G. berlandieri is found from southern Texas southward into the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.

The specific epithet, berlandieri, is in honor of naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier, who worked for the Mexican government on one of the first biological surveys of Texas.

Succulent plants, a preferred food of the Texas tortoise, are common in these areas.

The Mexican federal government lists Gopherus berlandieri as A (= Threatened) in Mexico.

[7][8] In 2018, the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group recommended a re-assessment and re-classification of all six Gopherus species.