Boy, am I glad that people here mention the turtle/tortoise laws in their respective states. I found out today that here in Louisiana, it is ILLEGAL to purchase, trade or barter for ANY North American box turtle! Makes no difference if it's captive bred, not native to our area or purchased elsewhere and shipped in. Any OTHER turtle (with a few exceptions) is OK. It IS LEGAL, however, for me to take a box turtle from the wild and keep it as a pet (which I won't do) or someone can GIVE me one. ANY foreign turtle or tort is fine as long as it was imported legally- I can have as many as I want. (!!!!!) Although this affects my current turtle-acquiring plan, I'd rather know BEFORE I buy than after.