For the most part, you look at any animal that’s in the wild and, of course, I’ve not yet seen a lizard or a turtle or a bird or a rhinoceros go to the health food store and order calcium. So the fact that they’ve all been here for so long and have been here longer than we have, I’m really inclined to believe that the natural diet they have has taken care of that.”
It seems that there was a real boom in the sale of this particular species during the 1960’s and into the seventies. This was all cut short in 1975 when the FDA enacted Title 21 Chapter 1 subchapter L Part 1240 subpart D section 1240.62 which essentially says that any turtle under a carapace (shell length) of 4” cannot be publicly distributed.
This “misinformation” could be derived from packaging which is the manufacturers fault. But the blame is not solely on the manufacturer. The consumer should also be held responsible as it should be their priority to research products prior to buying them. Some blame should be placed on the sales person of the stores that carry such products and who do not properly inform the buyer prior to purchase.
