Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was in a small ny reptile store, and they were selling baby ornate box turtles. Are ornates legal in ny? I thought all north american boxies were illegal in ny, or is it only ones native to the state (easterns basically then i guess)?

I'm pretty sure it's just native box turtles that are banned. Was this in NYC? I have seen box turtles offered pretty regularly in the smaller shops in the city.

No, not nyc, upstate ny. They were also less than 4 inches, actually they were hatchlings, some still had their egg tooth.

Mel
It probably is only native turtles. Next time you see them in a pet store, ask the manager, see if that person can answer the question or not.
If you do then let us know what they say lol.
I've looked around your state's parks & wildlife site, it's kind of confusing.
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PHRatz

I get confused by my states park and wildlife site too. I kinda thought it might only be the ones native to this state, but I can't tell, lol. The store owner to that store is not very friendly, so I don't think im gonna initiate a conversation with him. The boxies were also less than 4 inches, and they were selling hatchling greek tortoises too. They also had a horribly pyramided sulcata, but I think it may have been on that was dropped off at their store.

I wonder if you could get a better explanation from your local animal control dept.
If it's anything like my local animal control then no you couldn't. lol

Maybe your state parks & wildlife has a booklet? I've read my state's booklet, I found one while visiting the office at a state park, so I picked it up & read it. That booklet very clearly tells you what you can & cannot have in this state.
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PHRatz

From my understanding, Ornates are ok. Easterns are illegal to sell and possess.