Equipment Review and Discussion :: where can you purchase little turtles?

[pajamatree]

I bought 2 hatchlings in July when I was in Hilton Head Island, SC. They sold them in one of the gift shops. There were about a hundred in the tank. At the time I had no idea of the care they required. The jerks that owned the store said they required the same attention as a goldfish (clean water and daily food) what IDIOTS!!! Because my baby boy hatchling DIED yesterday even though I had done everything to prevent it! They probably took horrible care of the little guys and I'm sure I bought him sick. I WOULD NOT but a hatchling from a sketchy place like this. Just a warning.

I live on Hilton Head and that's where I bought mine! They said THE SAME EXACT thing to me. Morons!

[TheComputerGremlin]

The explanation we have heard (& read about) is that the 4" law in some states was intended to ensure that someone buying a RES saw how big they were and was thus only inclined to buy one if they were prepared to provide proper care. In other words, supposedly, no more abandoned RES because they were bought as a hatchling by people who thought they were cute but didn't realize that they can grow to 12" (requiring a 120 gallon tank) and can potentially live to be 30 years old or more.

The 4" law was intended to stop parents from buying the turtles when they were tiny and allowing their children to put them in their mouths, after which they would fall ill with Salmonella. A fortunate side-effect of the 4" law is that many people don't buy turtles seeing how big they get and some more are saved, though not enough. There are so many ways to get around the law ...

[Fuzzy Hamster]

Well that makes a lot more sense as a reason to enact a law than what I had heard. Makes me wonder why we don't have similar laws here, but I guess that salmonella maybe hasn't been as much of a problem.

[chrisinva]

I'll sell mine for




1 Million dollars


free shipping

P.S. No I won't

[steve]

From what I've read, the scientists then believed that turtle was salmonella-free because it lived to 4". While obviously incorrect, the impact was significant, though less in recent years.

[Linus]

I bought my first two in Chinatown for $9.

My recent additions were bought from a very reputable dealer. But one was sick and died but I couldn't get my money back for that one.

[njdevs]

NYC - China Town

[PcBuilder14]

China Town - Fake China