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

Keeping leopard geckos healthy: lessons from a UK vet study • Featuring reports this month on the health of leopard geckos in UK collections, a New Guinea snake named after a rock guitarist, a previously-unknown floodplain frog from western Amazonia, a new mountain horned dragon from Thailand, an investigation into the hearing of sea turtles and a decades-old dart frog mystery. Compiled by G. Valentine.

Scientists name a new snake after music legend Slash

New frog discovered in western Amazon floodplain forests

New dragon discovered

An additional tool for crocodile conservation?

How sea turtles react to noise

The dart frog that fooled scientists for decades

Aggressive ‘Hulk’ lizards wipe out ancient colour forms

The banded rubber frog • Paul Donovan writes about one of his favourite amphibians that he encounters quite often in Botswana.

Caring for young tortoises • Having hatched your tortoise eggs successfully, as explained in last month's article, and you're now looking proudly at six youngsters, what do you do next? Crack open a bottle of champagne, invite the neighbours round to share in your good fortune…?

Keeping rough green snakes

REPTILE FOCUS • White-lipped island pit viper (Trimeresurus albolabris insularis)

Introducing the Asian water dragon • The Asian or Chinese water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) is a lizard with an appearance reminiscent of a minidinosaur, which thrives in planted enclosures with water features. Interestingly, work with this species at Reaseheath Zoo in Cheshire has confirmed that it is actually possible to train these lizards, as James Brereton MSc explains.

Designing a new anaconda enclosure • How do you accommodate these South American giants as they grow larger? Susie Kearley visited the Cotswold Wildlife Park to find out the answer.

Designimg, building and theming a garter snake enclosure • Aquarist Phill Robinson writes about designing a new reptile exhibit at The Deep Aquarium, Hull, which was to have the underlying aim of highlighting the importance of taxonomy to global conservation efforts. The results were spectacular!

A life alongside chameleons • Petr Necas talks with John Courteney-Smith MRSB, FLS about his unique studies on chameleons in Kenya, and how his observations there can assist the care and breeding of these highly distinctive lizards. He also discusses the new species that he has discovered, in this exclusive interview.

Practical Reptile Keeping