(Part 2) Best products from r/herpetology

Meant to reply much sooner, so not sure if you've already found what you were hunting for, but if he keeps reptiles as pets, a heat gun would be a great gift. Something like this.

I've been keeping reptiles for a few decades, and a heat gun is an absolute essential item. You don't know how much you need it until you have one. Hope this helps.

If you're looking for a comprehensive, detailed guide to general herpetology, this textbook has most of that:
Link

It's a bit of a read, and I certainly haven't read all/most of it but it will have most information you'd be interested in knowing. I'd recommend having a dictionary of herpetology or some sort of biological dictionary to go along with it as not all of the words are explained completely clearly.

Just so you know, I'm no herpetologist, just someone who's trying to get there.

Fenbendazole for sheep and goats is already in suspension and can be easily diluted for proper dosing since it's mostly water. You will want a feline catheter, a syringe which fits it (ask your vet, they might just throw you these for free) and a lubricant to coat the catheter before sliding it down the snake's throat, vasoline is perfect.

Be careful when doing dilution, use that old chemistry knowledge of stochiometry to do the math right. Dosages can usually be found on the internet.

Edit: you can get the fenbendazole off of amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000HHLVB8?pc_redir=1410401994&robot_redir=1

It's cheaper to just buy pancur powder and turn it into a solution yourself... But I've found that this lasts longer and is less of a hassle.

My very good friend has written two books on them. I would recommend it. Then you won't need to solicit advice from random "experts" online.

https://www.amazon.com/Redfoot-Manual-Beginners-Guide-Tortoise/dp/1441494030?keywords=red+foot+tortoise+manual&qid=1540499837&sr=8-1-fkmr1&ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1

> In the United States, all coral snakes follow the 'red touch yellow' pattern

Occasionally they don't, and there are a couple of harmless species that do. However, once you hit Latin America, it's best to forget that dreadful "red-on-yellow" rule altogether.

This article discusses the subject in detail:

http://thevenominterviews.com/2016/06/02/mythbusting-coral-snakes/

In Latin America, the simple rules aren't reliable, and the reliable rules aren't simple. You would be looking at subtle differences in head shape, eye size and scalation.

For learning the local species, Janis Roze's Coral Snakes of the Americas is an excellent reference.

This is the scale that I've been using. At the time I bought it, it was a bit cheaper than that.

When I bought it, I only had the kingsnake, so a small scale worked fine for me. If you want a scale like that, I might suggest something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Black-Digital-Pocket/dp/B0012N1NAA/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1324149891&sr=1-1

It's better than mine in that it allows you to place up to 1000 grams on the scale (versus 550 for mine), while having the same accuracy (0.1 gram increments). And it's cheaper and has a larger weighing platform than mine.

However, shortly after I got that scale, I got the python. And that wasn't a problem originally, as she weighed about the same as my young kingsnake. But, that wasn't the case for long, and she's getting too damn big to cram onto that little scale.

So I looked around for a scale that was (1) cheap, (2) would accept more weight, and (3) had a large platform. I ended up buying this a few days ago: http://www.amazon.com/TFY-Digital-Tempered-Kitchen-Scale-Black/dp/B004UJ7988/ref=sr_1_42?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1324149612&sr=1-42

It's finicky, but for 12 bucks, it'll do what I need to, and it weighs accurately. It only has an accuracy of 1 gram (versus 0.1), but given that I'll be using it with the ball python, who already weighs close to 250 grams, fractions of a gram aren't really all that important anymore.

As a fellow Georgian, I would recommend "Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia" as linked here It has relevant information about ranges, habitats, colorations, habits, everything. Its a little big for a field guide (huge) but is a wonderful tool to learn from and then reference when you get back to the field.

You might consider a folding hand lens.. Very cheap and useful for looking at little details (e.g. head scales) in all sorts of critters and other nature nuggets.

Yes! We have a few different ones we've collected over the last couple of years. The one she uses most often is an animal track one we picked up at a state park's gift shop. We also have this and this.

Peterson Western:
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Reptiles-Amphibians-Peterson-Guides/dp/0395982723

Good AZ book:
http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Amphibians-Reptiles-Arizona/dp/B000KKMWWE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=1-1

Good Lizard book:
http://www.amazon.com/Lizards-American-Southwest-Lawrence-Jones/dp/1933855355/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410444002&sr=1-2

Audubon herp book is complete rubbish

We have this book in our lab. I've only glanced through it but it's definitely on my list of books to own.

Found it!. Thanks for the tips.