July 21, 2026

I am a juvenile Gopher Tortoise

I'm about the size of the toes on Dee's boot

Despite the odds, I've lived past the hatchling stage

Now I'll spend 60 years keeping house and in mating pursuit.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://savethetortoises.org/blogs/tortoise-tracks-conservation-journeys/from-hatchling-to-adult-the-life-stages-of-gopher-tortoises

Photo and text © 2026 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

May 17, 2025

I am a baby Gopher Tortoise

Digging my very first home

I am a hatchling, my mom laid my egg

Then her job was done, now I'm on my own.

Note: It's hard to tell from this photo, but this tortoise was only about 2 inches long.  There is no parental care once the eggs are laid. Predation is very high for baby Gopher Tortoises for many reasons as described in the links below.

Location: Longleaf Pine Preserve, New Smyrna Beach

Sources: https://youtu.be/jPydxZUcMsA?si=MfgRoGqTPqZWE2J-

https://gophertortoisecouncil.org/gopher-tortoise/54-life-history

Photo and text © 2025 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

May 16, 2025

This is a sign that a Gopher Tortoise

Had a large, healthy meal

They eat grass and fruit

They don't audibly toot

Gopher Tortoises are elegant and genteel.

Location: Longleaf Pine Preserve, New Smyrna Beach

Sources: https://youtu.be/jPydxZUcMsA?si=f3rntNHoGFzwFquf&t=95

Photo and text © 2025 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

August 23, 2023

I am a widdle baby Gopher Tortoise

I'm yellowish now cause I'm young

I can live from 40 to 60 years old

But for now, I'm still just a punk.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/gopher-tortoise/

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 19, 2021

I am a baby Florida Gopher Tortoise

I like to eat low-hanging fruits

The hexagon things upon my back

Are commonly known as scutes.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: http://horsefieldtortoise.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Horsefield-Tortoise-Parts-genus-and-biology.jpg

https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/gopher-tortoise/

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

May 6, 2021

I am a Gopher Tortoise

I think the photographer needs glasses.

She thought she was looking at me head on

But she can't tell tortoise heads from asses. 

(In my defense, today is my 57th birthday so I am really really old now. But I did not realize this was the back end of the Tortoise till I downloaded the picture and saw the poop!)

Location: Turkey Creek Sanctuary, Palm Bay

Sources: https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/gopher-tortoise/

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

May 1, 2021

I am known as a Gopher Tortoise

Note that I am a Tortoise, although also a Turtle*.

Turtles can go in the water, I live exclusively on land

For me, swimming is an insurmountable hurdle!

* Please read the article linked below, but to quote it: 

All tortoises are in fact turtles—that is, they belong to the order Testudines or Chelonia, reptiles having bodies encased in a bony shell—but not all turtles are tortoises. [...] The most important thing to remember about tortoises is that they are exclusively land creatures. 

Location: Turkey Creek Sanctuary, Palm Bay

Sources: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/fcaa6e

https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-turtle-and-a-tortoise

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 2, 2020

Location: Fellsmere, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

I am a baby Gopher Tortoise

I am an ectotherm, which means I depend on the sun.

My mom laid between six and 8 eggs

I'm probably the only one left having fun*.

* As mentioned in the article below, "Within a few weeks of eggs being laid, up to 87% of nests may be predated upon, according to one study."

Sources: Animal Diversity Web: Gopherus polyphemus (Florida) Gopher Tortoise

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

May 26, 2020

Location: Maritime Hammock Sanctuary, Melbourne Beach

I am known as a Gopher Tortoise
I'm the only tortoise found east of the Mississippi
I love basking in the sun and herbaceous plants
Thats my nature, I'm not just a hippie.

Sources: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Gopher Tortoise

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 12, 2019

Location: Turkey Creek Sanctuary, Palm Bay

I known as a Gopher Tortoise
You've caught me at a moment quite inopportune
I'm heading into my burrow, out of the sun
So please excuse my tortoise-shell moon.

Sources: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Gopher Tortoise

Photo and text © 2018 Dee Fairbanks Simpson