2 comments about Design and Maintenance of Desert Vivaria (Vivarium Design Series).

1. Usually books by De Vosjoli are very helpful. This is not one of them. The subject matter does not cover designing the actual cage, something that is essential to a vivarium, but rather gives few resources on where to buy cages. There are some sections that are rather useless as well, including necessary items for a vivarium store. I found this section to be a waste of space, besides not having enough information for one who is actually considering opening a store.
   The biggest turn-off for me was that the author showed how egotistical he is through his writing on every page. He seemed to discourage readers, and I felt that he thought one would not be able to create a home for their cold-blooded friend.
   I do not think that this is a resource that one needs to own. If you are looking for ideas, flip through the book at a local bookstore but it is neither necessary nor helpful in designing your own vivarium.



2. Very helpful book for setting up an appropriately designed habitat for your desert reptile. A lot of thought and experience went into this book, and it could save you from making mistakes both costly to your pocketbook or your pet's health. Not much info on individual species care. For that, see Lizard Keepers' Handbook.

2 comments about Corydoras Catfishes (Complete Authoritative Guide).

1. This book is not particularly well suited to the aquarium hobbyist. Its tone tends toward the academic side, with emphasis on classification of different corydoras species. Perhaps even more disappointing from the hobbyist perspective, though, was the organization. The chapters are organized around specific families of corydoras, rather than being topically organized (history, care and feeding, breeding, etc.). That means if you want to find, for example, information on general care and feeding, you can't just flip right to that chapter. Instead, you'll have to search through each page of the book and gather various bits of information as you go.
   
   There's some good basic information in there that can be useful for the aquarist interested in raising corydoras. But it's not any more detailed than what you'll find on the web, and a whole lot harder to locate within the book. There is no index, so if you want to look up a particular species, it's going to take some tedious searching. You may do better searching for obscure species, but I was surprised, for example, to find almost no mention of corydoras julii, which is one of the more common species in stores. I would have expected some discussion of the frequent confusion between trilineatus and julii, for instance. All in all, it doesn't seem like a very practical guide to me, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're really focused on taxonomy.



2. This book has some good basic information for the beginner in the corydora hobby. It was one of my first catfish books and helped me to learn some basic information in caring for my fish.

No comments about Turtles As a New Pet.

No comments about Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire.

2 comments about Platies, Keeping & Breeding Them in Captivity.

1. This book has great pictures and is good for a beginning aquarist, but it really doesn't have a lot of information specific to platies. I wanted a bit more platy-related info. Again, very nice photos, though.



2. This book has lots of fantastic photos in a astunning paper, has good ideas about platies, and more important with this book you will know many things about fishs in general and not only about platies... About platies you will found all it matter...

1 comments about Step-By-Step Book About Iguanas (Step-By-Step Book About Series).

1. I read through the whole book and it told me about the lizard I am going to get. It told me how much it will be, what to feed it, how big it will be after a juvenile, and it told me what size tank I should put in there.

No comments about Iguanas: Their Biology and Captive Care.

5 comments about Completely Illustrated Atlas of Reptiles and Amphibians for the Terrarium.

1. This is, hands down, the most useful and often-used text in my collection. If you want to know about *any* genus of reptile or amphibian, it's in here somewhere, with sufficient info to at least get a handle on what that group is like. Whenever I run across a name I'm unfamiliar with in a paper, I haul this book out.
   
   That said, it's a bit old, and much of the taxonomy is outdated. However, they also have an index of common and scientific names, so you can find the old name if it's changed. Given that taxonomy changes every time someone sneezes, that's a pretty minor drawback.
   
   Also, it's *HUGE*. Were someone to break into my home, I would have little difficulty blugeoning them to death with this massive tome. It's definitely *not* pocket reading, and you might actually be hard pressed to find bookshelves that can accomodate the size and weight of it. I've had to resort to just keeping it on the floor.
   
   "The Big Red Book", as it's colloquially referred to, is absolutely essential. I've had it since I got my first snake, and my prof, who's been in herpetology for over 30 years, has a copy too.
   
   There's no other word for it but "vital".



2. I actually bought this book many years ago and consider it one of the best investments I have ever made. As a taxonomist and herpetologist for the past 15 years it has been the book I could always rely on for a quick, easy to look up reference for what someone else is talking about.

   I read many articles, both scientific and general, many times they are not specifically about species I am immediately familiar with. This book has been my lifesaver. All packaged in one (rather hefty) volume in a way that is easily looked up I can find out exactly what someone else is talking about, see a picture, and get a little bit of information about the species. Its does not contain intimate details of each species, but that is not what it should be used for. It is like a big dictionary, but with pictures and a little extra information. I recommend this book not as one of your major texts but as a comprehensive list that will let you know what you are reading about when you are forced to admit you are outside your general knowledge. It will back up all your other readings.




3. This book is great both for serious and collectors of all ages. It's common name index allows for simple look up and every kind of reptile and amphibian is in it. There are alot of great photos to help id the animal.



4. Probably the most comprehensive atlas of reptiles and amphibians, widely used in pet owners' as well as serious hobbyists' circles. It is arranged alphabetically by scientific name, while the index is arranged by common names. This generously illustrated book (mostly in color) provides general information on snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, toads, salamanders, food animals as well as other terrarium related topics. A must in every herpetoculturist's library.



5. This is a very fine book. It includes information on thousands of different herps that proves to be useful when you work at a pet store like I do. Although the info on each species is not very indepth, it does tell you where the species are from thus allowing you to create a naturalistic terrarium.

No comments about Crested Geckos and Relatives (Reptile and Amphibian Keeper's Guides).

No comments about The Terrarium: With Full-Color Photographs (Complete Pet Owner's Manual).