Quote Originally Posted by Beardedragon View Post
Really the law is more inforced in pet stores, its not illegal to buy them, just to sell them. Any turtle/tort under four inch's cannot be sold unless if it for scientific purposes and a few other things. Looking it up will go into deeper details, I'm off to bed before i start to jumble up my words.

Also, the bulb you were using is fine, i just wanted to check. Improper uvb is one of the leading causes of death in small turtles and torts.
As far as I know this ONLY applies to water turtles and has never been applied to tortoises. Different states, cities and even counties have enacted their own rules and regulations now.

You can simply tell any seller at a show you are using it for educational purposes and purchase any size water turtle you want.

The original ban was to protect kids from getting salmonella, which is easy to get from poopy water.

Tortoise hatchlings are really quite easy to keep if you meet their lighting, heating and dietary requirements.