What others are saying about the Primer... "I hope it gets, because it deserves, wide attention. It is a must-read for anyone, child or adult, interested in or just curious about herps or nature." —Dr. Brian Crother, Professor of Bio- logical Sciences, Southeastern Louisiana University; Chair of the Committee On Standard English And Scientific Names, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles “A Primer on Reptiles & Amphibians” looks like an outstanding educational product. I can tell from my first look that Micha has done an excellent job of covering a variety of herp top- ics everyone wonders about." —Dr. J. Whitfield "Whit" Gibbons, Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Georgia; renowned author of numerous books and hundreds of papers on herpetology "A truly extraordinary and exceptional website and a most remarkable effort to put this amount of herpetological information together. I commend Micha’s thorough dedication to the teaching and welfare of herps.” —Dr. Stan Trauth, Emeritus Professor of Zoology, Arkansas State University; Past President (2012-2013), Herpetologists’ League "I'd be really excited to see this distributed widely because to me it reads as a lot more ac- cessible than most of what's out there, and that's really important for reaching new audi- ences and changing behaviors." —Dr. Andrew Durso, Technical and Scientific Publications Editor at Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry; Author of Life is Short, but Snakes are Long "This book is going to make a difference!" —Dr. Harry W. Greene; Professor Emeritus; Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow; Curator of Herpetology, Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates Read more reviews at LearmAboutCritters.org/primer Sierra Nevada Ensatina photo by Chad M. Lane Join our mailing as you visit learnaboutcritters.org for updates and additional content! Scan here to download the Primer as a PDF! 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this book (and anything else with L.E.A.R.N.’s logo) will always go to nonprofit use. L.E.A.R.N. uses these funds to rehabilitate injured wildlife, rescue exotic animals, and further our mission of Conservation Through Education. Southern Zigzag Salamander photo by Todd Pierson Authoring and design by Micha R. Petty Foreword by Brian I. Crother, Ph.D. Edited by Joseph Mitchell, Ph.D. With contributions by Andrew M. Durso, Ph.D. Sabina Squires, DVM, CVA Sean M. Perry, DVM Lori A. Neuman-Lee, Ph.D. Sarah Phillips Michael Van Valen Spencer Greene, MD, MS, FACEP, FACMT A listing of illustrators appears in appendix. Published by Louisiana Exotic Animal Resource Network Elm Grove, Louisiana, USA Cane Toad photo by Brian Gratwicke CC BY 2.0 This work is available for educational and entertainment purposes only. Neither the publisher nor the author can be re- sponsible for your use of this information. It is your responsibility to verify anything you read and to know your own limi- tations and capabilities. If you pick up a snake you can’t identify as harmless or stick your fingers underneath logs without looking first—that is on you. Besides, even if you wanted to sue someone—all L.E.A.R.N. and Micha have are a bunch of rescued critters that no one else wants and that are quite expensive to feed. A Primer on Reptiles & Amphibians A Collection of Educational Nature Bulletins Authoring & Design by Micha R. Petty (Except where noted) © Micha R. Petty 2019 Some rights reserved. This work is licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Version 1.0 176 pp. : 376 col. ill. ISBN: 978-0-692-15712-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018910067 Published by Louisiana Exotic Animal Resource Network Elm Grove, LA 71051 Printed in the USA Please recycle any prints produced from this work. To check for updates to this work, visit learnaboutcritters.org Front cover: Northern Cottonmouth,Agkistrodon piscivorus by Daniel R. Wakefield Photography (Facebook, Flickr) Back: Eastern Newt, Notophthalmus viridescens by Todd Pierson (Flickr) Other illustrators listed in credits. This work is licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. Green Louisiana State logo is © L.E.A.R.N. 2014 and may not be reproduced other than as specified to distribute these bulletins or work in its entirety. Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data Names: Petty, Micha Robert, author. | Crother, Brian I., foreword author. | Mitchell, Joseph C., editor. | Durso, Andrew M., contributor. | Squires, Sabina, contributor. | Perry, Sean M., contributor. | Neuman-Lee, Lori A., contributor. | Phillips, Sarah H., contributor. | Van Valen, Michael, contributor. | Greene, Spencer, contributor. Title: A Primer on reptiles & amphibians : a collection of educational nature bulletins / authoring and design by Micha R. Petty ; foreword by Brian I. Crother, Ph.D. ; edited by Joseph Mitchell Ph.D. ; with contributions by Andrew M. Durso, Ph.D. ; Sabina Squires, DVM, CVA ; Sean M. Perry, DVM ; Lori A. Neuman-Lee, Ph.D. ; Sarah Phillips ; Michael Van Valen ; Spencer Greene, MD, MS, FACEP, FACMT. Description: Elm Grove, LA: Louisiana Exotic Animal Resource Network, 2019. Identifiers: LCCN 2018910067 | ISBN 978-0-692-15712-1 Subjects: LCSH Reptiles. | Amphibians. | BISAC NATURE / Animals / Reptiles & Amphibians Classification: LCC QL652 .P48 2019 | DDC 598.1--dc23 A great deal of work went into the research, creation, and formatting of this Primer. I decided to give the digital version away freely and charge the minimum amount possible for the print version in order to reach as many people as possible. However, L.E.A.R.N. has many expenses and is not funded by any public agency. Please consider making a donation to help our wildlife rehabilitation, exotic rescue, and Conservation Through Education efforts– your donation will make a difference. Donations can be madequickly and securely online using PayPal/Credit/Debit. Donations are tax-deductible and can be one-time or automatically recurring. If you find this collection useful- Please make a donation to help L.E.A.R.N. do even more! learnaboutcritters.org/donate American AlligatorWakefield Daniel photoPhotography R.by L.E.A.R.N. is… ...Here for the Critters That Have No Other Place. Table of Contents Click on a topic to skip there, then Giants Among Us.......................... 46 click the L.E.A.R.N. logo in the Life in Miniature ........................... 47 header of any page to return here! Biology About this Version ......................... 8 Thermoregulation ........................ 49 Foreword ....................................... 9 Tail Autotomy .............................. 50 Preface ......................................... 10 Ecdysis (Shedding)......................... 51 Introduction .................................. 11 Sexual Dimorphism ...................... 52 About Herpetology ....................... 12 Hemipenes ................................... 53 Fangs ............................................ 54 Living With Wildlife Rear-fanged Snakes ..................... 55 Turtles 101 .................................... 14 Venom.......................................... 56 Lizards 101..................................... 15 Venomous vs. Poisonous ............. 57 Snakes 101 .................................... 16 Scales & Scutes ............................ 58 Crocodilians 101 ............................ 17 Amniotes & Anamniotes .............. 59 Frogs 101 ....................................... 18 Frog Life Cycle ..............................60 Salamanders 101 ........................... 19 Salamander Life Cycle .................. 61 Caecilians & Tuatara .................... 20 Amplexus ..................................... 62 Living Around Snakes ................... 21 Hatching & Birthing ...................... 63 Snakebite Avoidance .................... 22 Parthenogenesis .......................... 64 Snakebite Treatment .................... 23 Sex Determination ....................... 65 The Maligned Cottonmouth ........ 24 Snake Locomotion ........................ 66 American Box Turtles ................... 25 Forked Tongues ............................ 67 Mischievous Ratsnakes ................26 Snakes and Swallowing ................ 68 Hog-nosed Snakes ........................ 27 “Sticky” Feet ................................ 69 Treefrog Tubes .............................28 Hibernation & Aestivation ........... 70 Backyard Herps.............................29 Tortoise Pee! ................................. 71 Relocating Reptiles ...................... 30 Reptile Rescue & Removal............ 31 Find The Herp! ........................ 72 Watch for Wildlife ........................ 32 Snake Myths & FAQs .................... 33 Natural History Keep Cats Indoors .........................36 A Complex Web ........................... 89 Herps Save Lives! .......................... 37 When Are Herps Active? .............. 90 Careful Where You Learn .............38 Where Do Herps Live? .................. 91 Adapting to Suburbia ................... 92 Classification & Diversity Hidden in Plain Sight .................... 93 A Bit About Names ...................... 40 Non-native Species ...................... 94 Scientific Names ........................... 41 Species and Orders ...................... 42 Conservation Family Ties ................................... 43 Herp Conservation ....................... 96 Differences & Similarities ............ 44 Habitat Loss ................................. 97 Miscellaneous Oddities ............... 45 Commercial Collection ................. 98 Table of Contents