John Skillcorn
Author: Eugone Bruins |
About
the book
More
and more people are discovering the interesting and exciting hobby of keeping a
terrarium. There is a great demand for information, particularly for beginners.
This book contains essential information that every terrarium hobbyist should
know before getting started.
The Terrarium Encyclopedia covers not only reptiles and amphibians, but also numerous insect species, Arachnids, centipedes and millipedes. Very little information is available on these animals elsewhere. This book provides clear-cut answers to many questions and includes, 'How do these animals eat and grow? And what is the best way to keep and breed them?'
The breeding of terrarium animals is also an important aspect of keeping a terrarium. If terrarium hobbyists are able to be as self-sufficient as possible by breeding their own animals, the capturing of animals in the wild can be kept to a minimum. The Terrarium Encyclopedia is for anyone interested in terrariums, from beginners to experienced hobbyists.
This indispensable encyclopaedia for terrarium owners contains among other things essential information on the following:
Reptiles (lizards, snakes, turtles and crocodiles);
Amphibians (frogs, toads and salamanders);
Arachnids (including around 100 bird spiders together with photographs);
Insects (praying mantises, fruit beetles, grasshoppers, assassin, bugs, cockroaches, more than one hundred stick insects and much more);
Pill bugs, centipedes and millipedes;
Housing (types of terrariums, techniques, how to convert an old aquarium into a terrarium and more);
Feeding (including breeding feeder animals, vitamins and minerals);
Handling (picking up the animals and the risks involved);
Common diseases and problems.
Most importantly, all animals sections deal with breeding!
So says the cover of this volume. It would seem that no matter what aspect of the terrarium 'hobby' in which you are interested, there is something for you to read about. It deals with all manner of living things, vertebrate and invertebrate, and one wonders where on earth the author started when first the idea of this not inconsiderable work came into being!
Dendrobatids mentioned include D. arboreus, auratus, azureus*, fantasticus, lehmanni*, leucomelas*, quinquevittatus, reticulatus, tinctorius*, ventrimaculatus*; E. tricolor*; PP. aurotaenia, bicolor, terribilis and vittatus. Several of these (*) are pictured. This account runs to six pages in total, but one needs to remember that this is not a specialist Dendrobatid book.
It is well illustrated throughout, and is worth having for the photographs alone. However, the most remarkable thing about this text is the overall quality and the price! Amazingly, by shopping around it is possible to get it for as little as £4.99. That's about seven or eight Euros or $7.50 US. A greasy take-away meal would cost you more! Of course, the full price is more than this. Nevertheless, it would still be a good buy even at double its full price of £12.99.
It is often clear that the work is a translation of the original, and there are several small 'errors' because of this. The front cover itself bears witness with the words 'nutricion' and 'accomodation'. Another example is to be found on page 15, where what appear to be hatchling water dragons are described as 'newts'. I think this should have read 'neonates'.
Another strange bit of text (page 189) is as follows: 'Terrapins that one day are laying in cold mud might be sunning themselves on a river bank a day or so later. The same can be true in late autumn provided the gut is empty. Terrapins lay in cold mud one day but may sun themselves on the river bank the next. The same apples to the drop in temperature in autumn (after a period of fasting), provided the gut is empty.' This is clearly a result of the translator trying out options, but perhaps better proof reading might have discovered these errors. It must be said, though, that Stephen Challacombe has done a good job in translating what must have been a technically difficult text.
Nevertheless, these small, negative points in no way detract from the very high standard, overall value and accuracy of the book in general.
However, it is the detail of each reference that is the surprising thing. In a work so general as this one might be forgiven for not expecting too much in the way of the finer points. Not so, as each species is dealt with quite thoroughly, with max./min. temperatures mentioned, levels of humidity where appropriate and no end of other detailed information to help you keep and breed these animals successfully.
If I'd have written such a book, even if I could have written such a book, I'd be feeling rather proud of myself.
