are there any tortoises illegal to own?

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cruiser12

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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. :)
 

mctlong

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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.
 

dmarcus

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

RedfootsRule

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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.
 

cruiser12

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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?
 

mctlong

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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.
 

cruiser12

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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!
 

mctlong

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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.
 

Tom

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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.
 

Tom

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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.
 

cruiser12

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

cruiser12

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

sissyofone

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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.
 

cruiser12

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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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