Anabaptist
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I found this baby turtle in the Prince Frederick area. Can anyone identify the species?
I found this baby turtle in the Prince Frederick area. Can anyone identify the species?
Need recipes??
I wish I could have taken some better pictures. It has the feet of an aquatic turtle.
I found this baby turtle in the Prince Frederick area. Can anyone identify the species?
Please put it back where you took it from.
It is illegal in MD to take and keep cative native animals including turtles.
Our box turtle population is suffering because of loss of habitat and people thinking they are free pets.
If you need more info...contact your local Dept. of Natural Resourses office.
Or the main office in Annapolis:
Thank you.....
It's suffering from habitat loss and from getting ran over in the road. That little turtle would get swallowed up by a raccon or posseum(sp) in no time. I've had turtles since I was a little kid, and hand raised them. There is nothing wrong with keeping a turtle as long as you give them all the required care. If anything your saving them from getting ate or killed. I've had Diamond Back turtles and even spotted turtles through the years.
Please put it back where you took it from.
It is illegal in MD to take and keep cative native animals including turtles.
Our box turtle population is suffering because of loss of habitat and people thinking they are free pets.
If you need more info...contact your local Dept. of Natural Resourses office.
Or the main office in Annapolis:
Thank you.....
I thought you took cranes. :shrug:
Please put it back where you took it from.
It is illegal in MD to take and keep cative native animals including turtles.
Our box turtle population is suffering because of loss of habitat and people thinking they are free pets.
If you need more info...contact your local Dept. of Natural Resourses office.
Or the main office in Annapolis:
Thank you.....
Please put it back where you took it from.
It is illegal in MD to take and keep cative native animals including turtles.
Our box turtle population is suffering because of loss of habitat and people thinking they are free pets.
If you need more info...contact your local Dept. of Natural Resourses office.
Or the main office in Annapolis:
Thank you.....
That is incorrect. Most native reptiles/amphibians are legal to take from the wild - including box turtles as long as you follow the laws.
According to Maryland Law, an individual is allowed to take and keep (from the wild) a single box turtle. All other box turtles in ones possession must be proven to be captive bred and/or legally obtained from outside of the state (with appropriate documentation to back up their legality).
When having more than one box turtle in your possession, you must also obtain and maintain a Maryland Reptile/Amphibian Permit for as long as the turtles are in your possession.
If you only have box turtles that are captive bred (or legally obtained from out of state) in your possession, but you have no documentation to back up the legality of your possession of those turtles, then Maryland DNR will automatically presume the turtles are wild caught from MD and will hold you to 1 allowance rule and all others would be considered illegal in violation of the law...meaning you risk confiscation of all animals in your possession and you face the possibility of prosecution/fines.
If you have one or more box turtles legally in your possession, you are required to obtain a Maryland Reptile/Amphibian Permit if any of the turtle(s) are less than 4 inches in carapace length.
The Reptile/Amphibian permit currently costs $25 per year. This same permit will also cover the legal captive breeding of and/or selling/trading/bartering of captive bred box turtles. It is illegal to sell wild caught box turtles in Maryland.
While MD does allow for the legal captive breeding of box turtles and possession of said offspring under 4 inches in carapace length as covered under the R/A Permit, you start to get into potential legal complications if you try to sell/barter/trade those turtles that are under 4" inches in carapace length. The MD law as written only permits selling of undersized turtles to individuals outside of the state since MD Health Department regulations do not allow the sale of any undersized turtles within the state. If you sell outside of the state, you must be doing so in accordance with the state laws of the person whom you are conducting the transaction with. Additionally, there are even more complications due to Federal laws. The way the fed laws are written, public distribution (selling/bartering/trading) of any turtle under 4" in carapace length for purposes other than bona-fide research/educational purposes is illegal. In other words, selling a baby turtle to little junior and his mom so junior can have a pet and "learn about turtles" does not qualify as bona-fide educational/research purposes.... selling to a zoo or educational facility or laboratory however would be legal. Selling an undersized turtle to a teacher as a classroom pet could qualify as bona-fide educational provided the turtle remained in possession of the school (i.e. the educational facility) and not as the personal property of the teacher (i.e. a pet). And the complications will get further out of control when you try to export turtles out of the country as then CITES and red-tape comes into play.
And finally, it is illegal to release into the wild in any captive bred animal (native or not to Maryland). If a box turtle in your possession is originally wild caught, there are laws/guidelines that one must adhere to if that animal is to be released back to the wild and unfortunately depending on the circumstances it's quite possible that the animal may not even qualify for release.