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

How skinks can survive venomous snake bites • Featuring stories that include a revolutionary find revealing at least some early reptiles had feather-like structures on their bodies, how prey can fight back against venomous snakes but the local temperature may make it more difficult, reports of a deadly frog cancer from Australia in addition to chytrid fungus, hope for one of the rarest Asiatic crocodiles as well as amazing new insights into the bizarre effect of environmental noise on spiders, while starting here with news about how some skinks have managed to develop immunity to snake bites, using a technique seen in mammals.

Venom wars in North America

A major surprise: an early reptile with feathers!

Venom variability

Investigations into killer frog cancer

Significant release of endangered crocodiles

Unlikely effects of noise

Making the right choice with lizards! • Timothy Zedi provides a personal list of the most suitable lizards and those to avoid when starting out in the hobby, based on his extensive experience.

The Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise and its care • The Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise has been kept as a pet longer than any other reptile in Europe, but only in recent years have its needs become better understood, to the extent that this species is not only thriving but also breeding quite commonly in collections, as David Alderton explains.

NEW GRUBS

Lighting for invertebrates

REPTILE FOCUS • Northland green gecko (Naultinus grayii)

Introducing the ferret skink • Growing up around reptiles in France meant that I started keeping native species, but one of the first exotic lizards that I acquired is a species that I still breed regularly in my collection, even today. This particular skink is still not well-known though, in spite of the fact that its care needs are straightforward, writes Christian Castille.

Sexual dimorphism DETECTING THE SIGNS IN SNAKES • It is often easy to distinguish sexes of some groups of reptiles by obvious visual differences. But what about snakes? Paul Donovan explains the situation.

The care and breeding of frog-eyed geckos • Don Harper provides key insights into the requirements of an unusual lizard that combines the eyes of a frog with the body scales of a fish.

Out of Africa Defence mechanisms in reptiles • Effective communication can play a vital role in staying alive, as far as animals generally are concerned. Here Paul Donovan considers the different ways in which snakes and lizards in particular communicate and protect themselves from predators.

VETERINARY CASEBOOK

MBD in a cane toad

Welcome to the Top End! • Herp adventurer Jannico Kelk is a field photographer who travels to some of the most remote places on earth, in search of unusual reptiles and amphibians. Here he documents a recent trip to the Kimberley region in Australia, where he and his partner, Jasmine, were fortunate to make a truly remarkable discovery.

Practical Reptile Keeping