Is It Legal to Own a Red-Footed Tortoise? State Guide
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Nothing on the exotic pet law map bans the red-footed tortoise. Across all 52 jurisdictions there is no outright prohibition anywhere, which puts it in a small group among reptiles. What it collects instead is conditions, and several of them catch it for reasons that have nothing to do with this species at all.
Where Red-Footed Tortoises Stand
| Where | Status | What the rule says |
|---|---|---|
| 44 jurisdictions | Legal, no permit | No restriction found on private possession |
| New Jersey | Permit required | 7:25-4.2(a) bars exotic species without a permit; 4.4 names the few exempted |
| New Mexico | Permit required | Group II on the Director's list: importation permit required, not invasive or dangerous |
| Delaware | Permit required | A non-native live reptile off the exempt list, so 903-6.2 requires an individual permit |
| Massachusetts | Conditional | General turtle allowance, no permit, capped at 100 animals and eggs combined |
| Hawaii | Conditionally approved | Listed under family Testudinidae on the conditional animal list |
| Vermont | Conditional | Unrestricted under the older name Geochelone carbonaria, captive bred only |
| Minnesota | Conditional | Turtles sit under § 97C.605 rather than the 2021 pet reptile rule |
| New York City | Conditional | Barred under four inches of carapace length, by size rather than species |
New York City Measures the Shell, Not the Animal
New York City's reptile clause ends with a size test: all turtles and tortoises with a carapace length of less than four inches are prohibited. Nothing in it names a species.
That four inch figure is not arbitrary and it is not a New York invention. It matches the federal small turtle rule at 21 CFR 1240.62, published in May 1975, which bars the sale or commercial distribution of live turtles with a carapace under four inches and of viable turtle eggs. The reasoning was salmonella: at the height of the pre-ban trade an estimated 280,000 US salmonella cases a year were attributed to contact with small turtles, and the four inch line is a proxy for the animal a small child can put in their mouth. New York City applies that measurement to possession rather than only to sale.
The practical result is odd for this species. A red-footed tortoise hatchling is inside the prohibition. The identical animal two years later, once the shell has passed four inches, is not. It is the only rule in this article where the answer changes as the animal grows.
Minnesota Put Turtles in a Different Filing Cabinet
Minnesota's 2021 pet reptile rule covers snakes, lizards and salamanders, and stops there. Turtles were left out of it, which means they stayed under their own older regime at § 97C.605 rather than moving across with everything else.
That is worth knowing because a keeper reading Minnesota's reptile rules will find the familiar § 97A.401 language that governs the bearded dragon and every other lizard, and will not find their tortoise in it. The answer exists, it is simply in a different section, and the two do not cross-reference each other in a way that makes this obvious.
Vermont Lists It Under a Name It No Longer Has
Vermont clears the species on its Unrestricted list, but under Geochelone carbonaria. The current binomial is Chelonoidis carbonarius, the genus having been revised.
Anyone checking the Vermont list by searching for the current name will not find the animal, and might conclude it is absent and therefore restricted, which is how Vermont treats anything unlisted. It is listed. It is listed under a synonym.
The clearance carries the state's captive bred only condition, which requires a statement of origin. That is the substantive requirement, and it is the same condition that governs most of Vermont's cleared reptiles.
Hawaii Cleared the Family
Hawaii's conditional approval covers family Testudinidae, which takes the red-footed tortoise in as a member rather than naming it. That is the opposite situation from the sulcata, which moved out of Geochelone into the unlisted genus Centrochelys and left its own status hanging on a taxonomy change.
The same revision that made Vermont's entry out of date is the one that could have stranded this species in Hawaii, and did not, because Hawaii wrote at family rank.
What to Check Before Buying
A red-footed tortoise can live fifty years and outlast the rules you bought it under, and hatchling size is a live issue in at least one jurisdiction. The full jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction detail, with the rule text and the date each entry was verified, is on the red-footed tortoise page of the exotic pet law map.
Sources & Further Reading
8 sources
- New York City Health Code Article 161, Animals (official PDF)
- 321 CMR 9.00, Exotic Wildlife: Exemption List and List of Domestic Animals (official PDF)
- Hawaii List of Conditionally Approved Animals (official PDF)
- Vermont Unrestricted Wild Animals List (official PDF)
- Minn. Stat. § 97C.605, Turtles (official text)
- New Mexico Director's Species Importation List (official PDF)
- Delaware Exotic Animal Regulations, 3 Del. Admin. Code 903
- 21 CFR 1240.62, turtles intrastate and interstate requirements (eCFR, official text)
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Is the red-footed tortoise banned anywhere in the US?
No. It is the rare reptile on this map with no outright ban in any of the 52 jurisdictions. New Jersey, New Mexico and Delaware require a permit, and Massachusetts, Hawaii, Vermont, Minnesota and New York City attach conditions.
Why does New York City regulate tortoises by size?
Because its reptile clause ends with all turtles and tortoises with a carapace length of less than four inches. That draws the line by shell measurement rather than by species, so a hatchling red-footed tortoise is caught and the same animal grown out is not.
What does Vermont's condition require?
Captive-bred origin, with a statement of origin to prove it. The species sits on Vermont's Unrestricted list under its older name, Geochelone carbonaria, rather than the current Chelonoidis carbonarius, which is worth knowing if you are searching the list yourself.
Does Massachusetts limit how many I can keep?
It caps the species at 100 in any combination of animals and eggs, with no permit needed below that. That is a dealer-scale ceiling rather than a keeper-scale one, so a household will never approach it.
📰 More on the Red Footed Tortoise
📘 Red Footed Tortoise care guide
🐢 How Much Does a Red-Footed Tortoise Really Cost?
🐢 How to Handle a Red-Footed Tortoise
🐢 Common Red-Footed Tortoise Health Issues and What Causes Them
🐢 Red-Footed Tortoise Enclosure Setup: A Humid Tropical Setup, Not a Desert One
🐢 Red-Footed Tortoise Feeding: Diet, Schedule, and Why Protein Isn't Optional
Written by Michael Ryan
Mike keeps two rescued bearded dragons, Dex and Cera, and writes the care guides on BeastlyFacts from his own research and mistakes. He is not a veterinarian.
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