''Reptiles'' magazine is a North American

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

devoted to the

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

and

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

hobby, specializing in the keeping and

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

of these animals. It is based in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

History

Fancy Publications, later BowTie Inc., introduced the magazine in October 1993.Spadafori, Gina (23 October 1993)
Reptiles slither into the animal magazine kingdom
''The Baltimore Sun'' After a year of publishing bimonthly, ''Reptiles'' went monthly in December 1994 due to surging traction of the magazine. In February 2013, BowTie's magazine titles, including ''Reptiles'', was purchased by I-5 Publishing, LLC. Other magazines previously published by BowTie that are now being issued by I-5 include ''

Cat Fancy The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

'', ''

Dog Fancy Animal fancy is a hobby involving the appreciation, promotion, or breeding of pet or domestic animals. Fancy may include ownership, showing, animal sports and other competitions, and breeding. Hobbyists may simply collect specimens of the animal ...

'' and ''Horse Illustrated''. In December 2013, the website of ''Reptiles'' was launched. On August 14, 2014 ''Reptiles'' Magazine website joined to celebrate the World Lizard Day. In 2017, ''Reptiles'' magazine was sold again. The current owner is Living World Media.

Profile

Tips and information on keeping and breeding distinct

herp Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

s typically make up the bulk of an issue's feature articles, but other topics covered by the magazine include field

herping Herping is the act of searching for amphibians or reptiles. The term, often used by professional and amateur herpetologists, comes from the word "herp", which comes from the same Greek root as herpetology, ''herpet-'', meaning "creeping". The t ...

, reptile and amphibian health, conservation, and current trends in the hobby. The magazine occasionally holds contests sponsored by reptile product manufacturers. Although popular pet animals, such as

bearded dragon ''Pogona'' is a genus of reptiles containing six lizard species which are often known by the common name bearded dragons. The name "bearded dragon" refers to the underside of the throat (or "beard") of the lizard, which can turn black and gain we ...

s, corn snakes,

red-eared slider The red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin (''Trachemys scripta elegans'') is a subspecies of the pond slider (''Trachemys scripta''), a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States, ...

leopard gecko The leopard gecko or common leopard gecko (''Eublepharis macularius'') is a ground-dwelling lizard native to the rocky dry grassland and desert regions of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. The leopard gecko has become a popular pet, ...

crested gecko The crested gecko or eyelash gecko (''Correlophus ciliatus'') is a species of gecko native to southern New Caledonia. In 1866, the crested gecko was species description, described by a French zoologist named Alphonse Guichenot. This species was t ...

s, Pac Man frogs,

ball python The ball python (''Python regius''), also called the royal python, is a python species native to West and Central Africa, where it lives in grasslands, shrublands and open forests. This nonvenomous constrictor is the smallest of the African p ...

red-footed tortoise The red-footed tortoise (''Chelonoidis carbonarius'') is a species of tortoise from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average as adults, but can reach over . They have dark-colored, loaf-shaped carapaces (back shell ...

s and many other common species often appear in the magazine, ''Reptiles'' also publishes articles about less commonly kept animals, such as

Asian box turtle Asian box turtles are turtles of the genus ''Cuora'' in the family Geoemydidae. About 12 extant species are recognized.Spinks, P. Q., et al. (2012)Species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships in the critically endangered Asian box turtle gen ...

Aldabra giant tortoise The Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. It is one of the largest tortoises in the world.Pritchar ...

s, various types of

chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...

black headed python The black-headed python (''Aspidites melanocephalus'') Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . is a species of snake in the Pythonidae (the python family). The species is endemic to A ...

s, and occasionally

venomous snake Venomous snakes are Species (biology), species of the Suborder (biology), suborder Snake, Serpentes that are capable of producing Snake venom, venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The v ...

s and

crocodilian Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period ( Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living ...

s. ''Reptiles'' articles are drafted for a broad range of reptile enthusiasts, from the novice hobbyist to the veteran herpetoculturist. Respected reptile experts and breeders in the industry have written for the magazine.Past authors include Bob Applegate, Brian Barczyk, Dave and Tracy Barker, R.D. (Dick) Bartlett,

Bob Clark Benjamin Robert Clark (August 5, 1939 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his work in the Canadian film industry throughout the 1970s and 1980s, where he was responsible ...

Tom Crutchfield Tom Crutchfield, also known as Tommy, is an American reptile breeder known for his extensive Homestead, Florida, facility and his 1999 arrest and conviction under Operation Chameleon for trafficking in exotic animals and violating the Lacey Act, w ...

, Linda Davison, Philippe de Vosjoli, Dante Fenolio, Jerry and Richard Fife, Ken Foose, Russ Gurley, Bert Langerwerf, Jeff Lemm, Bill and Kathy Love (Bill Love's column, "Herpetocultural Queries," has been in the magazine since the first issue), Kimberly Kay Lucas, Dr. Douglas Mader (this reptile veterinarian has been writing the magazine's vet column since the first issue),

Bob Mailloux Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

, Kevin McCurley, Sean McKeown, Gerold Merker, John Murphy, Patrick Nabors, Terry Phillip, Louis Porras, Peter Pritchard,

Philip A. Purser Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, Allen Repashy, Don Soderberg, Robert Sprackland, Jeremy Stone,

Ron Tremper Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

, Ernie Wagner, Rico Walder, Trooper Walsh and Romulus Whitaker Usually a reptile or amphibian species is featured on the cover, though

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

(February 1995) and Mark O'Shea (February 2003) were both cover subjects due to interviews they provided. A two-part interview with

Steve Irwin Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 19624 September 2006), known as "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist. Irwin grew up around crocodiles and ot ...

appeared in the October and November 1999 issues.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Reptiles 1993 establishments in California Animal and pet magazines Bimonthly magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1993 Magazines published in California Monthly magazines published in the United States