I’ve never personally heard of anybody with a pet gopher but I guess it’s possible. Gophers have huge teeth however. They are a lot like beavers if you can picture that. Gophers won’t use these teeth to chomp wood however, they will probably chomp on a few of your fingers if you aren’t careful. I’m sure that not all gophers bite, maybe they don’t bite at all! Whenever any animal gets scared or frightened it will use it’s teeth as defense. If you raise your gopher as a baby to an adult, I’m sure you will have an excellent, well behaved pet.
Gophers do not get very big. They can range in size from around five inches all the way up to a foot and a half. It really depends on the species of gopher that you have. You will want a large cage or area to keep your gopher inside. They love to build tunnels and this is what they do by nature. That would be like caging up a man and not letting him play golf. It’s just not fair, so try and give your gopher something to tunnel in.
To your surprise, a lot of bigger animals will eat gophers. Even skunks are known to eat a gopher now and then. Hawks will also love to get their talons on them as well. Make sure to keep your gopher inside or it will likely become prey to a larger animal.
Gophers eat leaves and shrubs. This is probably why they dig tunnels. They love to eat the roots below the soil. They love to eat dandelions and alfalfa also. It’s not hard to find your gopher something to eat. You can purchase alfalfa from a local pet store for your gopher to munch on. Having a pet gopher will also take care of your dandelion problem in your yard. Simply go outside and pluck a few each day. During the winter you will need to find some type of leaves or plants to feed your new friend.
You will also need to supply the gopher with a water bottle or water dish. Some animals do not learn how to drink from a water bottle. You can place both in the cage and see which one the gopher chooses. Make sure to spend a little bit of time with your gopher. The more time you spend with it, the more well behaved it will become. You will want to move the gopher by gently grabbing it’s tail because if bitten, this can be very painful with those sharp, long teeth.