Does anyone know the regulations or policies to bring a red-foot-tortoise from oversea to the US?

Question

I recently immigrated to the US. I have two red-foot-tortoises in my home country and I want to bring my pets over here. I didn't know that they would survive in here, California, but last week in a pet store, I saw some red-foot-tortoises. I guess they can adapt to this weather. Thanks for any input.

Answer 1

It is legal, but its difficult to give you all the details of the process for importation. So, here is a site you can check out. Click (turtles) for basic info. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for contact info. They will likely ask most of the questions after you initiate your inquiry and then walk you through the necessary steps of the process. If time is of the essence, I recommend you get startes ASAP, as their may be quarantine factors, and they vary depending on species and/or what country you are importing from

http://www.foreignborn.com/visas_imm/entering_us/2bringyourpet.htm#turtles

Feel free to contact me and let me know what city in California you are living in and I will provide contact info for the nearest breeders. They should be able to answer your questions about how to set up a habitat for climatic concerns. If you are keeping them in an indoor enclosure, then just keep doing what you're doing. Good luck.

Answer 2

A big part of the question is which country are you shipping FROM? Many countries will not allow export- such as Brazil as far as I understand.

Besides, by the time you do all the paperwork and pay the fees, it might be smarter to sell yours and buy some new ones.