Best Snake Books

[Cazador]

My list would include:

Best all-around garter snake book:
Rossman DA., Ford NB., & Seigel RA. 1991. The Garter Snakes Evolution and Ecology. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman, OK.

Best intro to garters:
Bartlett RD & Bartlett P. 2001. Garter and Ribbon Snakes. Barron's Educational Book Series, Inc. Hong Kong.

Best Care and Maintenance book:
Perlowin D. 1994. Garter Snakes & Water Snakes. Advanced Vivarium Systems, Inc. Lakeside, CA.

Best non-garter snake book:
Ernst C & Zug GR. 1996. Snakes in question. Smithsonian Press. Washington DC.

Book I'd most like to see in English:
Hallman M & Chlebowy J. Strumpfbandnattern.

What are your favorites? Make up any categories you'd like.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I agree on all but the "Snakes in Question" book....haven't seen that one. I own the other 3, and have been waiting on Juergen to translate his book, but it hasn't happened. I used to be in contact with him a few times a year and he was working on trnaslation...but it never got finished.

[Cazador]

Very cool. I'm glad to hear he's working on it. Be sure to let us know if you hear any more about his progress, okay?
Rick

[Daniel]

My list would include:

Best all-around garter snake book:
Rossman DA., Ford NB., & Seigel RA. 1991. The Garter Snakes Evolution and Ecology. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman, OK.
and
Hallman M & Chlebowy J. 2001 Strumpfbandnattern. Natur und Tier-Verlag, Münster.

Best intro to garters and Best Care and Maintenance book:
DRACO Strumpfbandnattern 1/2006. Natur und Tier-Verlag, Münster.

Best snake book for north american snakes:
Ernst CH & Ernst EM. 2003 Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithonian Books, WA


Magazine I'd most recommend to english speeking readers, even though it´s in german:
DRACO Strumpfbandnattern 1/2006. Natur und Tier-Verlag, Münster.

It includes gorgeous pictures of most Thamnophis spec. so only because of this it´s a must for every Thamnophile.

Best wishes,

Daniel

[Thamnophis]

I would add the two following books...

Strumpfbandnattern by Thomas Bourguignon
Die Strumpfbandnattern by Frank Mutschmann

And I agree on the Draco-heft. Is very nice! Still available, I think, so when you want to order it...

[Cazador]

I would add the two following books...

Strumpfbandnattern by Thomas Bourguignon
Die Strumpfbandnattern by Frank Mutschmann

Hi Thamnophis,
What category would you put these two books into? Best overall garter snake book, best maintenance & husbandry, or another category?

My thought process is that if there's a concensus about the best books two things might happen: 1) People won't waste their time and money buying inferior or misleading books, and 2) If the best non-English books are identified, and the interest level is great enough, their authors might be more inclined to translate them into English to satisfy customer demand.

Rick

P.S. You're shedding again .

[Thamnophis]

Both books would not be my number one and two, but are nice books to have if you want to spend your money.
The book of Mutschmann is not that spectaculair.
Die Strumpfbandnattern - Frank Mutschmann

The book of Bourguignon is a nice one with fine colourpictures and quite a lot of information.
Strumpfbandnattern - Thomas Bourguignon

My Top 2 would be: (in random order)

Strumpgbandnattern - Martin Hallmen & Jürgen Chlebowy

and

The Garter Snakes - Evolution and Ecology


I like buying books and mostly want everything there is on the subject.
From every book you learn something.

And Rick, now I know why I have that itch on my back... I'm going to shed again

[Cazador]

Wow! I'm really impressed that Strumpfbandnattern (by Hallmen & Chlebowy) is on the level with The Garter Snakes (by Rossman et al.). Now I really want it . Thanks, Thamnophis.

A good book to buy for the stunning photography is Garter and Ribbon Snakes (by W.P. Mara), but I wouldn't rely on its information. Mara says, "Heated rocks have become very popular in the herpetocultural hobby over the last few yearas and are perfectly usable with garter and ribbon snakes." However, there is no caution of any sort about their potential dangers. Likewise, goldfish are recommended with no discussion about thiaminase. It is meant to be an introduction, but there are more examples where its statements are at best, questionable. With that said, it offers great photography and short, but interesting, facts about many of the different species. Cheers,
Rick

[Thamnophis]

Do you know: Garter snakes & their allies by Coote?

The book of William Mara and the book of Coote I have ordered and they will arrive this week. I will let you know what I think of it.

I saw that Mara has written a lot of books about different snake-genera in the USA.
Maybe he´s not a specialist, but only a good phographer with only little knowledge about how to keep them.

[Cazador]

Hi Fons,
I hope you like both books, but I suspect you're right about Mara being a generalist. As for Coote, I don't know of his work. I did a quick search and found out he's from the UK. I hope its a good book.

This is the part of the forum that I love... learning new things and sharing discoveries. It makes learning so much faster and more enjoyable. I'll eagerly await your review. Best,
Rick