Turtles may seem like low-maintenance pets, but those about to rush out and bring one home should consider that they require years (sometimes decades) of specialized care. Turtles can also transmit disease. Like all wildlife, these reptiles belong in their natural habitats.
Adopt, don't shop
Small animals like turtles are often mistreated and forced into deplorable conditions when they're bred for pet stores to sell — look for a local rescue first when you're considering adopting a hamster, and skip the pet stores.
Turtles carry salmonella
Salmonella isn't just a food-borne illness; turtles and other reptiles carry salmonella bacteria, which can be easily transmitted to people. A small turtle may seem harmless, giving parents a false sense that they're a safe pet for children. But the disease risk is so great that selling small turtles is illegal in the United States. (See below.)
Salmonella usually gives people a few miserable days of fever and diarrhea, but some end up in the hospital with life-threatening complications. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children, senior citizens and those who have lowered natural resistance to disease due to pregnancy, cancer, chemotherapy, organ transplants, diabetes, liver problems or other diseases are most at risk.
Selling small turtles is illegal
Selling small turtles—with shells less than four inches long—was banned in 1975 to prevent the spread of salmonella. The CDC says this ban "likely remains the most effective public health action to prevent turtle-associated salmonellosis." Some sellers try to skirt the law by using the exceptions allowed for legitimate scientific and educational purposes. But just saying the turtle will be used for education or offering the turtle for free with the sale of a tank does not make it legal. In addition, some states and localities prohibit possession of turtles. Call your local animal shelter or animal control to find out about turtle ownership laws. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforces the ban on small turtle sales and has this advice for consumers: Don't buy small turtles for pets.
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You don't have to touch the turtle to get sick
You don't have to touch the turtle to get sick, because salmonella can live on surfaces. A 2006 study published in the journal Pediatrics found that exposure to reptiles was one of the biggest risk factors in determining whether infants get salmonella. Infants aren't likely to handle reptiles. They probably get infected indirectly, such as a parent touching a turtle or cleaning a turtle's tank and then holding a child.
Turtles need a lifetime of specialized care
Turtles are often marketed as low-maintenance pets, but the truth is that they need special care and a lot of room to grow. Turtles will not survive in a small dish with a plastic palm tree. They need the right lighting, temperature and water filtration system. Countless pet turtles die from being kept in inadequate conditions. Turtles shipped by mail and other delivery services often die on the way.
If maintained properly, however, turtles can live for decades and grow to be a foot long. That's a lifetime responsibility that many people are not prepared to meet. If you've done extensive research and are prepared for the commitment and responsibility of a turtle, we suggest you adopt one from a local animal shelter or rescue group, instead of creating more demand for turtles by purchasing one from a pet store.
Turtles should never be let loose outdoors
If you get a turtle and then decide you can't care for the animal, there are not many options. Rescue groups are inundated with calls to take them. People sometimes turn turtles loose, thinking they are "freeing" them, but it's typically illegal to release turtles outdoors. Turtles let loose might die, and they might carry disease that kills other turtles. If they live, they can out-compete native species for food and habitat, threatening native biodiversity. The red-eared slider turtles common in the pet trade are native to only part of the United States, but are turning up where they are not native across the country and around the globe. They are now considered among the world's 100 most invasive species.
To protect your health, the earth and the animals, please don't get a turtle for a pet!