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

An unusual discovery in a shop in Pompeii • Featuring stories that include the remarkable discovery that some frogs can't jump without falling over, how and why reptiles are better able to defeat the aging process than us, new hope in the battle against deadly chytrid fungus which has been decimating amphibian populations worldwide, how reptiles have benefitted in the past from global warming, plus the incredible recent find of a tortoise in Pompeii, which was living there in AD 79, just at the time that the town was destroyed by the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which is still Europe's most active volcano.. Compiled by G. Valentine.

THE COST OF BEING TINY

Secrets of reptile and amphibian aging revealed

More research on turtle aging

Keeping Kermit: new clues to protecting frogs from deadly fungus

Global warming helped reptiles

ONE OF THE WORLD'S SMALLEST KNOWN CROCODILES FOUND

Communication in chameleons • Chameleons are not social lizards, preferring to live solitary lifestyles. Dr Julia Mueller-Paul reveals the varied ways in which they communicate with each other when they do come into contact.

Out of Africa A frog that rewrites the rules! • Paul Donovan reveals an amphibian that has adapted to survive in surprisingly hostile environments.

Tokays geckos with attitude • In the early days of the reptile hobby, the tokay was a very popular species, but ultimately, its temperament counted against it. Now however, there are signs that it is becoming more popular again, as Adam Drew reports.

Red tails are relative rarities!

AMPHIBIAN FOCUS • Dwarf American toad (Anaxyrus americanus charlesmithi)

The world of colubrids • The family Colubridae is not just by far the largest group of snakes, consisting 2100 species, broken down into some 249 genera. It is also the most diverse and has a worldwide distribution.

Thoughts on Vivarium Design: housing style and stress • “I recently began wondering about how you discern stress in reptiles. What is stress and how can it be avoided? How commonly are animals maintained in stressful environments in collections and what sort of threats do such stresses create, without us necessarily even being aware of them?” asks Charles Thompson.

The land of tortoises • Where would you expect to go to have the chance of seeing more species of tortoise than anywhere else on earth? You need to head to South Africa, as Jon Coote explains.

Insights into genetics • As interest in new, more desirable mutations continues to grow, and their availability increases, so it is essential to build a better understanding of the genetics involved and an improved way of being able to describe the genes themselves, argues Dr Andy Tedder.

The deadly assassins • A group of predatory invertebrates have attracted the attention of enthusiasts – following in the footsteps of trapdoor spiders, whip scorpions and camel spiders. Often colourful, they have now become well-established in collections, as Tristan Potter reports.

Herpetological Mysteries The case of Cadborosaurus: a giant marine reptile? • Dr Karl Shuker concludes his investigation into reports of a mysterious sea serpent from Canada.

Practical Reptile Keeping