midday sun
The Tortoises live only on the land . The Gopher Tortoise is found from South Carolina to Florida , and west as far as Texas . It feeds on vegetation . It inhabits principally the dry and sandy places and makes long burrows into which it retires from the hot midday sun . The eggs of this tortoise are buried in the sand and are hatched by the sun 's rays Agassiz 's Tortoise , or the Desert Tortoise , is distributed over the deserts of Arizona and southern California . The shells of these turtles are soft and the head has the distinguishing characteristic of a pointed nose . They are aquatic and are much like the snapping turtles in habit .