These gophers forage from tunnels and, particularly at night, on the ground surface. Food may be transported in external fur-lined cheek pouches to underground caches. Young are born in nesting chambers excavated in deeper sections of the burrow system. Water needs probably met from food and from moisture in the burrows. Above ground, activity primarily is limited to evening and the night, but they may be active any time on warm, cloudy days.
Pocket gophers are solitary, except during the breeding season.
Females produce 1, or more, litters per yr, most commonly between March and June. Following weaning, young pocket gophers leave the burrow. May damage crops and young trees. However, their burrowing facilitates soil formation. Also benefit the invertebrates, amphibians, and other mammals that live in their burrows.