Practical Reptile Keeping

Practical Reptile Keeping is the only monthly herp care magazine published in English. Launched in 2009, it attracts an international readership and is packed with advice on how to look after and breed snakes, lizards, tortoises, turtles, amphibians and bugs. As well as stunning photography, each issue features technical help, product information and health care advice to keep your animals in tip-top condition, plus breeding details and the latest news relating to this group of creatures from around the world.

Welcome

Huge new species of anaconda discovered • Featuring stories that include insights into a new technique to defend native wildlife against the march of cane toads across Australia, an unusual snake behaviour observed for the first time in the wild, a possible new means of overcoming the current global amphibian pandemic, and more, including greater insight into one of the world's largest living freshwater turtles which is now critically endangered, while starting here with the exciting discovery of a new, gigantic species of anaconda in a remote region of the Amazon.

Helping to protect against cane toads

A new discovery that could end the global amphibian pandemic?

Two coral snakes battling for prey in a scientific first

UNEXPECTED THREAT FACING ENDANGERED SKINK

New insights into a rare freshwater turtle

The mystery of the vanishing moths

Oceanic giants unmasked

Out of Africa Using the tongue to catch prey • In his column this month, professional herpetologist Paul Donovan, who lives in Zambia, considers a unique aspect of the hunting abilities of various reptiles and amphibians: their tongue.

The world of the African clawed frog • South African herpetologist Timothy Zedi writes about a species with which he is very familiar.

TOP 10 snake myths • More stories surround snakes than any other group of reptiles. Richard White explains why this is the case, as he seeks to separate fact from fiction.

Dappled light for small amphibians

REPTILE FOCUS • American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

DESIGNING OUTDOOR ENCLOSURES FOR Mediterranean-type tortoises • With summer approaching, here are the key factors to bear in mind, and how these should be incorporated into the overall design of an enclosure of this type.

Build your own library!

Understanding snake and spider phobias • Following on from last month's article, a practicing Cognitive Hypnotherapist with particular expertise relating to phobias involving spiders and snakes, outlines how these can take hold, and answers the question - can someone with a long- standing snake or spider phobia really be cured?

Can newts and salamanders learn? • It is tempting to suggest that newts and salamanders – known collectively as caudates, meaning ‘tailed amphibians’ – have very rudimentary learning abilities, if any, but as Dr Julia Mueller-Paul reveals, this is emphatically not the case.

What to feed your bearded dragon • Just what do you need to consider when keeping these lizards, in terms of meeting their dietary needs? James Brereton, MSc, BSc, provides a detailed insight, to keep your pets healthy.

THE CASE OF THE GAMBIAN SEA SERPENT • In his column this month, Dr Karl Shuker returns to the first cryptozoological case that he ever investigated, and which still intrigues him today.

Practical Reptile Keeping