# are there any tortoises illegal to own?



## cruiser12 (Feb 18, 2013)

I was thinking about different possibilities for when i have more space and then relized that i want to know what my options are and if any are off-limits.


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## jaizei (Feb 18, 2013)

Where do you live?


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## mctlong (Feb 18, 2013)

I don't know of any that are illegal to own in the US. Where do you live? Here in California, desert torts require permits to own and some other rare species, such as galapagos or spiders, require a permit to import or cross state lines.


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## dmarcus (Feb 18, 2013)

It will depend on where you live, some states have restrictions on some species of turtles and tortoises...


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## cruiser12 (Feb 18, 2013)

im in mn


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## RedfootsRule (Feb 18, 2013)

Well, are there torts illegal to own? Most certainly. However, those torts are so rare that you would never find any available, so you would never be adding one to your collection.
Some states have restrictions....You have to check yours.


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## cruiser12 (Feb 19, 2013)

I cant find anything on state regs. about tortoises. Looked on the DNR and about 20 other sites and they are always talking about local turtle(snapper, painted, wood and box). Any wesite ideas?


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## mctlong (Feb 19, 2013)

My recommendation would be to check with the State DNR, but you've already done that. If you're not finding anything, then chances are, there are no state-specifc regulations in MN outlawing tortoise ownership. Hopefully someone else on the forum who is from MN can confirm. I've never heard of any federal law outlawing the ownership of any particular species of tortoise. As far as I know, it is legal to own any species of tortoise in the US (although some situations require special permits), so any legal prohibitions would be on a state or local level.

Is there a specific species of tortoise that you're interested in getting? It may be easier to identify a type or types of tortoise you like and then look for regulations or pemits specific to that species.


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## cruiser12 (Feb 19, 2013)

Well, i was thinking about getting a leopard or another small/medium tortoise with good personality and/or colour. Ill try the DNR and search specificly for leopards. thanks!


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## mctlong (Feb 19, 2013)

I doubt you'll find any laws against owning leopard tortoises in MN since they're not native to your area and are not endangered.


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## cruiser12 (Feb 19, 2013)

Ok thanks so much!


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## Tom (Feb 19, 2013)

None of them are illegal to own, but a couple require permits to cross state lines. None of the commonly available non-native ones have any restrictions at all.


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## cruiser12 (Feb 19, 2013)

not even galopagos?


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## Tom (Feb 19, 2013)

cruiser12 said:


> not even galopagos?



Correct. It is completely legal to own, possess, breed, buy or sell Galapagos tortoises within your own state. If you wish to sell them across state lines then the recipient needs to have a "Captive Bred Wildlife" permit, which is not all that difficult to get. Same with radiated tortoises. I'm pretty sure its the same with ploughshares too, but you'll never see one of those. Those are the only restrictions that I know of for non-native species. There are a bunch of regulations for the indigenous Gopherus species. As far as I know, you cannot get permits to keep them outside of their home states, but its pretty easy to get permits to keep them IN their home states.


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## argus333 (Feb 19, 2013)

plowshares..


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## cruiser12 (Feb 19, 2013)

Im just wondering, does that have anything to do with what i asked?


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## mctlong (Feb 19, 2013)

argus333 said:


> plowshares..


Not illegal to own.


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## cruiser12 (Feb 19, 2013)

Oh, sorry i didn't realize that a ploughshare was a type of tortoise, i havn't ever heard of them before.


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## sissyofone (Feb 19, 2013)

Has anyone ever heard of a Gopher Tortoise? I helped one cross the road several years ago down south. It was so cool. We let it go because someone told us they were a protected species. I've never seen another one since then. I apologize for asking , I just seen up a few threads where this species was already mentioned.


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## cruiser12 (Feb 19, 2013)

What state are you in? Im pretty sure they are endangered or threatened, i couldnt find a very clear answer so you should do some other reserch . It is Georga's state reptile and Florida's state tortoise, just thought that was kinda cool.


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## Tom (Feb 19, 2013)

argus333 said:


> plowshares..



Not illegal to own. But good luck finding one, much less paying for it.




sissyofone said:


> Has anyone ever heard of a Gopher Tortoise? I helped one cross the road several years ago down south. It was so cool. We let it go because someone told us they were a protected species. I've never seen another one since then. I apologize for asking , I just seen up a few threads where this species was already mentioned.



Gophers are one of the one of our endemic species. Those are one of the exceptions that I mentioned earlier. All of the Gopher species ARE protected, but you can get permits to keep them in their home states in most cases. I don't know what FL law says about keeping Gopher tortoises. Maybe one of our FL members can fill us in.


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## critters88 (Feb 19, 2013)

Hi just wondering where you are from in MN. Im in SD


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## sissyofone (Feb 19, 2013)

@ crusier12 I was in Alabama when I found that one it was a descent sized one. We kept it over night and took it back where we found it but away from the road and let it go.


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## cruiser12 (Feb 20, 2013)

Very nice find!


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## RedfootsRule (Feb 20, 2013)

Tom,
That would be an N and and O. I believe, if you owned them before...I think sometime in the 90s? (not quite sure on the year, sometime a couple decades ago) then you could apply for a license just to keep the ones you already own. There is no license that you can apply for to own new ones anymore, at least not that I know of. In fact, you need a permit to even touch one in the wild (I do it anyways, guilty as charged ) So as close as you can get is enjoying them in the wild . Which there actually fairly easy to find, if you look in the right places....


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