Rescue and Adoptions
The General Care and Maintenance of Red-eared Sliders and Other Popular Freshwater Turtles. P. deVosjoli, 1992, Advanced Vivarium Systems, Comprehensive and up to date. All you need to get started.
"Incubation of Reptile Eggs" by Guenther Kohler has instructions for buidling incubators and on incubation temperatures for reptile eggs.
The General Care and Maintenance of Box Turtles, Including a Section on Chinese and Malaysian Box Turtles. Advanced Vivarium Systems. Comprehensive and up to date. All you need
to get started.
Encyclopedia of Turtles. Pritchard.The comprehensive listing and description of turtle and tortoise species.
Turtles and Tortoises of the World. David Alderton, ISBN: 0-8160-1733-6, This book discusses everything there is to know about turtles and tortoises.
Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins. F.J. Obst, 1988, ISBN 0-312-82362-2. A wonderful book which covers the life of turtles. Emphasis on conservation issues; wonderful photographs and excellent drawings; small section on husbandry.
A. C. Highfields, "Practical Encyclopedia of Keeping and Breeding Tortoises and Fresh Water Turtles" This is THE best book available on overall Chelonia care.
Frederic L. Frye and David L. Williams, "Self-Assessment color review of reptiles and amphibians," Iowa State University Press (paper back), 192 pages, ISBN 0-813-82990-9.
This booklet is not for the weak-minded. The photographs of diseases and deceased animals range from interesting to rather gory. All the pictures illustrate a reptile disease. Accompanying the pictures are questions asking the reader to do anything from identifying a lesion to categorizing a blood disease based on a slide. The over 250 questions and answers range from what every hobbyist should know about reptile diseases to specialized knowledge for veterinarians. The intended audience of this book are veterinarians and students of veterinary medicine. However, the wealth of information make this a valuable book also for the non-specialist who would like to expand his of her knowledge. This is a great companion book Frederic Frye's Reptile Care books. It also makes a great book to have next to your telephone.
What better thing to do while listening to your aunt complaining about her latest bout of gout or kidney stones than reading about Meningoencephalitis (start gazing) in snakes, or learning how to identify a pin worm in a stool sample.
Sport fishing regulations, Department of Fish and Game (brochure), 50 pages, new each year.
Every herpetologist who collects or breeds California native herps, and every hiker who ever thinks he or she will ever pick up an animal, maybe to take it home for a while, should have a recent copy of these regulations. Chapter 5 of the regulations reveals not only which species may and may not be taken, it also gives bag limits and methods of take. Now, this booklet is available at the same places where you should buy yourself a California Fishing License, if you are keeping or planning on keeping California native herps.
Not found at any of the checked libraries.
Jack Rudloe, "Time of the turtle," NY: Knopf/Penguin Books (paper back), c1979,
267 pages, ISBN 0-140-05590-8.This book is special, in that I have never managed to read it all the way because it is so sad. The book follows the plight of the sea turtle and certainly illustrates it to the furthest extend possible just with words. This is one of the few books that have ever made me cry. Now, don't think it is sappy, because it is not. Rudloe's simple descriptions of the dangers and problems turtles face today, often seen through the eyes of the turtles themselves, is enough. The book is 20 years old, and today we know more about sea turtles, but their plight has not changed, and their fate is still uncertain.
Carl H. Ernst and Roger Barbour, "Turtles of the World,"
Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press (soft cover), c1989, 314 pages,
ISBN 1-560-98212-8.
This is the book I use the most of all my reptile books. This seemingly slim book lists all known species of turtles and what is known about their natural history. Some photographs are included, where available. I have used this book to identify turtles (it has keys for most species) and to help people set up environments and feeding plans for turtles. (For those who don't know, I have a turtle web page which generates quite a bit of email every week.)The most striking observation I make every time I pick up this book is how little is known about many species of turtles. On the other hand, more and more species of turtles show up in the pet trade, and people don't know what they have and how to take care of it.
This is not a turtle care book, but I don't know how often I could send someone a couple of pages of information to help them jumpstart an uncommon turtle for a long life in captivity. If your interest in turtles goes beyond the turtle in your tank or pond, then I highly recommend you get this book.
David M. Carroll, "The year of the turtle, a natural history,"
Charlotte VT: Camden House Publishing (paper back), c1991,
172 pages with ink illustrations, ISBN 0-944-47512-4.
This a diary, a narration, and a journey. Together with the author, a naturalist, the reader lives through one year at the local wetlands called The Digs. The Digs is home to several species of turtles, which are the primary subject of the book. In addition, the local plant and animal life, the changing of the seasons, and the tastes and smells of this world apart become familiar to the reader. In spite of the informal, almost poetic writing, the author conveys a wealth of natural history facts along with the stories. Not enough, the book is also a plea to preserve habitats, and watch out for the small creatures around us.
The book is illustrated with beautiful drawings of plants and animals by the author,and several turtle color plates.This is one of the books that I liked so much, I read it slowly, over the course of several months, just a page at a time, so I wouldn't finish too soon.
Turtle Time, A bedtime story. By Sandol Stoddard.
ALbert's Toothache. By Barbara Williams. The drawings of tortoises are adorable.
Waldo the Tortoise by David Lloyd. Funny story and great drawings.
The Turtle and the Moon. By Charles Turner. Lovely story and pictures about a red eared slider that will melt your heart. My favorite.
Turtle's Day. By Dwight Kuhn. A day in the life of a box turtle with real photos.