Turtles in Myrtle Beach

M

mooosic

AC Members
Aug 16, 2006
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38
Knoxville, TN
I was in Myrtle Beach for the past few days, and at the shops there, they have those small aquatic turtles that are about 3", and they are completly aquatic. They almost look like Red Sliders, but there feet are completly webbed. Does anybody know what they are? Or have any info on them? I was gonna get two as i left, but all the stores i passed on the way back home, didnt have them. (they were only on the main street)
 
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My bad.....they are Red-Eared Sliders. Still dont know much about them though.
It does appear that the only way im gonna get one is.....through a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend..

But that Fly River looks very cool.
 
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red eared sliders need both land and water. they can get quite big and each one requires at least 100G's when fully grown. it is illegal now to sell them as babies, I think they have to be bigger than 5 inches or about the size of your hand.
 
I think they've revised that ban. At least here it seems as one pet shop has the tiny redears for sale. I asked about the ban and the guy told me the inspection people had been in the week before and didn't say anything about them. I think they got a bad rap for supposedly carrying salmonela. I never did get how salmonela would choose a host animal based on size. I blame the salmonela on poor husbandry rather than the size of the turtle.
 
I found out that there illegal in TN....hinse me getting one from a friend of a friend of a friend
 
if they are illegal to buy in TN, chances are they are also illegal to keep.
We here at AC do not condone such illegal practices and wish that you keep posts of these types of practices off the boards.

The US began putting provisions on the sale of turtles within the US in 1975 because of their association with Salmonella and the chances of smaller children to place the turtles and/or their fingers after touching them, in their mouths there-by contracting the bacteria. Salmonella isn't a disease that turtles give, it's a naturally occurring bacteria in turtles and it is spread by ingestion of their wastes. You can't see if a turtle is passing Salmonella or even if it has it. This is why the blame back in the 70's was on the unkept living quarters. Children put their hands in the tanks that hadn't been cleaned as they should and with the turtle walking around/swimming in their own wastes, had the bacteria all over them. The child would put the turtle down and go have lunch. If this child didn't wash up before eating, there came the problem. The US rule for sales of turtles in the minimum of 4 inches which was obviously overlooked at the store you were at.

I'm going to further advise that if someone is looking into owning a turtle for their home, they should do all the research possible as they are not simple animals to keep. Most need an area for basking with the correct temperature and other things that are detrimental to their well-beings. If you do get one, you also need to keep in mind that they are not disposable, something to put in the creek when they are inconvenient. As with other pets, they are a long-term responsibility.
 
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