law for selling baby turtles

[caroline]

could someone please tell me, what is the law concerning the selling of baby turtles? (eg how many inches do they have to be?)
years ago, i bought my turtle from an aquarium shope and all the baby turtles were maybe, an inch and a half long.

[Sharon]

Post was a while ago but here is why. The law is that it is illegal to sell any turtles under 4 inches. Because kids were putting them in their mouths and people didn't know enough to do their own research and the animals were subjected into living in those horrible turtle lagoons where kids contracted salmonella due to bad hygiene habits. There are many different kinds of salmonella, alot are the natural gut flora of reptiles. Baby turtles are also more delicate and harder to keep alive. There is unfortunatly a loop hole. If you state that the turtle is for educational purposes then you can legally buy a baby turtle. Even though the law has been in place for a long time its not really enforced, people still buy baby turtles at kiosks at tourist spots such as florida and myrtle beach NC and china town in the citys and flea markets. I have gotten into a lot of arguments with people who have bought a baby turtle and the guy who sold them the turtle told them that the turtle can live in the tiny plastic critter keeper and that it will grow to the size of the container. I usually win and they buy the proper setup to keep the turtle alive, like a tank large enough (the rule is 10 gallons PER inch of turtle), a land area (usually a floating turtle dock from Zoo Med), a basking light (for heat), a flourescent UVB bulb (so the turtle can absorb calcium. Reptisun 5.0 by Zoo Med), a screen cover so the lights dont fall in the water, and a variety of foods. Turtles need more then just the food pellets.
I always give this site URL to turtle owners http://austinsturtlepage.com

[ReptiChick]

I realize this is quite awhile after your post, but has anyone else heard that Congress has decided to apoint a commitee on whether or not to apoint a commitee to research the prevalence of salmonella in reptiles, specifically turtles, to see if it's safe for any reptile to be a pet?

[Sharon]

Nope, havnt heard anything about it.

[Katrina]

It's still illegal to sell baby turtles. If you see them being sold IN ANY STATE, call the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (make sure you get the address of the store) and lodge a consumer complaint. Here are the numbers for the regional FDA offices. http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html

Many states such as Oregon, Maryland, New Jeresey, Virginia, Ohio, and other states have other regulations that make it illegal, too, so call your state wildlife natural resources police as well to see if they can do anything.

And, they can only be sold for "bona fide" educational or scientific purposes - the FDA DOES NOT considser a pet store to be "bona fide". So, bottom line, if they're being sold to the general public, call the FDA.

In NYC, it's also a violation of the NYC health code, so try calling the NYC health department, too, and the ASPCA if you see turtles sold in NYC (I'm hoping since the ASPCA has full police powers in NYC, they'd be able to do something).

If you want to adopt an unwanted turtle, try www.petfinder.com - there are lots of sliders for adoption, and they need 75 gallon tanks indoors or fenced-in backyard ponds of at least 300 gallons outdoors (they can hibernate in most of the US, but it's illegal to release a pet turtle).

[Katrina]

The Louisiana turtle farmers were trying get a bill passed to make it legal to sell baby turtles again, and part of thier way of doing this was to have a study to prove that baby turtles were no more dangerous than other reptiles. The bill failed.

Oh, and the legal selling size is 4" or larger. Anything under 4" is illegal to sell to the public in connection with a business unless for BONA FIDE educatonal or scientific purposes.

Katrina