Gopher Teeth: Everything You Need To Know

Gophers are active animals that love to live in isolation. They spend most of their time burrowing – which is the reason they’re often referred to as “ecosystem engineers.” Gophers are rodents endemic to Central and North America. They are called pocket gophers because of their ability to store food in their cheeks, also called “pockets.” They use these pockets to transport food to their storage in dug tunnels. These rodents are also known for their sensitive whiskers and tails.

In this article, we will be learning about the unique teeth of these animals; how many teeth they have, what they use their teeth for, and how painful a gopher’s bite can be. Let’s roll, shall we?

How Many Teeth Does the Gopher Have?

Gophers are known to have continually growing teeth that would develop throughout their lifespan. Gophers have three set of teeth; molars, premolars, and very dominant incisors. They have a total of 20 teeth in the ratio 1/1,0/0,1/1,3/3, with no canines. Let’s take a look at each of them!

Incisors

Gophers have four incisors, two on top and two on the bottom. The incisors of gophers extend outside their mouth, and it’s probably the first thing you’ll notice when you see these animals. In fact, they only close their lips behind these incisors. Their incisors are made more prominent as there are no canines in their dentition. They use these sets of teeth majorly for digging or burrowing.

Molars and Premolars

Gophers have very flattened molars and premolars. They have twelve molars and four premolars, predominantly for grinding the tough herbs and roots they choose to chew on. The premolars are large, with prominent dents in the middle, and are 8-shaped. Sometimes featuring a posterior heel are the molars of the gopher; they are smaller and ring-shaped compared to the premolars.

What Do Gophers Use Their Teeth For? 

Gophers, being very active animals, use their teeth for a wide range of activities. They have big appetites and eat about 60% of their body weight daily. They also need to find a safe home underground where they can live in isolation as these little creatures are animals that do not socialize, so they have to burrow with their teeth and claws. Let’s take a look at the most important functions of the gopher’s teeth.

Burrowing 

Gophers are fossorial animals that burrow into the soil and live underground. Asides from their adapted features like short limbs, tiny eyes, wedged-shaped head, and a tiny body that isn’t wider than their shoulder, their teeth are also significant in their burrowing. The incisor is the part of the teeth used majorly for burrowing alongside their long claws. You might wonder how much sand and soil gets into their mouth when they burrow, and the answer is close to zero as they close their mouth behind their teeth. This allows them to burrow comfortably without worrying about filling their mouth with dirt, microbes, and other insects.

Feeding 

Asides from burrowing, they also use their teeth for feeding. Gophers are herbivores; they feed majorly on plants – we can call them vegetarians. Though sometimes they feed on the tops of plants, they’re mainly interested in the bottom parts of these plants, like the root, tubers, and other fleshy parts. Their teeth are well adapted for their vegetarian diet because of the wear and tear they might get from chewing on the complex elements of plants. They nibble on herbaceous plants, shrubs, trees, grasses, and roots. Gophers also love to eat potatoes, dandelions, and alfalfa.

How Painful Is a Gopher’s Bite?

Although gophers spend most of their time underground, humans sometimes encounter them when they’re outdoors. However, since gophers rarely come in contact with humans, they are not known to bite often, they only bite when they are frightened. They are tiny and calm animals, but with relatively sharp and painful bites. The site of the bite can get swollen and infected if not properly attended to. After being bitten, you might experience fever symptoms like headaches, sore throat, restlessness, cold, etc. You should note that these animals can carry some severe viruses and disease vectors, like rabies, hantavirus, tularemia, and leptospirosis. So it’s advised to stay out of their way as much as you can.

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