Thread: Good snake books

Im not sure off han the now chris, Ill put my thinking cap on for you

I know how Bill Love took the photo of the Corn Snake Manual (bottom right), anyone want to guess how all the morphs were taken side by side in the background.

Note the background is a photo with no computer gimmicks to alter it.

Anyone know any good books on Kingsnakes?

There are probably so many old and collectable books to mention but a few stand out to me on African herpetology.

Some of Arthur Loveridge's publications, ie:

Loveridge, A. 1951. On reptiles and amphibians from Tanganyika Territory collected by C. J. P. Ionides. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 106(4): 178-204.

Loveridge, A. 1953. Zoological results of a fifth expedition to East Africa III. Reptiles from Nyasaland and Tete. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 110(3), 143-322.

Also considered a pioneer in African herpetology is Sir Andrew Smith and his rare work:

Sir Andrew Smith - Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa: Reptilia" (Smith 1838-1849)

This is considered a monumental work (in 5 volumes) and has the supposed original descriptions of Bitis inornata (Echindna inornata) and Bitis armata (Vipera/Echindna atropoides). Impossible to obtain but copies are available at some museums.

Of course we cant leave out the first 1938 Edition of Pitmans classic work:

“A Guide to the Snakes of Uganda”, by Capt. Charles Pitman – Published by the Uganda Society, Kampala, Uganda in 1938

Pitmans' original book is numbered and i know of 2 copies in South Africa with friends. If my memory serves me, many of these books were destroyed in a fire in London during WW2. Otherwise if you willing to pay $1,260.00 (ouch) you can get a copy from Clarke's Africana & Rare Books in Cape Town (SOUTH AFRICA).

Another popular one.

1937 John Hewitt - "Guide to the Vertebrate Fauna of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, Part II Reptiles, Amphibians and Freshwater Fishes".

More recent 'old' and collectable works can still be found with a hard search:

Vivian Fitzsimons (The lizards of South Africa) Published by order of the trustees of the Transvaal Museum [1943]

Vivian Fitzsimons (Snakes of Southern Africa) London, Macdonald [1962].

Easier to find are Richard Isemongers' books.

There are others but i cant think of them all right now. Look up George Albert Boulenger and Walter Rose.

John Visser and D.S. Chapmans' "Snakes and Snake Bite" is also becoming collectible.

Books on herpetology of reptiles exotic to SA is another subject all together but i love them as well. I big one for me is Lawrence Klaubers' "Rattlesnakes". First edition is hard to come by, but second edition is easier to find and i managed to buy one on ebay.com for around $80.
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Dont let tears fall in my eyes

totally recommend "whats wrong with my snake?". brilliant reference to have from an educational point of view and would no doubt be helpful if something was indeed wrong lol.