The Care of Reptiles and Amphibians in Captivity (ISBN 0713723386)

Desperately seeking amphibs...:
This was a great, informative book. No complaints about the information that it held.... however, I was specifically seeking information about amphibians. In view of this, I have to say I was disappointed in the small amount of info i could find on my amphibs. I'd say it was 75-80% reptile info... disappointing especially when it wasn't a large book to begin with. Reptile owners: Buy this book! Amphibian owners: find an amphibian book.

His reach exceeded his grasp, but it is still a good book:
The section on montiors and tegus is REALLY insufficient. He discusses only the Nile and Water monitors, but there are some 12 or 13 species available. In fact, he tries to dissuade you from owning a monitor, when they are great animals if you know what your doing. The section on venomous snakes was rather lacking, but that is the norm. Also, some of the information was somewhat dated, but nothing major enough to cause real concern. HE got the diets, temps. and other basics for most of the species. However, the amphibian section wasn't all that great. It didn't cover frogs now avialable, and the care was too bare, sometimes not including temperatures or other essentials. This book can be helpful if you've got no knowledge, but youre still much better off buying a more specific book (i.e one that covers just lizards, or just snakes). His reach exceeded his grasp here. But, it can help, and has a few good spots. I reccomend buying it, but don't rely on it as the best care source out there.

A Must !!!:
This is a completely revised and updated edition of the internationally successful and acclaimed THE CARE OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS IN CAPTIVITY. Since the appearance of the first edition, it has held pride of place as the illustrated handbookforthose wishingto keep and breed a wide range of reptiles and amphibians. Designed for use by the novice and experienced hobbyist - as well as by students and practitioners of herpetology - it enables all to expand their scope of interest in the topic, from keeping a few examples to a full range of keeping and breeding. Chris Mattison enjoys a world-wide reputation as the author of six major books on the natural history and husbandry of reptiles and amphibians. He is a member of the British and International Herpetological Societies. He has been involved in the keeping of these fascinating creatures forovertwentyyears, travellingwidely to observe and photograph in the wild and lecturing on the topic. Front cover photograph by the author shows the Fiji Iguana (Brachycephalus fasciatus), a rare and attractive species which has been bred in captivity by several zoological gardens.

Pretty good:
It is a must buy for beginners. It contains a shallow overview of many species. While it does not go into too much depth on any one species, it does give the absolute bare bones for most- cage size, temps, diet, ect. The section an montiros and teiieds is very lacking though. He seems to think that the average hobbyist should even consider these aniamls. That is the books one really big flaw.

A must for starters:
This book is great it covers every thing for every reptile even feeding instructions.