A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use your pictures (or sounds, or videos) for free?

Maybe. Maybe not. Take a look at the Usage Guidelines.

What is the name of this reptile or amphibian that I found?

You can use the Identifying California Herps information, or you can send a picture and I'll try to identify it.

I have some pictures of herps I took. Do you want to use them on your site?

Maybe. I welcome contributions of interesting animals that I don't have illustrated here, especially pictures showing behavior such as feeding, breeding, fighting, and showing off. There is even a page of some of the things I need - but it may not include everything.

But please don't send me a lot of large image files. Email me to tell me what you have first and ask if I need them.

How can I attract herps to my property (or frogs to my backyard pond)?

You might find some useful information on the Living With Herps page.

How can I keep herps (especially rattlesnakes) away from my property?

Check out any pertinent links on our Living With Rattlesnakes page.

I found a herp that is not a native herp where can I release it?

It's against the law to do that. It's bad for the herp you want to help and bad for the native herps. Try contacting a local pet organization, herp society or pet rescue organization to find out if they can find someone to adopt it. Some veterinarians who work with exotic pets may also be a good source of information. Anapsid.org maintains a tood list of herp societies and rescue organizations.

I found a reptile or amphibian. What should I feed it and how do I take care of it?

Sorry, this is not a pet care information web site.
I don't have enough experience with your animal to give out that kind of information.
Check out the Caring for Captive Herps online resources page.

I want to buy some reptiles or amphibians, can you help me find some to buy?
Do you want me to send you a list of animals that I have to sell?

No thank you. I don't buy or sell animals or have any involvement with the pet trade. This website is about wild animals, not pets.

Can I collect and keep this animal?

Maybe. Take a look at my California Herping Regulations page or look at the current CDFW fishing regulations.
To find the regulations in other states you'll have to search elsewhere.

How can I find out what herps are in my area?

Check out the regional guides to the Bay Area and Southern California and Sacramento.
If you are not in those regions, you'll have to look at all of the range maps.

How can I find out what pictures and videos and sounds you have recently added to this web site?

Check out the New Additions Page.

What is the best book or books about California's Reptiles and Amphibians?

Check out the Recommended Books page.

What does that scientific word mean?

Maybe the Glossary will explain it.

I don't care about taxonomy and scientific names, where can I just look at some pictures and videos?

Yeah, sorry about that. Try the Behavior pages.

How can I cite your website? The information you need with some examples can be found here.

Why can't I get the sounds or videos to play?

The sounds are mp3s and most of the videos are Quicktime videos. Make sure you have the necessary plug-ins in your browser that let you play these formats.

Most of my little low-res videos were put up when all browsers played Apple's Quicktime videos, but that is no longer true. The Chrome browser no longer plays Quicktime videos, which really stinks since it has become the default browser for most people. It downloads the entire video to wherever you have designated downloads to end up. Because that is inconvenient, I often use a different browser to play my videos. Firefox and Safari still play them.

If you're on a mobile platform - I can't help you. My iPhone plays the sounds and videos with the Safari browser, but I haven't tried the Android platform yet or anything else.

Mistakes Found on the Web Site

Thank you very much for pointing out any mistakes you find. Users are my only editors besides myself. I try to make everything perfect, but there are still a lot of typos.

I also appreciate learning of other mistakes, such as mis-labled photos, inaccuracies found on the range maps, etc.

Who are you and what gives you the right to clog up the precious internet pipes with all those pictures of snakes?

Excellent question. Maybe you'll find the answer here.

Can you direct me to the location shown in your habitat pictures?

Sorry, but no. The locations are kept private to protect them from overuse.

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