WARNING! This is not a professional website! I am NOT an expert. Do NOT believe everything on this site.

In the United States, it is illegal (without special permission) to own, sell, buy, or possess a turtle under 4 inches in length which would thus include all hatchling and young freshwater turtles commonly found native to the USA as well as turtles from other countries normally sold as pets. It is also normally illegal to take a turtle from the wild (eggs, babies, or adults). To have a baby turtle legally, permits are required to breed them if that is what you are doing or to rehabilitate them if they come from the wild. Permits vary state to state and country to country. What is legal in one state may not be in another. There are also permits to "take" (kill for food or put in the pet trade) turtles. The reality is that many people illegally take babies from the wild, end up with babies from their adult pet turtles by accident or on purpose, or find or are given baby turtles found in the wild that are in danger (on roads, construction sites) or injured. [In my case, someone gave me a 1-inch hatchling snapping turtle in late fall that would have died if put into the wild (too small a turtle, too cold, pond frozen, etc.). I have more experience with turtles than the local rehabilitator so I kept him alive until spring to be released. Baby snappers do not bite like the adults so he was really a cutey-pie, and I loved him.] In those cases, even if kept illegally, I think that is it important to at least care for those animals as best as possible. Turtles found in the wild can be given to wildlife rehabilitators or better yet, to turtle experts (who have permits) who better know how to care for turtles. I have gotten so many questions about how to specifically care for hatchlings and babies (under say 4 inches) that instead of continually repeating myself, I will provide that information on my site in detail. For information on taking turtles from the wild and releasing them, see this section.

Hatchling turtle are normally born in summer or early fall, eat some food, find a pond, and hibernate in the bottom before ice forms. If a turtle hatches late in the season, it is supposed to stay in the nest (dirt hole) until spring. If something goes wrong, a turtle such as my Snappy, will come out of the ground too late in the fall to survive. With no time to eat, no time to find water, and no time to get into the water before ice forms, such a turtle would die. The winter of 2002/2003, two other people told me they found hatchlings on roads when it was already below freezing. Nature would "cull" (kill) those babies but some people decide to try to save them as the person who brought me Snappy did. I think that the problem that year (2002) was the drought. Female turtles may have laid eggs later, waiting for rain or perhaps the babies hatched but could not dig out until it started to rain later. When they came out, it was too late in the season. Many hatchlings get lost, cross roads and parking lots, and never find water. They may be near death when found and require the best of care to make it to be released in the spring in a nice pond near where they were born. Never release a turtle into a private pond or lake without permission. Never let a wild baby turtle come into contact with any other turtle unless a bunch are found together (or perhaps even other animals) if you plan to release it as it could pick up something (parasite, etc.). Never take a turtle from the wild that is not in danger. Never keep a turtle taken from the wild unless it is unable to survive on its own (and then give it to someone who has legal permission to keep it). Be aware that your actions may be illegal. As I said, thousands of people break the laws regarding turtles so I figure if they are going to do it anyway, I might as well help them take care of the turtles as best they can. Please do not ever take a turtle from the wild that does not need help. Turtles are being decimated by collectors (mostly illegal), people who want to eat them (mostly exported to Asian countries), and most of all, development/destruction. Please give them a break! If you want a pet turtle, you should get a captive-bred animal that is over 4 inches in length (the legal length). I cannot tell you how many hundreds of people have e-mailed me that they were sold turtles under that length, even in the USA! The buyer was ignorant but the seller was criminal (even if you consider the law stupid. It was put into place because children might put baby turtles in their mouths, and some turtles carry salmonella but really only sick ones). Almost all such baby turtles are stolen from the wild. If you were ignorant (you are not any longer!), please care for the baby well, as per my directions. Thanks for caring for the wee turtles!

Note: I am speaking only about aquatic turtles. If you come across a hatchling box turtle or tortoise in the fall, it should not have a problem finding suitable habitat for the winter as they hibernate among leaves and dirt and not in water. If you find one on a road, etc., move it across the street, in the direction it was headed. Aquatic turtles must hibernate in the water or in their nest so if they are running about when the ponds are already freezing, they do not have much chance (but could perhaps still make it). Caring for hatchling land turtles is different than aquatic turtles as they stay on land and not in water. But, you can try feeding the same types of foods listed under feeding.

It really, really bothers me that people who take in wildlife to help them are often arrested or fined for doing so but killing, maiming, or harassing the same animal in the wild would yield no punishment at all (especially with more common animals like deer, raccoons, etc.). Yes, many of those people who take wildlife have NO idea what they are doing and should not be allowed to have any animals but many others do know what they are doing. A local rehabilitator had some raccoons who "accidently" got into some hanky panky and had babies. The authorities killed all the babies since it is illegal to breed wildlife, and raccoons are all infested with rabies (which is a total lie). Now off my soap box and on to the information.

After putting up this site, I have become surprised that it is one of my most popular pages! I can only assume it is because there is not enough good information on the internet about hatchling turtle care. I have gotten so many e-mails and questions about this! So many people have taken hatchlings from the wild, and many are buying them at local stores, etc. I found out about a certain site I will not mention that sells hatchlings. They claim it is legal since they are put up for "adoption" instead of sale. But since when does adopting cost lots of money? At least two people have said they got hatchlings there that were horribly sick. I was beginning to think the 4" rule must be a fallacy so I looked it up. It is real. Any turtle eggs or turtles under 4" found being sold are to be killed and the person fined. Here is the link for you to read with the actual law.

I finally talked to those in charge of Maryland permits for turtles on 10/21/05. There is no legal way for an individual to get a permit in MD to keep any turtle under 4" long for any reason (rehabilitation, breeding, and education included). Businesses can get such permits though to "harvest" (ship off to grow into breeders or be eaten or just eat directly) baby turtles. What a horrible world we live in when it is perfectly legal (with permits) to kill animals but illegal to help them. I got the impression that the 4" law is basically ignored because so many people break it partly because it does not allow for exceptions.

Tortoise.org and 4" rule - the same link as above.
Baby Turtles and Children - HSUS article; I agree with most but not 100% of what they say. It does go over some cases where turtles were being sold and the consequences which were dire for people and/or the poor turtles.
FDA statement - "Pet Turtles Pose Risk of Salmonella Infection for Infants and Small Children"
The actual FDA law

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