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A Complete Guide to REPTILES of Australia
By Steve Wilson and Gerry Swan



Soft cover, 480 pages, published by Reed New Holland.

Australia has one of the richest and most diverse collections of reptiles in the world: more than 800 species have been described to date. A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia provides accounts of all of them and nearly all are illustrated with lively colour photographs showing them in their natural habitat. Whether you want to identify reptiles in the wild or in your garden, this book is for you.

Species are grouped in families, for example Skinks, Geckos, Monitors, Blind Snakes and Pythons. Each entry includes a distribution map, a description - with distinguishing features picked out in bold text - notes on a species' preferred habitat and range, information on subspecies and similar species and, wherever appropriate, the conservation status of that species. Extra photographs show most recognised subspecies, as well as differences within species and between sexes.

The book also explains how reptiles are classified, how scientific and common names are applied, how to measure a reptile and how conservation status is determined. Photographs of different reptile habitats will help you pinpoint the likely location of certain species.

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A FIELD GUIDE TO REPTILES
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
By Gerry Swan, Glenn Shea and Ross Sadlier



This is a thorough update, expansion and revision of A Field Guide to snakes and Lizards of New South Wales which was published in 1990.

In A Field Guide to Reptiles of New South Wales you will find every gecko, flap-footed lizard, goanna, dragon, skink, snake and turtle known to live throughout the many habitats of New South Wales. This State reptile guide narrows down the field of species identification to a manageable size for any naturalist.

The telltale details that make identification possible lie in the descriptions of families, genera and species: these are accompanied by clear line drawings. Where you need to tune out similar species, simple keys are provided. For herpetologists, the location maps, generated from the Australian Museum database, will prove invaluable.


Gerry Swan is an Associate of the Australian Museum and well known author.

Dr.Glenn Shea has a PhD in veterinary science and is a lecturer at the Dept. Veterinary Anatomy at Sydney University. He is a taxonomist who has published 100 or so scientific papers.

Ross Sadlier is the Collections Manager for the Herpetological Dept. of the Australian Museum. He has a BSc and has co-authored a book on the reptiles of New Caledonia.

Soft cover, 21.3cm x 11.4cm, 302 pages, colour photos, distribution maps.

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A FIELD GUIDE TO REPTILES
OF
QUEENSLAND

By Steve Wilson



Published by Reed New Holland, Australia. Jan 2005
Soft cover - plastic sleeve. 21cm x 15cm. 256 pages. Keys to Genera. Color photos. Distribution maps.

Queensland is home to an extraordinary diversity of reptiles. This is because it has so many different types of habitat. In the tropical rainforest lives one of Australia's most spectacular dragons, the Boyd's Rainforest Dragon. The arid south-west is home to the deadly Inland Taipan. In the deeply cracked black soiled plains of the Mitchell Grass Downs, Collett's Snake hides from the baking midday sun. In the far north there are isolated pockets of New Guinean animals, among them the magnificent Green Tree Python, which lives in the Iron and McIlraith Ranges and can be found by day coiled around thick vines. And few Queensland homes are without delightful nocturnal geckos.

A Field Guide to Reptiles of Queensland covers all of Queensland's 440 named species, including 135 that occur nowhere else. Colour photographs make for quick identification, aided by line drawings, keys, distribution maps and descriptions.

Steve Wilson has recently co-authored with Gerry Swan the authoritative A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia. His lifelong love affair with reptiles has taken him to some of Australia's most remote places. An excellent communicator, he has written and illustrated many articles and in 2000 he won Australian Geographic's Photography of the Year. For 18 years he has worked at the Queensland Museum, educating the public, identifying their specimens and raising awareness about Australia's unique biological heritage and how to conserve it.

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CARE OF AUSTRALIAN REPTILES IN CAPTIVITY - John Weigel.



Care of Australian Reptiles in Captivity is an essential handbook anyone interested in keeping native reptiles. Information on 40 varied Australian reptiles from lizards and tortoises to pythons and venomous snakes. Chapters cover housing, feeding, captive breeding and diseases.

Paperback
Colour Illustrations
Published: 1988
Publisher: Australian Reptile Park


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Australian Snakes: A Natural History
Richard Shine
Reed New Holland 1998

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These are definately next on my list to get as they are just Australian!!!!!!!! These are great, thanks Inny.

I have just purchased a new book from ebay called Keeping Carpet Pythons. I'll let you know what it's like when I get it.

Mike Swan Herp Books~ Online Herp Bookstore

http://www.mikeswanherpbooks.com.au/

The best herp book I know, IS MY DAD INNY!

Haha.. I really like some of the books dad has got like,

The Crocodile Hunter ones and Reptiles Australia magazine.

And then Snakes by Daniel Gilpin, and the BIG BOOK of reptiles.

Various books but they are GREAT. Found them in a local place too.

So look out everyone, they'll be hiding! LOL!

Cheers ::

The very first book on Inny's post, it's amazing. READ IT sometime!

Cheers again, ::

I have to say you're very lucky there
Best part Is that wealth of knowledge will pass on to you

Life in Cold Blood (Hardcover)
by Sir David Attenborough (Author)

"Sir David Attenborough brings viewers the final chapter of his epic overview of life on Earth as he transforms perceptions of cold-blooded animals in this landmark BBC One series Life In Cold Blood.
"Reptiles and amphibians are sometimes thought of as slow, dim-witted and primitive," says David. "In fact they can be lethally fast, spectacularly beautiful, surprisingly affectionate and extremely sophisticated."



Reptiles and amphibians ruled the world for nearly 200 million years and today there are still over 12,500 of them. Some are huge, the deadliest creatures on earth. Some are tiny, among the strangest to be found anywhere. Together, they not only outnumber mammals or birds but in their colourful variety and extraordinary behaviour, they far surpass them. So where did these ancient creatures come from? How have they transformed themselves into the bizarre and beautiful forms that are alive today? And what's the secret of their epic success? In "Life in Cold Blood", David traces the story of their evolution and overturns the myth that these creatures are just primitive killers to reveal them for what they truly are.

handy guide to Aussie reptiles

January 17, 2009

HISTORY author Leonard Cronin reveals his impressive and extensive knowledge of Australian wildlife once again in his latest book Australian Reptiles & Frogs (Allen & Unwin, $35).

The writer, who was trained as a biologist in England, has spent 30 years studying and writing about Australia's flora and fauna, and has so far published five in the Cronin's Key Guide series, including mammals, wildlife and rainforest plants.

The idea behind his guides is to make Australian wildlife as accessible as possible to the general reader – many of whom would not be happy to discover this country is home to the world's most fearsome predator, the estuarine crocodile, and the world's deadliest snake, the mainland taipan.



On a lighter note, readers can learn about the scales of the thorny devil which soak up water from night-time dew and moist sand; and the little skinks which inflate themselves to jam the entrance to their burrows. Their spiny scales grip the sides of the tunnel, making them almost impossible to pull out.

The book gives readers information on what to do in the event of a snake bite (there are about 3000 in Australia every year) and how to identify the reptiles living in this country.

A handy size for bushwalkers or travellers, each page is dedicated to a different frog or reptile with a description of where each animal can be found (so you can avoid those estuarine crocodiles) its behaviour, development and food.

There are also clear illustrations of each animal, making it easier to identify each one, and know which are dangerous and which are not.

Cronin's guide is easy to follow, clear and concise and makes spotting lizards and frogs in the wild an interesting and educational past time.

I did most of my researching online. Im not much for books.....