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

A GROUP OF NEW FROGS FOUND IN NEW GUINEA • Featuring stories that include a significant discovery of five new species of treefrog, one of which resembles bird droppings in terms of its appearance, how the most unique turtles and crocodiles are at greatest risk of extinction and more, including proof of a new family of snakes and how moths can find mates more than 9.5km (6ml) away.

MEET THE FROGS

Unique features expose some species to greater danger

New snake family identified - a rare scientific discovery

Investigating the appearance of silkmoths

Swimming secrets of prehistoric reptiles unlocked by new study

New species of frog named after J.R.R. Tolkien

RARE BEETLE REDISCOVERED AFTER 55 YEARS

STRESSBUSTING in reptiles • Stress is a term regularly used in respect of people’s workload in our modern society but this is by no means the only cause of stress, and humans are not the only beings able to experience stress. Dr Julia Mueller- Paul explains more about this condition, and how it affects reptiles.

A cautionary tale

THE IDEAL SMALL TERRESTRIAL GECKO! • Do you only have a small amount of space available for a vivarium? Are you looking for something other than a leopard gecko? Here’s an interesting suggestion from Andy Knott.

African spur-thighed (sulcata) tortoises • This species has become much more widely bred over recent years. Hatchlings will grow into large tortoises though, with even bigger personalities, and they must have generous amounts of space, heat and food in order to thrive, and that will be expensive as enthusiast Dillon Priest explains.

Keeping horned lizards

Rearing young amphibians

REPTILE FOCUS • Peninsula rock agama - Psammophilus dorsalis

Starting with TURTLES • Following on from the basic considerations about caring for turtles that appeared in our January issue, David Alderton now looks at some of the species that are available, and those that are the most suitable as pets.

Some more unusual choices • Over the years, I’ve kept a very wide selection of reptiles, and this is something that I continue to do now, writes Christian Castille. So I thought that I’d write about some of the more unusual ones, as I know it can often be particularly difficult to get information in such cases.

A different type of mole • Paul Donovan looks at an elusive snake with a wide distribution in Africa, about which relatively little is known, either from observations in the wild or in collections.

OLIVE YOU! Keeping and breeding olive pythons • Pythons have always fascinated me, from small species such as the anthill python right up to monstrous giants such as the reticulated python. This group of snakes can live on the ground or high in trees and females display remarkable parental care towards eggs, writes Christian Castille.

London's Lost World • Last month, in the first part of this brief series, we began a tour of a Lost World in leafy southeast London – Crystal Palace Park’s famous Dinosaur Court. Here we shall be viewing its most celebrated and stupendous sculptures – a menagerie of reptilian monsters from the Mesozoic Era.

Karl's new book

Practical Reptile Keeping