FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is responsible for administering the provisions of the regulation that ban the sale of turtles with a carapace length of less than 4 inches.  This regulation comes under the Public Health Service Act and is enforced by the FDA in cooperation with state and local health jurisdictions.  The ban has been in effect in the U.S. since 1975 because of the public health impact of turtle-associated salmonellosis.

Consumer Information

• Pet Turtles: A Source of Germs
• Pet Turtles: Cute But Commonly Contaminated with Salmonella
• Pet Turtles and Salmonella Lesson Plan
• CDC Healthy Pets/Healthy People Publications
• Reptiles and Amphibians (CDC)

Regulations

• Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1240.62 - Turtles Intrastate and Interstate Requirements

Additional Information

• Notes from the Field: Multistate Outbreak of Human Salmonella Poona Infections Associated with Pet Turtle Exposure — United States, 2014 (CDC)
• Notes from the Field: Outbreak of Salmonellosis Associated with Pet Turtle Exposures — United States, 2011 (CDC)
• Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Infections Associated with Small Turtle Exposure, 2007-2008 (Abstract)