2 comments about The Guide to Owning Burmese Pythons.

1. The photography in this book was excellent, very vivid. Yet the information was very broad. It barley thouches the scales of the burmese python. Yet it is a good introductory book. It also indroduces chicken as a good food source, but rabbits much better food .(Due to Somimilla, however you spell it)The book a never lets you fully grasp the potenical power and size of the burmese. Nor the dangers, and others who have been hurt or killed by them. Despite this it is a wonderful and imformitive book for beginners!



2. There are a number of 'good' snakes books on the market although there seem to be few that are specie specific. This is the first book I have read of this nature and have found it interesting and extremely informative (baring in mind that this is only a book intended as an introductory guide). It covers all aspects from accomodation and feeding through to suggested medical practices. The book is designed more as an informative read in 'laymans' terms rather than bogging down the reader with all the technical jargon normally associated with herpetology. 60 odd pages. A worthy read if you have no specific books on this subspecie.

No comments about Turtles: Everything About Purchase, Care, Nutrition, and Diseases.

2 comments about Living Boas.

1. This book is the first one in trying to describe the living boas. The author tells in a bright way the differences between the species. Also there is a clear way of telling general things like names of scales, scalecounting, describing the habitat and so forth. I've read the book with lots of pleasure and I 've used it several times to look after some deatils about BOAS.

   Jan Ramaker, Simonshaven, The Netherlands




2. This book is the first one in trying to describe the living boas. The author tells in a bright way the differences between the species. Also there is a clear way of telling general things like names of scales, scalecounting, describing the habitat and so forth. I've read the book with lots of pleasure and I 've used it several times to look after some deatils about BOAS.

   Jan Ramaker, Simonshaven, The Netherlands

No comments about Rattlesnakes: Their Natural History & Care in Captivity.

2 comments about The Atlas of Discus of the World.

1. That's the question you've got to be asking if you've never seen this book. This is another one of Axelrod's big picture books. There's not much text, but there is a very valuable commentary on discus taxonomy written by Warren Burgess. There are also some good pointers in the captions to the photos. The photos are the usual TFH quality photos and the captions generally give information about the picture. The book is organized by wild caught species, strains that can be directly attributed to specific wild types (hybrids) and several other strains. Unfortunately it pre-dates the emergence of the red strains such as pigeon blood, marlboro red, etc. so these popular and important strains are not represented in this book.

   The really valuable aspect of this book is that it gives a view of what discus are supposed to look like, which is generally quite different from what is seen in the tanks of retailers. It does not give much in the way of specific information about keeping, breeding and diseases. If that is what you want then you are better off buying some of the less expensive books out there by someone such as Degen, Wattley or Quarles.

   So is it worth the money? If you think you really need a lot of help with discus, then no it isn't. However if you are fairly experienced, have maybe bred some discus and are interested in comparing what you've got vs. some of the other strains out there, this book can be well worth the investment.




2. This is a great book. Ok it is expensive, but it is a very large book. It is packed full of many great photos. It covers a lot of areas from all of the different spieces to breeding. Allthough not a wealth of information, the many, many wonderful photos must be seen to appreciate. They are bright, clear, and very large. Truely a great book. Well worth the money.

4 comments about Savannah and Grassland Monitors: From the Experts at Advanced Vivarium Systems (The Herpetocultural Library) (Herpetocultural Library).

1. I liked this book. For a change there is a book about monitors that is not just about keeping them as pets. I like reading about the lizards in their natral habitats. The price is also good, so I hope the author puts out books about the other kinds of monitors too.



2. I helped to found the Varanid Conservation Group. The group exists mostly to correct the misinformation spread by books of this nature. I suggest buying this book only as a guideline of what not to do.



3. Robert thinks that just because he reads something, he can spit it back out. This book by an "expert" is putrid; the care described would be considered abuse by most varanid enthusiasts. Not to mention there are many mislabeled photos etc.

   I am shocked this got published. It really shows how ignorant the general public is about reptiles... they seem to just accept the information because it is published by a PhD.

   Reading this, and considering it good is like reading a children's book about a construction company, and trying to builda house with it. Completely wacky info, everything mislabeled, a recipe for disaster. Get Daniel's fantastic Savannah Monitor book instead!




4. This is a good, quick read that cuts to the heart of how monitors live and how to use that information to keep captives. Highly recommended and at a VERY reasonable price.

2 comments about The Iguana: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet.

1. I agree completely with Harmony's review of this book. I recently purchased it at a pet store and returned it within an hour of buying it. The information is outdated and inaccurate. James Hatfield'd "Green Iguana-The Ultimate Owner's Manual" is superior by far, purchase this instead.



2. You should read this, book. I checked it out from the liebrary first, and then like a month later I bought the book cuase I thought it was great. It showed me how to take care of an iguana. And a little of what to exspicke. I learend some pounter`s. And it`s dieate. I liked the book. I highly recomend it. To some one that want`s to get an iguana. It should be the were first book you buy, for your iguana book collection. It`s my very first book for my iguana book collection. and it should be your`s too. Buy it.

No comments about Health Care of Reptiles Vol. 3 (Biology, Husbandry and Health Care of Reptiles).

3 comments about Living Pythons.

1. To start of, this book is filled with a huge number of great pictures and photos of pythons and their anatomy. This book is a great edition to a well built herpetology library because its mostly useful only for the pictures.

   The author is dry, boring and last but not least very uninformed. He doesn't use the common names for some snakes and instead uses names which could be very confusing like calling the children's python a faded python. Due to this fact the book left me dwelling in many brain farts.

   Also, the author of this book needs to take himself to school and enroll in some zoology classes. The way he defines "species" is ludicrus when combined with the fact that he doesnt beleive in "sub-species." Basicall Walls will go against of what all of us learned in high school and college biology classes.

   Walls' husbandry and breeding facts also contradict other MORE accurate literature on pythons in some instances. I'll use the childrens python again for example... Walls says that this snake is hard to breed while another more accepted source on pythons by Barelett and Wagner state the exact opposite. This is another great source of more confusion.

   In conclusion this is a decent book to buy if youre looking for great pictures and SOME knowledge on pythons. The author is obviously not an expert on pythons or on biology. This book would make a great python encyclopedia(with some inaccuracies) but please don't use it for buying or taking care of pythons.




2. This book tries to describe most of the living pythons. I only miss certain subspecies. The author tells in a bright way the differences between the species. Also there is a clear way of telling general things like names of scales, scalecounting, describing the habitat and so forth. I've read the book with lots of pleasure and I 've used it several times to look after some details about PYTHONS. Jan Ramaker, Simonshaven, The Netherlands



3. This author does not go into detail about husbandry techniques to satisfy most herpers. He concentrates way too much on verbal description of the animals in the way of scale counts, etc. A very cursory examination of each python species and husbandry techniques. Jerry Walls doesn't even keep pythons, and the book lacks passion. It is a bit too clinical and dry for my taste. If you are interested in long verbal descriptions of the animals, which can easily be left out with a photo, then this book is for you. If you want a more personal and husbandry oriented read, then pass this one up.

No comments about Lizards: Keeping & Breeding Them in Captivity.