Where can I get a mini-turtle?

Dwarf turtles, miniature turtles, dollar turtles, little green turtles: these usually refer to baby red-eared slider turtles commonly sold with false information at flea markets, on board walks, and at street corners.

Vendors will tell unsuspecting buyers that these are "mini-turtles" and that they are very easy to take care of.

Unfortunately, this is one big lie.

Most turtles sold as mini-turltes are baby red-eared sliders that will grow to 7-14 inches in size.

IMost of these baby turtles die in the first year. Some die, because they were not fit to live, some die from stress and filth during shipping. Many die from malnutrition, cold, and inappropriate setups.

While it is illegal in the United States to sell turtles smaller than 4 inches, it is not illegal to keep them, sell them for educational purposes (a big loophole), or trade them for free (which means stores will sell the setup and give away the turtle for free).

If you have acquired a "mini-turtle", refer to ??? for information on how to set it up with approopriate housing and feed it the right foods.

If you would like to have a turtle that stays small, consider a musk turtle. They are hardy, personable, and don’t get very big.