The average mound thrown up by these gophers is about 30 by 45 cm, about 8 cm in height, and crescentic in outline. The opening through which the earth is pushed is usually plugged from within. The gopher digs with its front claws and protruding teeth, shoves the loose earth ahead of it with its chin and forefeet, and uses the hind feet for propulsion. The ceaseless energy of these subterranean miners is suggested by the size of the huge winter mounds they make in sites that have poor underground drainage. One of these was 2 m long, 1.5 m wide, 60 cm high, and weighed an estimated 360 kg. The female that occupied this mound weighed 150 g. A typical winter mound contains numerous galleries, a nest chamber, a toilet, and food storage chambers.
These rodents feed on a variety of plant items, chiefly roots and stems of weeds and grasses. Most plant food is encountered and ingested while the gopher digs, but some "grazing" of food present along burrow walls probably also occurs. The furlined cheek pouches are used to carry food and nesting material but never dirt. Captive gophers have eaten white grubs, small grasshoppers, beetle pupae, and crickets. Earthworms and raw beef were ignored.
Breeding begins in late January or early February in eastern Texas and continues for a period of some 3 or 4 months. One litter a year, or two in quick succession, appears to be the rule. The young, usually two or three in number, are born from March to July. The young are nearly naked, blind, and helpless at birth. They remain with their mother until nearly full-grown and then are evicted to lead an independent life.
As long as they remain in their burrows, pocket gophers
are relatively safe from predators other than those which are specialized
for digging, such as badgers and long-tailed weasels. However, when a gopher
leaves its burrow it is highly vulnerable, and most predation losses probably
occur on the surface. Known predators, other than those mentioned above,
include coyotes, skunks, domestic cats, hawks, owls, and several kinds
of snakes. As a result of the protection offered by the burrow, pocket
gophers are long-lived relative to many other rodents, insectivores, and
lagomorphs, living an average of 1-2 years in the wild.