Where is the Russian tortoise legal?

Any species of wildlife that is not specifically listed in Chapter W-11 as Domestic or Unregulated or in Chapter W-07 as Appendix A or Appendix B, the species is regulated wildlife and a CPW license is required. CPW will not issue a license for private possession (eg pet) of regulated wildlife.

Testudinidae is on Appendix A, but only for tortoises native only to the tropical and subtropical region, and the Russian tortoise is a Central Asian steppe animal ranging far north of the 26 degree line. CPW's herpetofauna list records Testudo horsfieldii against Appendix A, C, 3 with the finding "native range is outside tropical/subtropical", and files the Greek tortoise, Hermann's tortoise and the leopard tortoise the same way, against the sulcata and the red-footed tortoise which do clear it. A tortoise being on Appendix A's family list is therefore not the answer in Colorado; the range test is.

How this rule works: CPW's own page, with four downloadable lists, herpetofauna, mammals, birds, and fish and marine animals, each row giving a species and the regulation that decides it: Domestic, Unregulated, Appendix A or B, Appendix C, Regulated or Prohibited. Updated 1 May 2026. Not exhaustive, and CPW takes questions on unlisted species by email. This is the agency applying its own rule, which matters most where Appendix A turns on whether a species is native only to the tropics.

Unless specifically exempt from the permitting requirement as presented in regulation 6.1, all persons who would own or have custody of an exotic animal must first obtain a permit issued by the Department.

The Russian tortoise is a live reptile not native to Delaware and is not on the exempt list, so regulation 6.2 requires an Individual permit before anyone may bring one in, possess, sell or exhibit it. Delaware exempts no chelonian of any kind. The permit is a $25 Individual permit from the Department of Agriculture, issued where possession will be in the public interest, so this is a real route rather than a closed door.

How this rule works: The regulation that actually decides Delaware, and it is much narrower than the list circulating in secondary sources. § 7201 requires a permit before anyone brings in, possesses, sells or exhibits a live wild mammal, a hybrid of a wild mammal, or a live reptile not native to Delaware, and bans non-native venomous snakes outright with no permit available. Regulation 6.1 then exempts a named list of pets from the permit entirely, and 6.2 says everything else needs one. The only species the State Veterinarian may not permit at all are at 4.7: gila monsters, beaded lizards and komodo dragons. Pythons, anacondas and boas appear only at 7.5.2.10, a restriction on what Sales Permit holders may breed, not a possession ban. The Delaware regulations site is a single-page app that serves no text to a fetcher, so this was read from a full reproduction and cross-checked against the Department of Agriculture's own exotic animals page.

All species of turtles may be kept without a permit, up to a limit of 100 turtles and/or eggs, in any combination, of each species, except for the following species for which a permit is always required: 1. Species categorically non-exempt pursuant to 321 CMR 9.01(3). 2. Argentina or Chaco Tortoise (Geochelone chilensis). 3. Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) and all other species in the genus Gopherus. 4. Pancake Tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri). 5. Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata). 6. Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta, including all subspecies and forms).

The turtle allowance is generous and the categorical bar is what removes this species from it. Testudo horsfieldii is assessed by the IUCN as vulnerable, so 9.01(3)(b) applies and it cannot be exempted whatever the general clause says. Note that MassWildlife's own summary page lists only four tortoises as off limits and does not carry the rarity clause into its turtle table, while it does carry it into its snake and gecko tables; the regulation governs, and the page itself says its lists may not be all-inclusive. MassWildlife's own guidance is blunt about what that means in practice: permits for non-exempt wildlife "are issued only for certain scientific, educational, commercial, or other specific reasons" and "You will not be issued a permit for keeping a wild animal as a pet." The statute is less absolute, since § 23 contemplates "an individual license for an animal that is not on the special exemption list" and even sets a preference for captive-bred animals where wild depletion is an issue, so the licence exists on paper and the agency says it will not grant one for a pet.

How this rule works: Massachusetts runs a closed white list and says so in terms: a species not on it, or listed as requiring a permit, is not exempt from M.G.L. c. 131, § 23. Two structural points decide most of this state. First, 9.01(2) defines "species" as a "distinct non-domestic VERTEBRATE animal population", and § 23 itself reaches only fish, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, so terrestrial invertebrates are outside the scheme entirely. Second, 9.01(3) is a categorical override that most readings of this rule miss: no species may be exempted if it is listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, appears in the IUCN Red Book(s), or is on the Massachusetts endangered, threatened and special concern list at 321 CMR 10.90. Nearly every group listing in 9.01 repeats the cross-reference, so it operates as a live carve-out rather than as drafting furniture, and it is what pulls the Burmese python out of Boidae, the crested gecko out of Gekkonidae and the box turtle out of the turtle allowance.

A permit shall be required for any other exotic mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians, or nongame species not specifically exempted by N.J.A.C. 7:25-4.4.

New Jersey is a closed-list state in the strict sense. 7:25-4.2(a) bars possession of any exotic or nongame species without a permit, 4.4 then names the handful that may be kept without one, and 4.5 sweeps everything else back in. The Russian tortoise appears on none of the Division's three lists, so it is not exempt under 4.4, not one of the families singled out in 4.3, and not potentially dangerous under 4.8. That leaves 4.5, and the permit it points to is the individual hobby permit at 4.6(a)1, which 4.7 conditions on diet, caging that prevents escape, lawful acquisition, veterinary care and freedom from disease. The Division's own handout tells readers to phone the permits office for anything the lists do not name, which is a fair signal that the catch-all is where these end up rather than an oversight. The only chelonians 4.4 exempts are the eastern painted turtle and the snapping turtle, so every tortoise sold as a pet in New Jersey is a permit animal.

How this rule works: NJDEP's own courtesy copy of the whole of N.J.A.C. 7:25. Subchapter 4 starts at 7:25-4.1 and carries the definitions, the permit requirement at 4.2, the three species lists at 4.3, 4.4 and 4.8, the pet bar at 4.9(a)3 and 4.15(b), and the state endangered list at 4.13. The three list PDFs the Division hands out are extracts of this.

Rep/Amph | Turtle | Testudinidae | Testudo horsfieldii | Russian tortoise | II

Group II on the Director's list: not known to be invasive or dangerous, but an importation permit is still required before the animal may be brought into New Mexico. One caveat on all of this: 19.35.7 NMAC is an importation rule, its stated scope being persons who desire to bring wildlife species into New Mexico, so it governs getting the animal here rather than keeping one already in the state.

How this rule works: The roughly 1,300 row table that 19.35.7 NMAC points at and that earlier research could not obtain. Every row gives a family, a scientific name, a common name and a roman numeral group. Group I is semi-domesticated and needs no importation permit. Group II is not known to be invasive or dangerous and needs a permit. Group III presents minimal or manageable concerns and needs a permit with specific provisions attached. Group IV is prohibited to the general public. The list is reached from the download page rather than a direct file URL, and the site needs a User-Agent header.

No person shall transport into or have in his possession within this state any live wildlife or viable eggs thereof from without the state, except as authorized by an importation permit issued by the director

West Virginia’s importation section is the rule the rest of this column was written without, and it changes the answer for every exotic reptile and amphibian in it. W. Va. Code § 20-1-2 builds wildlife out of wild birds, wild animals, game and fur-bearing animals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans and all forms of aquatic life used as fish bait. The reptile and amphibian clause carries no nativity qualifier and no captive-bred carve-out, so a pet reptile or amphibian bought from an out-of-state breeder is live wildlife from without the state. A Russian tortoise is a reptile and a Central Asian species, so it is wildlife from without the state on any route into West Virginia. § 20-2-13 then bars both bringing that animal in and having it in possession within the state except under an importation permit from the director, and the permit is discretionary: the director may issue it, fix its terms and revoke it at his pleasure. How firm this is, both ways. § 20-2-4(a) independently makes it unlawful to take, obtain, purchase, possess or maintain in captivity any live wildlife except as the chapter or a rule provides, and § 20-2-4(b) says wildlife lawfully taken outside of this state is subject to the same laws and rules as wildlife taken within it, which closes the argument that an out-of-state origin puts the animal outside the chapter before it is made. Against that, the section is headed importation and certification and the body of it is disease control, fish pathologist certificates and inspection of imported shipments, with the only penalty clause written for coyotes. Nothing in Title 58 implements § 20-2-13 for anything but aquaculture, and WVDNR publishes no application for an importation permit. So this is a statutory permit requirement that is real on paper with its machinery not visibly in place, which is the same shape as the Minnesota breeder condition and is recorded the same way. Neither of West Virginia’s two species lists bars this animal. W. Va. C.S.R. § 74-1-3, the dangerous wild animal list adopted 5 April 2022, is a mammal list plus the Komodo dragon. W. Va. C.S.R. § 58-73 reaches native West Virginia reptiles and amphibians only.

How this rule works: West Virginia splits its animals by two definitions in one section. Wildlife takes in reptiles, amphibians, mollusks and crustaceans with no nativity limit and no terrestrial arthropod at all. Wild animals means all mammals native to the State of West Virginia, which is the phrase that decides every mammal here. § 20-2-4 bars possessing either except as the chapter or a rule provides, and § 20-2-51 is the only pet route, a two dollar permit from the director.

FAMILY Testudinidae ... Testudo (all species in genus)

A genuine surprise given how much Hawaii bans. The whole genus Testudo is conditionally approved, so Testudo horsfieldii may be imported and kept subject to the conditions the Department of Agriculture attaches, rather than being barred by the default rule the way most exotics are.

How this rule works: The list that matters most for pet keepers and the one almost never quoted. Conditional approval means importation and possession are allowed subject to the conditions the Board of Agriculture sets, unlike the restricted list, which is research and exhibition only.

A person may not take, possess, or transport turtles without a resident angling license and a recreational turtle license. ... A person does not need the licenses specified under subdivision 1: ... (2) when buying a turtle at a retail outlet

Turtles are the gap in the 2021 pet reptile rule. Section 97A.401, subd. 8 covers snakes, lizards and salamanders and stops there, so turtles stay under their own older regime, which is a licence requirement with a short list of exemptions rather than a source condition. Whether a Russian tortoise is a "turtle" for this section is not spelled out, since Minnesota never defines the word and its turtle rules are plainly written around aquatic natives. It does not matter much in practice: read broadly, the retail outlet exemption in subd. 2c covers a pet-shop animal anyway, and read narrowly the section does not reach it at all. Either way no licence is needed for one bought at retail, and the species is on neither invasive species list.

How this rule works: Turtles are handled apart from the 2021 snake, lizard and salamander rule and were not included in it. Subd. 1 requires an angling licence plus a recreational turtle licence to take, possess or transport turtles; subd. 2c exempts, among others, buying a turtle at a retail outlet, which is what leaves a pet-shop turtle or tortoise unlicensed.

Reptiles (Reptilia). All Helodermatidae ...; all front-fanged venomous snakes, even if devenomized ...; all venomous, mid-or rear-fanged, Duvernoy-glanded members of the family Colubridae, even if devenomized; any member, or hybrid offspring of the family Boidae, including, but not limited to, the common or green anaconda and yellow anaconda; any member of the family Pythonidae, including, but not limited to, the African rock python, Indian or Burmese python, Amethystine or scrub python; any member of the family Varanidae, including the white throated monitor, Bosc's or African savannah monitor, Komodo monitor or dragon, Nile monitor, crocodile monitor, water monitor, Bornean earless monitor; any member of the family Iguanidae, including the green or common iguana; any member of the family teiidae, including, but not limited to, the golden, common, or black and white tegu; all members of the family Chelydridae, including snapping turtle and alligator snapping turtle; all turtles and tortoises with a carapace length of less than four (4) inches; and all members of the order Crocodylia ...

New York City draws its turtle line by size rather than by species: the reptile clause ends with "all turtles and tortoises with a carapace length of less than four (4) inches". The Russian tortoise is not otherwise named, so an adult is lawful and a hatchling is not, and the animal grows out of the prohibition rather than into it. The four-inch figure is the same one the federal rule at 21 C.F.R. 1240.62 uses, and the reason is the same: small turtles are the ones children put in their mouths. This entry previously read as unrestricted, which is right for an adult and wrong for a hatchling. § 161.01(d) is worth knowing alongside the prohibition: a prohibited animal may be seized by any authorized city employee, the owner has three business days to request a hearing, and with the Department's written consent the animal may be removed to a jurisdiction where it is not prohibited. That last provision is the closest thing to relief in the article.

How this rule works: A city rule that is stricter than any state on this map, and it works in three layers. It opens with a standard rather than a list, deeming a wild animal to be "any animal which is naturally inclined to do harm and capable of inflicting harm upon human beings". It then adds, at (b)(ii), any wildlife protected or endangered under federal, STATE or local law, which imports New York State's protected wildlife scheme into the city wholesale. And it closes with 24 numbered clauses that work mostly by family: all cats other than Felis catus and their hybrids, all dogs other than Canis familiaris, all Mustelidae including the ferret by name, all squirrels, all marsupials, all large rodents, all Boidae, all Pythonidae, all Varanidae, all Iguanidae, all teiidae, all Chelydridae, all venomous spiders including the tarantula by name, and all turtles under four inches. § 161.01(c) is the short answer to what is left: gerbil, hamster, guinea pig, domesticated rabbit, and small birds such as parakeet, parrot, canary and finch.

Testudines | Testudinidae | Testudo/Agrionemys | horsfieldii | Russian tortoise (Captive Bred Only)

Named to the species and unrestricted, but the Captive Bred Only marker is a real condition rather than a footnote. The list requires captive bred animals to arrive with a statement of origin or a certificate of veterinary inspection identifying the business of origin and the number of animals imported.

How this rule works: The list the whole Vermont answer turns on, and the one earlier research could not obtain. Anything on it may be kept with no permit. Its closing line is the important part: species not found on the Restricted, Unrestricted or Domestic species lists are considered Restricted, which makes Vermont an inverted-list state like Hawaii. Several entries are marked Captive Bred Only, which is a real condition rather than a note. The site refuses automated requests without a User-Agent header.