What does a gopher eat in the steppe?

Who is the gopher? Where does he live? What does the gopher eat? If you are interested to know the answers to such questions, then read this article.

Description

A gopher is a small mammal of a squirrel squirrel squirrel. On the earth there are about 40 species of this animal. They differ in body size from 15 to 40 cm, of which the tail takes half of the total length. Colors vary (from green to purple, with different stripes or specks along the back). These rodents live in large colonies.

As a rule, one family lives in excavated burrows, the length of which varies from 5 to 20 meters, depending on the type of soil. Each gopher burrows its burrows independently, the females have deeper dwellings, in males less. Often, these animals after hibernation occupy unoccupied asylum seekers and gradually deepen them.

In each hole there is a special room, insulated with hay, straw and leaves, in which the animal remains on hibernation until the spring. All food supplies are taken there. Her gophers eat the whole period of sleep. At the time of wintering, all the passages leading to this room are closed, and a small depression is made up by the animal. In the spring the rodent makes an exit vertically upwards. All types of ground squirrels are characterized by a large amount of provisions for hibernation. It is noteworthy that this kind of mammal goes to sleep not only in the winter in the cold and lack of food, but also during the summer during a drought, especially rodents living in desert territories. But, for example, the Arctic ground squirrel is in a state of hibernation up to nine months a year.

Hibernation

The state of stupor or hibernation in these animals is a unique phenomenon that many scientists to this day can not unravel. Specialists, for example, can not understand how gophers can maintain the body under the following conditions:

1. Their body temperature drops to -3 degrees.
2. The heartbeats are from one to five times per minute.
3. Breath is variable in nature from a series of ten breaths and breaths, until an hour's break.

The period of hibernation is interrupted by rare awakenings for limb warming up, emptying and eating.

Lifespan and some other characteristics

In the active state, the body temperature of the ground squirrel is about forty degrees, the pulse is more than 350 beats per minute, the breathing rate is more than 200 times. Life expectancy is small enough and, depending on the species, does not exceed five years.

Reproduction and nutrition

Females in the end of April to early May bring from 3 to 8 cubs, which are nurtured 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 burrows for hibernation and prepare the necessary supplies of provisions. Sexual maturation of the animals reach in the spring during the rut.

Young individuals go to hibernation last, just after adult males and gave birth to females, as they barely have time to accumulate the necessary amount of fat. In the years when early frosts come, many rodents die.

Gophers: what do they eat during the cold season?

Now we will look into this issue in detail. What does a gopher eat in the cold to withstand such enormous loads on the body? The main part of the diet is plant food. What do gophers eat in the steppe? These animals use tubers, stems, seeds, cereals, that is, the entire plant. Extraction of food occurs within one territory, which is furiously tagged and guarded by its owner.

What do gophers eat in the steppe? Some species of these rodents, in addition to plant food, use insects, frogs and other small animals that can be caught. This type of food allows gophers to accumulate brown fat, unique in that it freezes only at a temperature of -18 degrees.

The proportion of it in the body of a ground squirrel can be up to 80% of the body weight. Before hibernation, rodents spend the whole day searching for food. The individual can live one month without food. Therefore, you need to think over the food in advance.

The content of gophers in the home: where to settle and what to feed?

A gopher is not an appropriate animal for keeping in captivity for several reasons:

1. It leads a nocturnal lifestyle, so you can not see it very often.
2. This is a wild animal that reluctantly comes into 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 taken, then it is best to get the finest-fitting representative of the species that is most adapted to captivity.
3. 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 accustomed to this person.
4. In warm domestic conditions it does not multiply and most likely will not live until spring, as nature is laid in a state of suspended animation in a cold environment in the winter.
5. The cage for one animal should be 0.5 by 1 meter in size and for each new resident it is increased by 1.5 times. The cage should be strong enough to not get it gnawed. It is also necessary to provide the animal with hay and straw for warming the house, with wooden sticks from willow, hazel, apple and other crops to grind out constantly growing teeth, to invent various tunnels, labyrinths and boxes to enable the suslik to lead an active lifestyle, as in the wild. It is best to keep the animal on the street in a specially designated area or in an enclosure, before placing the rodent it is necessary to concrete the floor. When growing a small animal in an aquarium, it is necessary to provide a metal grate on top, tightly attached to the walls, bouncing, the animal can grasp the aquarium and climb out.
6. Be vigilant when you wash the cage or feed the pet, you can use additional tools at the time of harvesting, for example, a tall jar from which it will be difficult to get out, or a special ball for hamsters. Do not leave the animal unattended!
7. Drinking water must be clean!

Feeding

At home, the animal uses various crops, which form the basis of its daily diet. What does the gopher eat? What can be given to animals in the home? First of all, these are juicy grasses growing near the holes, various cereals. This can be wheat, oats and other, sun-ripened sunflowers and sunflower seeds, beets, carrots, bread, ripe and matured.

You can also purchase specially developed mixtures for gophers or other rodents in the pet store. Depending on the species of these mammals, you can pamper the pet with flour worms, 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 feeds on, and what can not be added to the ration to the rodent.

Conclusion

Now you know who the gopher is. This is a very interesting animal, which falls into a hibernation and not only in winter. We also told you what the animal feeds in nature and what should be the food of the gophers in the home.