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Another reptile that has been introduced throughout the temperate and tropical parts of the globe is the slider turtle (Trachemys scripta). Once enormously popular in the United States as pets, millions were sold until the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of turtles under four inches because they transmitted the disease salmonellosis. The pet trade then shifted overseas and now, 3-4 million are exported annually to Europe and Asia. Breeding populations have been established in Japan, Germany, Israel, South Africa and even the Mariana Islands (Ernst et al., 1994). In several of these areas sliders are considered pests that compete with native aquatic turtles, although no data are available to substantiate this claim (Luiselli et al., 1997).
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