Introduction There is significant economic incentive for illegal trade of wildlife on an international scale (Barnes and Jager, 1995; Lee, 1996; Tisdell, 2005) and regulations are often ineffective (Shepherd and Nijman, 2008), so this activity is of serious concern to government and wildlife officials (Alacs and Georges, 2008). Illegal trade of wildlife serves as a source of human and wildlife diseases (Yiming and Dianmo, 1998; Bell, Roberton, and Hunter, 2004; Gómez and Anguirre, 2008) and parasites (Burridge, 2007), provides opportunities to introduce invasive and exotic species (Carrete and Tella, 2008; Sodhi et al., 2004), and aggravates at-risk species’ endangerment (Lee, 1996; Walpole et al., 2001). Turtles are among the popular targets of the illegal international wildlife trade (Thorbjarnarson, 2001; Ceballos and Fitzgerald, 2004; Nijman and Shepherd, 2007). The health of animals that wildlife officials confiscate during crackdowns on the illegal international wildlife industry remains poorly recorded. Most of our information is based on anecdotal observations or comments (see Karesh, 1995; Encalada et al., 1994; Lau et al., No date). Illegal wildlife smugglers often subject animals to poor hygiene, starvation, and other mistreatment (Clark et al., 2008). Further, the smuggled animals frequently harbour parasites and diseases (Bailey, 2000; Kilbourn et al., 2003; Lampen et al., 2005; Superina et al., 2009). Little information exists about the health status of confiscated turtles, although we speculate that they are likewise mistreated. In a reintroduction study involving confiscated Egyptian Tortoises (Testudo kleinmanni) only 20 of ~200 surviving turtles were healthy enough (i.e., no clinical signs of disease) to reintroduce to the wild after an intensive clinical health screening (Alterio et al., 1999). Another study determined that it took 8-24 months of intensive veterinary care before all nine confiscated Bornean River Turtles (Orlitia borneensis) recovered from a complex of serious shell necrosis, bacterial infections and haemogregarine parasite infestation (Knotkova et al., 2005). After 8 mo., only 1/3 of these turtles had recovered. They mentioned the confiscation of hundreds of Bornean River Turtles without indicating what happened to the rest. Despite several recent studies (Hiler et al., 2006; Rauschenberger et al., 2004) that advanced our knowledge regarding the biology of the Alligator Snapping Turtle, (Harrel et al., 1996; Trauth et al., 1998; Tucker and Sloan, 1997), substantial information is still lacking, especially in the areas of hatchling development, ecology, and pathology (see Reed et al., 2002; Upton et al., 1992; McAllister et al., 1995). This gap in the natural history of these animals is critical Herpetology Notes, volume 4: 363-367 (2011) (published online on 24 October 2011) Body condition of hatchling alligator snapping turtles (Macrochelys temminickii) confiscated from the illegal international wildlife trade. Malcolm L. McCallum 1 *, Stanley E. Trauth 2 , Benjamin A. Wheeler 3 and Richard L. Shelton 4 1 117 Linda Lane, Texarkana, Texas 75501, USA; e-mail: malcolm.mccallum@herpconbio.org 2 Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State Universi- ty, P.O. Box 599, State University, Arkansas 72467; e-mail: strauth@astate.edu 3 Math and Science Division, University of Arkansas Com- munity College at Batesville, 2005 White Drive, Batesville, Arkansas 72501; e-mail: benjamin.wheeler@uaccb.edu 4 National Fish Hatchery, P.O. Box 160, Mammoth Spring, Arkansas 72554; e-mail: richard_shelton@fws.gov * Corresponding author. Abstract. The illegal international wildlife trade is a serious problem for the global community. Turtles are one of the regularly traded species. We collected data off of over 200 hatchling Alligator Snapping Turtles that the US Fish and Wildlife Service confiscated in route to China. Hatchlings were in various stages of metabolic bone disease. Generally, the degree of metabolic bone disease was inversely related to the standard carapace length, standard carapace width, carapace height and body mass. We believe that the condition of these hatchlings developed due to poor care provided during shipping by the illegal traders. Keywords. Alligator Snapping Turtle, black market, Illegal wildlife trade, Macrochelys temminickii, poaching, wildlife.