Turtle Transport

I have been stressing over the issue of transporting my pet turtles to Hawaii. For one, they are an alien specie since Hawaii is not their native land. Second, what are the procedures for legal transportation of reptiles? I did not particularly like the idea of quanrantine because who knows what kind of environment my turtles will be placed in and for how long! And if they happen to go into quarantine, I can't help but worry every single second of the day that some dog might eat them or another person accidently takes them home as their pets. Gosh, I would go insane!

Thanks to HappyOblivion and his doctor friend, I found out my turtles can be legally transported to Hawaii without the long and dreadful quarantine (fingers crossed). According to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Chrysemys picta (painted turtle) is among the animals conditionally-approved to be imported to Hawaii.

Other requirements are as follows:
1. An Import Permit (Form PQ-7) from the Plant Quarantine Branch.
2. Remit the application with the $5.00 fee (cashiers check or money order). Processing time is about two to three weeks.
3. Permits are valid for one shipment within one year of date of issue.
4. Multiple pets of the same species may be listed on one application as long as the pets are traveling together. Pets of different species require separate applications.
5. At the time of travel, pets are required to be accompanied by a health certificate issued by an accredited veterinarian within 7 days of arrival in Honolulu. The health certificate should indicate that the animal is free of external parasites.
* Honolulu is the only port of entry for animals on the Conditionally Approved List. Once inspected and cleared in Honolulu, pets may be taken to neighboring islands.

This is very exciting news for me! When I go back to work on Tuesday, I will make sure that my lovely turtles are on the conditionally-approved list and if there are more "hidden" requirements not on the website that I should know about.