New addition to the family

[Guest Oaklands]

I was coming back from Lexington, KY today and there was a box turtle out in the road. I made a U-turn and saved him. Brought him home for the 5 year old son and needless to say, "DADDY IS THE HIT" tonight. Pokey has found a new home.

[Guest bkelm18]

Nice. Don't let TWRA know.

[Guest Oaklands]

Nice. Don't let TWRA know.

Was saved in KY. Out of their jurisdiction.

[Guest bkelm18]

Was saved in KY. Out of their jurisdiction.

I was referring to the fact it is actually illegal to keep turtles as pets in TN. Not many people know that.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I guess TWRA could ask the turtle where he picked up at. If they don't get an answer they are probably going to assume you probably got him here.

What a lot of people don't know is they have an area that they occupy during their lifetime. Box turtles do not travel far, usually living within an area less than 200m in diameter.

Useful info here:

Eastern Box Turtle Information

Dolomite

[wareagle]

Keep in mind that box turtles carry salmonella.

[Guest bkelm18]

Keep in mind that box turtles carry salmonella.

That's one of the main reasons it was made illegal to own any turtle as a pet.

[Guest mustangdave]

TWRA....there was no mention of turtles in this thread....please go back to running the public range....again...no turtles were mentioned in this thread...have a nice day

[Guest bkelm18]

I doubt they care though. I've never heard of anyone going to the slammer for a turtle. Especially considering some pet shops sell them (illegally of course) and even more pet stores still sell turtle supplies (which isn't illegal, but it just propagates the nefarious turtle black market ).

[Guest Broomhead]

So, if turtles are illegal to own, wouldn't it be a bad business choice for Pet Smart, Petco, etc, to devote precious shelf space, at least 1/3-1/4 of an aisle, for pet turtle supplies?

The Feds have a law stating that it shall be illegal for anyone, in any state to sell a turtle smaller than a silver dollar.

Please, post a link to the TCA involved.

By the way, I have a Red-Eared Slider female that we rescued from a bad/uninformed owner who is an in-law. She has almost tripled in size, plays with my 1.5 year daughter through the glass, loves diving into the water from the highest point in her tank, and begs for food from anyone close enough that she can get their attention. Her name is Olive.

[Guest Oaklands]

You would not believe how many people have told me about it being illegal to have a turtle in TN. This little reptile (not technically a turtle, as I have not officially had him examined) was going to die if I had not saved him. I was raised in, for a few years in a house that had asbestos shingling and later in life, lived in one that had the same. My parents painted the house with lead paint. My friends and I used to handle mercury in our hands w/out washing them afterwards. I stuck something in an electrical socket that knocked me across the room at age 3. The list goes on and on. I am 50+ and don't have any flinches, diagnosed cancer, brain damage (that I know of), have managed to quit smoking after 35 years of doing so, work every day, have a father who is going to turn 80 this year and smokes like a freight train and who knows what else. What ever happened to having a little fun w/out having the government telling me what I can do and cannot do.

Anyway, I turned this little fellow loose today near the lake. He is on his own again. After a day of living in my kitchen sink, he no longer hid him/herself in the shell and let me pet his/her head. He/She loved strawberries and lettuce and now I have a 5 year old ADHD child who was excited to have the responsibility of taking care of this reptile (which would have been wonderful for him) depressed, because daddy took away his pet. Now Daddy is a bad guy in a "Damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. What is this world coming to?

As mentioned above, we have pet stores selling food for illegally kept animals. How can this be right? My wife was excited and posted a picture on Facebook and man did the warnings come in. So she killed the post, I get rid of the turtle so the "Gustapo" doesn't come to my home and arrest me. That might lead to me not being able to carry a gun again and I think you get the picture. Does anyone have the actual count of how many people died of playing with a box turtle. I might be doomed as I actually petted his head last night, then used the same finger to stir my mixed drink. So far I am alive. Now that he is gone, I won't be able to test how many drinks I could stir with my infected finger before I died.

No offense to anyone on this forum. None of you made the law and I do appreciate you bringing it to my attention.

Edited June 11, 2011 by Oaklands

[Guest DELETED]

YouTube - ‪Zombie Kid Likes Turtles‬‏

[Guest bkelm18]

So, if turtles are illegal to own, wouldn't it be a bad business choice for Pet Smart, Petco, etc, to devote precious shelf space, at least 1/3-1/4 of an aisle, for pet turtle supplies?

The Feds have a law stating that it shall be illegal for anyone, in any state to sell a turtle smaller than a silver dollar.

Please, post a link to the TCA involved.

By the way, I have a Red-Eared Slider female that we rescued from a bad/uninformed owner who is an in-law. She has almost tripled in size, plays with my 1.5 year daughter through the glass, loves diving into the water from the highest point in her tank, and begs for food from anyone close enough that she can get their attention. Her name is Olive.

They sell the supplies because they know noone knows the law and TWRA really doesn't care. Besides, it's not a wildlife law, it's a health code. Feel free to Google it. I'll post the specific code later. It doesn't matter one bit to me if you own a turtle or not or if you choose to not believe me. I'm just putting the info out there.

Edited June 11, 2011 by bkelm18

[Guest bkelm18]

1200-14-1-.36 SALE OF TURTLES PROHIBITED.

It shall be unlawful for a person to buy, sell, barter, exchange or otherwise transfer any turtle as a pet; or to import or cause to be imported any type of turtle in the State of Tennessee for such purposes.

November, 2004 (Revised)

Authority: T.C.A. §§49-1769, 53-607, 53-621. 53-905, 53-102 and 53-1109. Administrative History: Original rule certified June 7, 1974. Repeal and new rule filed March 31, 1977; effective May 2, 1977.

That's from the TN Dept of Health. I don't feel like digging through their site to link to it. It's from a PDF document anyway. Essentially, through various laws, the only way to legally own a turtle as a pet in TN is if A) It is a non-native species, and If it is a non-native species, the only way you could have obtained it was out of state, and you must be able to provide documentation that it was obtained out of state. In TN, it is illegal to own any native species as pets, regardless of how or where you got them. There are exceptions of course, including those for Class III animals like non-venomous snakes, etc. Like I said before, it really makes no diff. to me if you own turtles. I've had them before. I'm just putting it out there. I've got no dog in the fight. Edited June 11, 2011 by bkelm18