Reviews (9)

Best in the market
Its definitely one of the best books on reptile surgery in the market if you're into real herping

Excellent Reference for anyone with a reptile/amphibian collection
I have a small reptile collection from which I refer to this book exclusively if any of the herps get sick or appear to be ill.Not all veterinarians know about reptile medicine and surgery so this is a great book for veterinarians broadening their field in animal medicine as well as, those of us who love reptiles.Mader also expresses to veterinarians cost for reptile patients (10% more than for dogs and cats, Dr. Mader states).The photos are in black and white with heavy duty pages that have photos and information based on every order of reptiles and amphibians with basic information about care requirements and do's and don'ts.I highly recommend this book for beginners to advanced collectors as well as, graduate students in veterinary medicine to include veterinarians.It is highly recommended that veterinarians increase their market to herps because herp sales will increase to 400% in the next 2 years.

SERIOUS HERPETOLOGISTS ONLY
I won't recapitulate what you find in the description. Simply put, as a herpetologist who works with, and rescues, crocodilians, venomous snakes, wide varieties of turtles, lizards and snakes I can't do with out this book. Actually I have two copies, one is downstairs with the animals where it has been dropped into turtle tanks and has some very interesting stains on it and the other is in my library. My point is that this book is too useful not to have on hand. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Medical    2. Medical / Nursing    3. Reptiles & Amphibians    4. Veterinary Medicine - General    5. Veterinary Medicine - Small Animal    6. Medical / Veterinary Medicine / General    7. Veterinary science: exotic & zoo animals    8. Veterinary surgery   

Subjects:  1. Animals    2. European - General    3. Life Sciences - Biology - General    4. Nature    5. Reference    6. Reptiles & Amphibians    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Turtles    10. Literary Criticism & Collections / European    11. Reptiles   

Reviews (7)

This is still the Galápagos guide you want - this 2nd edition is even better than the 1st!
Original review of 1st Edition, November 9, 2005
One of the best books we bought for our trip
We bought this book as one of 5 guides to the Galapagos which we took with us on our trip in Oct 05. It was really excellent, so good in fact, that our wonderful naturalist guide asked if we could send him a copy. I just gave him ours and now I have to order it again for us!It's organized by type of animal and bird, which makes it easier for novices to experienced wildlife observers alike to identify animals and birds. It has a nice sturdy format also, which is good for taking along onto the islands.
An Identification Guide to the Birds,mammals, and Reptiles of the Galapagos Islands
It is very informative for visitors to the islands and probably be able to recognize some of the birds etc when you see them.Yet to proof it during my next visit to the island in December 2005. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals    2. Birds & Birdwatching - Guides    3. Nature    4. Nature/Ecology    5. Reptiles & Amphibians    6. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS    7. Nature / General   

Reviews (9)

A 'must' for any who would understand either the turtle or environmental degradation.
VOYAGE OF THE TURTLE: IN PURSUIT OF THE EARTH'S LAST DINOSAUR provides a fine natural history survey of the leatherback turtle and its evolution. Why the leatherback? It represents the single surviving species of its genus, is a reptile that behaves like a warm-blooded dinosaur, and has a complex life cycle which is increasingly threatened by human activities and environmental change. VOYAGE OF THE TURTLE traverses the world in search of nesting grounds and realities and is a 'must' for any who would understand either the turtle or environmental degradation.
Beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.
A must read for anyone that inhabits the earth. Safina has the perfect blend of facts and emotions, and in the perfect balance that neither gets too cloying or despair-inducing.

Informative, artful easy read
Safina's style, the ability to flip between scientist, philosopher and appreciative child is infectious.I really appreciated the in-depth research from scientific and historical perspectives intermingled with stories of his travels.This, and most of his books are must reads for ocean adventurers, conservationists and nature lovers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Leatherback turtle    2. Nature    3. Nature/Ecology    4. Reptiles & Amphibians    5. Nature / Reptiles & Amphibians   

Reviews (2)

Educational
This book covers everything from the basics of herps, to the more advance steps in classification, breeding, and observing. In the most case this book is not a good reference guide for those with a minor understanding of the biology of reptiles, however, for those who know the basics, and are interested enough to continue their learning experiance on an advnaced level, this book is a must. Used in colleges as college text, anyone in the herpetological field in college needs this book!

Great Book
This book is for expierienced herpers only .It has almost evrything you need to know.If you are interested in learning more about herps.I give this a 5 if you are a expiereienced reader. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Herpetology    2. Life Sciences - Biology - General    3. Life Sciences - Evolution    4. Life Sciences - Zoology - General    5. Organic Evolution    6. Reptiles & Amphibians    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Vertebrates    10. Amphibians    11. Reptiles    12. Science / Zoology   

Reviews (10)

Great Guide
I'm starting to get interested in amphibian id and was looking for a book to help as I join in on frog monitoring and other citizen science projects.So, I haven't gotten to use this book in the field yet since it's still midwinter but the book seems like just what I need.It's a typical field guide in that it has the species plates.Pictures in this section are well drawn with color variations and patterns clearly shown and also described in words.Then there are the species-specific entries where each animal is described, habitats and location maps are provided, foods are described, etc.What I especially like about this book is that in this section they also have actual photographs of the animals shown.The photos are close-up so you can see the eggs or the young of snakes for example.I especially love the section on salamanders and decided not to bother trying to get a book dedicated to salamanders just yet.This has all the info I'll need to get going on understanding and identifying these creatures.Looking forward to a trek out to the vernal pools in March and bringing this book with me.

Great for kids and their parents too!
I bought this book for my 7 year old god son.I'd seen and used other Peterson Field Guides, and I can only say they keep improving what was great to begin with.Even though my god son can't read all of the words in this guide, the wonderful color photographs with the reptile or amphibian name make it easy for him to understand.He was absolutely thrilled with this book.There are nice sections on how to capture then set up a terrarium, and to care for reptiles and amphibians in captivity. I highly recommend this for any age!

Everything a field guide should be!
This is the best field guide I've had for herps. The layout is typical; there are color plates of the species and some written commentary and advice on field herping in the front of the book, followed by species accounts and range maps. Fairly typical layout. However, the way in which subspecies were handled is new, at least to me, and incredibly practical and useful. Those subspecies that are readily distinguishable in the field are given full seperate entries and individual range maps, which is particularly nice with certain large species groups (milk and king snakes, Pitouphis, etc.)
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Subjects:  1. Amphibians    2. Canada    3. Identification    4. Nature    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Reptiles    7. Reptiles & Amphibians    8. United States    9. Aquatic creatures    10. Nature / Reptiles & Amphibians   

Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. Mammals    3. Nature    4. Reference    5. Reptiles & Amphibians    6. Leisure Interests, Hobbies & Sport    7. Reference / General    8. Wild animals   

Reviews (20)

Good For Wilderness Getaways
Though I agree with others a revision is long overdue, and there have been a few new species discovered over the years; namely salamanders. I still find it quite helpful though, in identifying the lizard that just ran across the trail, or for that possible snake sighting. And as bad as my eyes are, (Keratoconus) yes the maps could be larger, but I don't find them particularly hard to read. Except for certain species that have very small and restricted ranges. Then finding the little dot can be near impossible. Beautiful photographs. Gives one a better appreciation of these animals, that along with years of watching the "Crocodile Hunter" God rest his soul.

good for casual use
I have a soft spot for these Audubon guides because the first field guide I ever owned was an Audubon, and it got a lot of use.However, I currently use the Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, and I have found that it is easier to use, and more descriptive than this one.There are two main reasons for this:
Edition needs refining.
The contemporary edition of the Audubon Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians is decades old. Though it covers many species of snakes, salamanders, newts, etc., it is underrated because of the lack of updating. Some species names are known to be out of date, or invalid. However, even this cannot override the true quality of all the Audubon guides, including this book. Even though a newly revised and updated edition is way overdue, it still presents spectacular photographs of various species. The system is the same, with the description in the back of the book. The Audubon Guide to Weather has been revised and updated over the years and hopefully, this one will be also. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amphibians    2. General    3. Identification    4. Nature    5. Nature/Ecology    6. North America    7. Reptiles    8. Reptiles & Amphibians    9. Birds (ornithology)    10. Nature / Reptiles & Amphibians   

Reviews (4)

Excellent conceptually
It's certainly not complete or perfect, and as a reviewer notes, contains some omissions and errors.However, while a textbook should strive to be as good as possible in those areas, it's no substitute for the primary literature in peer-reviewed journals and shouldn't be viewed as such, and instead should be seen as more of a conceptual introduction, in which I feel it does well.It avoids the tempting parade-of-taxa style, and instead focuses on the important concepts uniting reptiles and to an extent all animals, such as osmoregulation, feeding, locomotion, reproductive strategies, etc.
Anurans and Squamates and Crocodylia! Oh, my!
This is easily the best herpetology text book out there. It is informative, yet not full of the boringness (if that's a word...) of many textbooks. You might say that it's...fun to read.

Herp Textbook
I have just finished an undergradute course which used this book as the main text.I agree with the previous reviewer that there is considerable overlap and occasional contradiction.The early chapters tend to use a lot of technical jargon, and seem to be written for people who alreadyunderstand the material.I was not so impressed with phylogenicdescriptions which frequently failed to discuss unifying characteristicswithin families.Later sections, including locomotion, water balance, andmate selection are well written.This book would benefit from a glossary,more relevant tables and figures, and a more inclusive index.Overall,editing is rather sketchy. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Herpetology    2. Life Sciences - Biology - General    3. Life Sciences - Zoology - General    4. Reptiles & Amphibians    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Vertebrates    8. Biology, Life Sciences    9. Science / Biology   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Identification    3. Nature    4. Nature/Ecology    5. Reptiles    6. Reptiles & Amphibians    7. Snakes    8. Texas    9. Nature / General    10. Nature / Reptiles & Amphibians   

Reviews (5)

one amazing herpetological book
this book is one of the top books around. it not only tells of basic knowledge but of in depth information about most amphibians, along with some very good well-thought information on housing, feeding and general care of amphibains Nearly perfect - without equal.
Any attempt to write an all-encompassing text like this could quite reasonably be expected to fall short of perfection, especially when judging other "general amphibian" texts out there. To my surprise, thisbook is, for the most part, an exception to the rule. I must complimentMarc Staniszewski on his good work. I thought after reading many TFHamphibian publications that it would be unlikely that the author would haveprecise and detailed knowledge of the minutiae of every amphibian speciesin the book, but, despite this, in my opinion "Amphibians inCaptivity" succeeds where every other TFH publication I have seen todate has failed - it is very accurate and detailed. Not only does it coverthe usual species information such as size and feeding, it also fills inmany of the gaps that other books leave, such as the longevity of eachspecies and it highlights differences in care between otherwise similarspecies within a given genus. 544 pages may seem like a lot, but unlikemany other "general" amphibian books, each page counts - there isno filler or dross. Very indepth book
This book is has an incredibal amount of information, and is the first book I reach for when someone e-mails me with a question relating to frog health, habitat, housing, behavior, etc....Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals    2. General    3. Pets    4. Reptiles & Amphibians   

Reviews (1)

Essential Reference on Marine Turtle Biology
A complete up-to-date review of marine turtle biology featuring contributions from 22 of the world's foremost sea turtle authorities. Such well known reearchers as Pritchard, Bjorndal, Lutz, Musick, and Limpus provide comprehensive coverage of a wide range of relevant topics including sea turtle evolution, phylogeny, current conservation status, reproduction, orientation and navigation, habitat utilization and migration, health problems and diseases, human impacts and much, much more. Also included are 8 color and 14 b/w photos, several b/w line illustrations, numerous graphs and tables, and multiple bibliographies. Truly a "Must Have Volume" for every marine turtle library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Life Sciences - Biology - Marine Biology    2. Life Sciences - Zoology - General    3. Marine Fauna    4. Reptiles & Amphibians    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Sea turtles    8. Marine biology    9. Reptiles    10. Science / Marine Biology   

Reviews (2)

a useful book
I've the same book but a french one, it is the most useful book a reptiles' lover must have. It is simple to read, to understand. There's a good introduction to reptiles classifications (which is not obvious for begginers), the "identity card" for each animal is well conceived. One great book.
Like all the books in this series "Reptiles and Amphibians" gives a species by species look at a huge variety of creatures.From Chameleons to Cobras this book has a great selection.There are not many field guides out there with such fantastic and detailed photos so I suggest it for anyone who loves the to some "unlovable" slimy or scaly creatures of our world. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amphibians    2. Animals    3. Animals - Reptiles & Amphibians    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    5. Nature    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Reference    8. Reptiles    9. Reptiles & Amphibians    10. Nature / Reptiles & Amphibians   

Reviews (8)

Great beginners book.
Clear, easy-to-read, easy-to-follow information about turtles and tortises.I purchased this book after becoming a guardian to an Arizona desert tortise.These creatures are protected and found in small areas of Nevada, California and Arizona, and there is not much information about them to be found.This book had more useful information than I received from any other source.

Not worth the money
Given that this book is obviously aimed at the beginner it would make sense for the book to offer decent info for commonly available species; mud and musk turtles, painted turtles, cooters, sliders, maybe Russian and Greek tortises, salcuttas, and some others. However, it doesn't. Save your money
I purchased this book thinking (hoping) it would be the excellent source of information it is advertised to be; it is not.Read more

Subjects:  1. Nature    2. Nature/Ecology    3. Pets    4. Reptiles & Amphibians    5. Reptiles, Amphibians & Terrariums    6. Turtles as pets    7. Pets / Reptiles & Amphibians    8. Reptiles & amphibians as pets   

Reviews (3)

Excellent field guide
This book is perfect for anyone interested in herps in the Maya Forest. Complementary to Campbell's field guide, but also includes great line drawings, range maps, and characteristics to distinguish from similar species. Also, better photos than in Campbell's guide. If I were to buy one field guide for the area, I'd choose this over Campbell's.

An exceptionally well laid out field guide
A Field Guide To The Amphibians And Reptiles Of The Maya World is a comprehensive survey of the crocodiles, turtles, lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, and salamanders found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. This exceptionally well laid out field guide allows the easy identification of all native and introduced species of amphibians and reptiles of the region; is enhanced with 180 color photographs and 180 drawings; provides valuable techniques for field identification; includes a glossary of herpetological terms; and for each species gives a full description, natural history, and geographic distribution information (complete with maps). There are suggested readings for those who want to know more about a particular species, even descriptions of the most characteristic vocalizations of the reptiles and amphibians surveyed. A Field Guide To The Amphibians And Reptiles Of The Maya World is a "must" for any personal, professional, or academic library collection of natural history and herpetology reference works.

Amphibians and Reptiles of the Maya world
Julian C. Lee's field guide of the amphibians and reptiles of the Mayaworld is excellent. The color photographs make it easy to identify theanimal in question; the maps give the reader the distribution of the form;the text gives a short synopsis of the characters and natural history ofthe taxon; the photos, line drawings, and the PRICE make it all worthwhile.Any person visiting the outback of the Yucatan Peninsulaneeds a copy of this book.All Nature Touring Companies should have itavailable for their clients.A wonderful addition for any professionalherpetologist bookshelf. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amphibians    2. Handbooks & Manuals    3. Identification    4. Nature    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Reptiles    7. Reptiles & Amphibians    8. Yucatan Peninsula    9. Yucatâan Peninsula    10. Belize    11. Guatemala    12. Mexico    13. Reference works   

Reviews (9)

Excellent information
I would use this book as one of the texts if I were teaching a herpetology course.It contains a comprehensive view of snakes' anatomy, sensory organs, and adaptations.If you're looking for a book that will give you an amazing amount of general snake knowledge, this is the book for you.For accounts of particular species, however, you will need to pick up additional material.

Fantastic
That was the word used when I asked my son-in-law how he liked his birthday present. He generally is not a reader but is very interested in snakes. He read the entire book and enjoyed it very much. He said he gained a lot of useful information.

encyclopedia of snakes
I am not reviewing this book just can find no where to write a review of the site. in the memory you use to put the larger photos on you could put the table of contents and samples in the book. i see no virtual review of the book, nothing about it, no number of pages, no table of contents nothing. so therefore i will not buy from this site. i dont buy what i cant see or have no clue what the contents of the book is. this book is only a book of snakes not sure if it contains what i want or not. all i have a title that is all. titles dont sale books unless one is looking for a specific title. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Nature    2. Nature/Ecology    3. Reference    4. Reptiles    5. Reptiles & Amphibians    6. Snakes    7. Reference works   

Reviews (8)

AMAZING EXPERIENCE ! ! ! !
Compre el libro para regalarselo a mi novio, el cual tiene una pasion en la vida: SNAKES!!!!!, el libro absolutamente le encanto... la vdd esta padrisimo, tiene excelentes fotografias, y lo mejor, la informacion, definitivamente muy completa.

The BEST snake book!
This is it.If you are looking for a book that covers everything snake with lots of pictures, you have found it.This has general information and husbandry, taxonomy, and goes through all the snakes, not just the popular pets and famous venomous ones.It also has information on responsible pet ownership.And it is enjoyable to read!

The Atlas of Snakes of the World
Wonderful!It is not just an atlas, it is very informative and very readable.I am just beginning a serious study of snakes, and this is a fantastic adult introduction. Snakes : The Evolution of Mystery in Nature is also a great book, but I suggest reading this first. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals    2. General    3. Nature/Ecology    4. Reptiles    5. Reptiles & Amphibians    6. Snakes   

Reviews (2)

An invaluable title for veterinarians
Kevin Wright and Brent Whitaker's Amphibian Medicine And Captive Husbandry is a comprehensive, in-depth, scholarly reference manual designed to introduce and assist veterinary practitioners in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in captive amphibians. However, it also serves as an invaluable, core addition to the library of any herpetologist, breeder or pet owner of an amphibian, for it extensively covers numerous details of the care, feeding, and reproduction of captive amphibians, as well as disease diagnosis, basic clinical techniques for treatment. The many diseases discussed include sicknesses that are infectious, metabolic, nutritional, neoplastic, and idiopathic. 243 color pictures, 317 black and white pictures, and 54 tables greatly enhance the meticulous and highly precise text of this exhaustively complete reference. An invaluable title for veterinarians and/or owners of amphibians.

Comments from co-editor Dr. Kevin Wright
Hello, I am Dr. Kevin Wright, co-editor of Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry.Given the global decline of amphibian populations noted at the end of the 20th century, Dr. Whitaker and I designed Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry to introduce the diagnosis and treatment of disease in amphibians to a wide range of audiences.Although our primary intent was to provide a practical but thorough text for the veterinary clinician, we believe this book will be an essential part of any biologist's library; the topics covered range from amphibian captive husbandry and propagation to the diagnosis of disease in amphibians by the application of basic clinicopathologic techniques.Topics are arranged by etiology.The pathology section is highly detailed and provides the only overview of amphibian pathology published.Read more

Subjects:  1. Amphibia    2. Amphibians    3. Animals    4. Captive amphibians    5. Diseases    6. Nature    7. Nature/Ecology    8. Pets    9. Reptiles, Amphibians & Terrariums    10. Veterinary Medicine Practice For Specific Animals    11. Veterinary medicine    12. Aquaculture & fishing: practice & techniques    13. Veterinary science: small animals (pets)   

Reviews (3)

An essential reference
For anyone interested in garter snakes, this book is the Holy Grail. Its chapters summarize a tremendous amount of work done on the genus, and make this book the one reference to consult first when doing any research on garters. It covers all thirty species, including many from Mexico and Central America for which data is limited and that I had never heard of before. I'm very pleased with it, and refer to it often. The only "must-have" snake book
There is far too much information in this book to be summarized in a review.Suffice it to say that the book is fascinating:the writing is clear, the conclusions sound, and the research extensive.For most othervarieties of snake--other colubrids, boidae, vipers, even elapids--there isno shortage of books, and books covering even individual species areplentiful (think how many books are devoted exclusively to Boa constrictorssp., for example).And while most of these books are worth reading once,the majority say little that all the others don't say, too.Garter snakes,however, seldom rate more than a paragraph or two in any snake book, andthere are very few books devoted exclusively to garters (I can think ofonly one, offhand).This book, however, gives garters the attention--andgives the reader the information--that the species deserves.If one is aratsnake enthusiast, or a python person, or mad about milksnakes, there areplenty of books worth reading, but few that are indispensable.If one is abreeder, researcher, or simply an interested layperson regarding gartersnakes, however, this book is one that simply cannot be done without.

Any garter enthusiast will want this in their library
This wonderful compendium of gartersnake information is a treasure for lovers of Thamnophis.The color plates are wonderful, and the biological information is fascinating.Who would have guessed that some gartersactually brumate (hibernate) in water?A great gift for any gartersnakekeeper. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ecology    2. Garter snakes    3. Life Sciences - Zoology - General    4. Nature    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Reptiles    7. Reptiles & Amphibians    8. Wildlife    9. Animal behaviour    10. Animal ecology    11. Taxonomy & systematics   

Reviews (1)

Full color photographs of each fascinating species
The team effort of Carl H. Ernst (Professor of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia) and Evelyn M. Ernst (Director of Information for the National Science Resource Center in Washington DC), Snakes Of The United States And Canada Is a brilliantly conceived and presented, 668-page encyclopedia filled from cover to cover with concise descriptions and up-to-date information concerning habitats, predators, behavior, reproduction, and more for all of the American and Canadian snake species from coast to coast. Full color photographs of each fascinating species are combined with meticulous, detailed, definitive descriptive entries, making Snakes Of The United States And Canada a professional quality addition to professional and academic Herpetology Resource reference collections. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Canada    2. Nature    3. Nature / Field Guide Books    4. Nature/Ecology    5. Reptiles    6. Reptiles & Amphibians    7. Snakes    8. United States    9. North America