The male desert gopher tortoise has a concave plastron. Desert gopher tortoises take 15 to 20 years to fully mature from their hatchlings. The ground temperature in the summer they inhabit is as high as 60°C, so they will dig holes to find moisture or use burrows to create a cool space. 95% of the time is spent in caves, and in winter from November to March the next year, the temperature is even below 0°C, and they also use hibernation in caves to survive low temperatures.

Desert gopher tortoise plays an important role in the North American ecosystem, The burrows they dig are important shelters for a variety of creatures. Usually, a desert gopher tortoise will dig more than 12 burrows of different depths in the same area to meet the needs of different seasons. Another special feature of all desert gopher tortoises is that their bladders have the highest water storage capacity among tortoises and can survive a year-long dry season.

The mating season of desert gopher tortoise is most active in early autumn. From May to July, the number of eggs is about 4 to 8, and the incubation period is 90 to 120 days. Male turtles will hatch, and female turtles will hatch at 31°C to 32°C.