Fly River / Pignose Turtle

[turtlez]

Hello,

I was doing some reading about Fly River Turtles as I am interested in getting one. I came across something quiet peculiar. It says that fly river turtles have only been bred on 3 occasions and the offspring were never sold. The article continued to explain that the only way these turtles have ever reached pet stores is by hunting them down and catching eggs in Indonesia, incubating them and then smuggling them out of the country. This is ilegal in Indonesia, but once out of Indonesia is it ilegal to sell these species in Canada?

Anyways, I am still interested in getting one, but, I am just concerned about the legal repurcussions associated with purchasing a pet that was ilegally brought to Canada.

Do you know the history of the one in the Burnaby showtank? I have had no luck finding a place to get a young one from...I saw one at King Eds but it had a horrible pink flakey skin rash on its shell and it was still $400

Best Regards,
Aarman

[architeuthis]

They are illegal to bring into the country.
Once they are in the country I haven't heard of anyone owning one having a legal problem with owning it.
They are offered for sale on this board quite often.

[Rastapus]

There are many Fly River Turtles popping up around town lately, I have no idea where they are coming from exactly. The Fly River Turtles we have had in the past and the one in the show tank were purchased within Canada. This is the reason the ones we have had have all been medium to larger size. I am assuming they were no longer kept by hobbyists and traded in to my supplier. They are illegal to import into Canada and are readily exported from Indonesia.
Legally if the turtle is purchased within Canada there are no repercussions as the animal is already here. Ethically, the numbers of FRT showing up around town is very curious. We have only had 4 available to us over a 4 year period.
Based on the fact that these turtles are very hard to come by, they are worth a lot of money due to the rarity of the animal in Canada. Obviously the health of the animal is key however they are fairly easy to medicate and very hardy if kept in the right conditions. They are also hard water turtles and if the aquarium is poorly buffered, skin infections usually follow. I hope this answered your question.

[turtlez]

Thank You. Since I am only 17, I don't really want to get into dealings with a direct supplier, so I'll keep a lookout for a secondary supplier. I would much rather prefer a hatchling to start off, but unfortunately that would probably involve some sort of contact with smugglers :P
I'll stick with my YBS

[Rastapus]

Turtlez,
Also keep in mind the demands of keeping such a turtle. They get very large and need a lot of space. they also grow quickly and with any turtle there is a long term commitment. Unfortunately I find that the rarity of certain animals only encourages the interest in having one that much more. FRT are great turtles if you have the space and budget to keep one. Their price tag is just the beginning.....

[turtlez]

That is true. So it would be around $400 for the turtle, and then I'd probably start with a 125 gallon tank, so another $200 (used), overated canister filter $250 (used), food ... etc etc etc so its probably going to be over 1000 bucks in the end. hahaha
well, I could technically use the scholarship money :P
I was blessed to have received the TD Canada Trust $70 000 Scholarship for any University in Canada, and they give me $7500 cash per year for 'living expenses' and since I'm going to SFU for Health Sciences and living at home, I could possibly set something aside from there =D
haha, I wanted to treat myself to something nice :P

maybe when I'm an Endodontist I'll get one

How big was the fly river turtle in the store when you first got it? were there ever any medical issues?

[snow]

There are cartain people on this site who bring them in, that's one of the reasons all these small ones are turning up. I got mine from another member and he got it from places I don't know. But they can be prone to disease especially when they are small. I bought mine with shell rot and it was underweight, these were the reasons why I got here so cheap. Well after a trip to the vet I got her the right meds and a better diet. She is doing great now and growing with no more shell rot. Just make sure to look for the signs of the healthy one when you buy one. Don't go to king-eds or anything like that b/c like you already stated they are not in the best care and they want top price for a little one. Interesting though b/c up until you posted this thread I never knew they were illegal to export. Very interesting indeed. I've never heard of anyone here in Canada getting the eggs and then raising them up, they usually come in at the 3.5" size.

[turtlez]

If you don't mind me asking, could you please PM me how much you paid and the seller's id as well?

[TomC]

There may be no legal consequences to buying one, but you may want to consider the moral implications. You are obviously a turtle lover. Do you really want to contribute to worsening the situation of a threatened species? These things are only taken out of the wild because there are unethical hobbyists willing to pay for them. Maybe think about getting a species that is bred in captivity.

[turtlez]

I have a Yellow Belly Slider already.
These Fly River Turtles are so cute! haha...
I understand that they are a threatened species, and inevetably they are going to go extinct probably due to hobbiests, unless they figure out how to captively breed them...well anways, we may as well enjoy them while they are here. I am confident that I can supply a better home then others may supply and I could always get one that has shell rot and nurse it back to health to make it morally good hahaha