult males and giving birth to females, since they barely manage to accumulate the necessary amount of fat. In the years when early frosts occur, many rodents die.
Gophers: what to eat during the cold season?
Now we will examine in detail this issue. What does the ground squirrel eat in frosts to withstand such enormous loads on the body? The main share of the diet is vegetable feed. What do gophers eat in the steppe? These animals consume tubers, stems, seeds, cereals, that is, the entire plant. Food is obtained within one territory, which its owner violently marks and guards.
What do gophers eat in the steppe? Some species of these rodents, in addition to plant foods, consume insects, frogs and other small animals that they can catch. This way of eating allows gophers to accumulate brown fat, unique in that it freezes only at a temperature of -18 degrees.
Its share in the body of a gopher can be up to 80% of body weight. Before hibernation, rodents devote an entire day to searching for food. Without food, an individual can live one month. Therefore, you need to think about food in advance.
The content of gophers at home: where to settle and what to feed?
A gopher is not a suitable animal for captivity for several reasons:
- It leads a nocturnal lifestyle, so it will not be possible to see it very often.
- This is a wild animal that is reluctant to make contact with a person, it is uncommunicative, prefers to hide in its hole or house. If the decision to establish a ground squirrel has already been made, then it is best to have the most adapted to captivity and friendly thin-toed representative of the species.
- He will often have to clean his cage, the urine of this animal has a specific bright smell, which sharply “beats in the nose”, especially not used to this person.
- In warm home conditions it does not breed and most likely will not live until spring, as nature is in a state of suspended animation in a cold environment in the winter.
- The cage for one animal should be 0.5 by 1 meter and increased by 1.5 times for each new resident. The cage must be strong enough to not gnaw at it. It is also necessary to provide the animal with hay and straw for warming the house, wooden sticks from willow, hazel, apple and other crops for grinding constantly growing teeth, come up with various tunnels, labyrinths and boxes, so that the gopher can lead an active lifestyle, as in the wild. It is best to keep the animal on the street in a designated area or in the aviary, before placing the rodent, it is necessary to concrete the floor. When growing the animal in the aquarium, it is necessary to provide a metal grate on top, tightly attached to the walls, bouncing, the animal can grab onto the aquarium and crawl out.
- Be careful when you wash the cage or feed the pet, you can use additional devices during cleaning, for example, a high jar from which it will be difficult to get out, or a special ball for hamsters. Do not leave the animal unattended!
- Drinking water must be clean!
Feeding
At home, the animal eats various crops that form the basis of its daily diet. What does the ground squirrel eat? What can be given to animals at home? First of all, these are succulent herbs growing near holes, various cereal crops. It can be wheat, oats and others, sunflowers that have matured and are in milk maturity or seeds from them, beets, carrots, bread.
You can also purchase specially designed mixes for ground squirrels or other rodents from the pet store. Depending on the type of these mammals, you can treat your pet with mealworms, just make sure that in the wild they really consume insects. When buying a pet in a pet store, it is best to consult the seller about what the gopher of this species eats and what can not be added to the diet of a rodent.
