Reptiles Magazine – March-April 2026

Summary

Mikey Bustos takes the cover of Reptiles March/April 2026 (Volume 34, Number 2), and editor John Virata's From the Editor's Desk is titled BIG AND BIOACTIVE. Bustos is one of social media's biggest biology-focused influencers: 2.9 million on Facebook, 447k on Instagram and nearly 7 million on YouTube.

His AntsCanada channel shows four very large, interconnected vivariums, kept as self-sufficient as possible under his supervision. He started with insects as a child, grew interested in reptiles, and was a loyal Reptiles reader growing up in the 1990s.

The issue pairs a veterinary feature on hepatic lipidosis (p14) with Lee Grismer (p34), a herpetology professor at La Sierra University in Riverside, California, who has helped discover more than 300 reptiles and amphibians. Corn Island boas (p44), desert iguanas (p50) and small turtles and tortoises (p26) complete it.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Profile

p.16 · Mikey Bustos — John Virata
Bustos is one of the biggest biology-focused influencers on social media, with 2.9 million Facebook followers, 447k on Instagram and nearly 7 million on YouTube. His AntsCanada channel features four very large, interconnected vivariums that are as self-sufficient as possible under his supervision. He began with insects as a child, later became interested in reptiles, and was a loyal Reptiles reader while growing up in the 1990s. Influencer reach is the reason a print magazine puts him on the cover. Compare his following with the magazine's own circulation before you judge the choice.

▸ Features

p.14 · Hepatic Lipidosis in Reptiles — Eric Los Kamp, DVM
The vet feature covers fatty liver disease in reptiles. Liver disease is the consequence of feeding most keepers never see coming. Weigh your reptile monthly so you notice the first sign.

p.26 · Small Turtles and Tortoises — Rachel Presser
Presser notes that at reptile shows you may see tables of cute little sulcata tortoises without realising how big they get, and profiles four much smaller long-lived chelonians that make good pets without the space a large species needs. Size-at-adult is the fact buyers ignore most. Ask how big any tortoise gets before you buy a hatchling.

p.34 · Interview with Lee Grismer — Dave DiNaso
Dr Lee Grismer is a giant of herpetology and a herpetology professor at La Sierra University in Riverside, California, specialising in the herpetofauna of Southeast Asia and Baja California, and has helped discover more than 300 species of reptiles and amphibians. The piece also follows DiNaso to Tioman Island, Malaysia, a place Grismer knows well, where he observed, searched for and photographed beautiful and unique reptiles in the rainforest. Three hundred species is a career most scientists never approach. Read the interview before you name any Southeast Asian species.

p.44 · Breeding Corn Island Boas — James Tosetti
Corn Island boas are a smaller locality form of the larger Central American boa constrictor, less popular than Boa constrictor imperator with fewer recorded successful breedings, though breeders do exist. Tosetti details his pairing and successful breeding method. Locality forms are the detail most keepers skip. Ask what locality your boa is before you pair it.

p.50 · Desert Iguana Care — Andrew Cohen
Cohen covers the natural history and care of the desert iguana, Dipsosaurus dorsalis, uncommon in the hobby but with a small number of breeders. His own desert iguana, Zak, was 18 years old at the time of writing. Eighteen years is the number that proves the husbandry. Check your own lizard's age against that before you call a setup good.

p.58 · Enclosure and Decor Buyer's Guide — Juliana Virata
The buyer's guide covers enclosures and decor, following the bioactive theme. Enclosures are the purchase that decides whether an animal thrives. Measure your space before you buy anything here.

▸ Departments

p.4 · From the Editor's Desk — BIG AND BIOACTIVE
John Virata opens with the bioactive theme and his experience interviewing Bustos, outlining the issue's articles. Editor's pages are best when they admit what prompted them. Read it before the features, since it frames the whole issue.

p.6 · Mailbag
Reader letters run here. Letters are where a magazine's community shows. Send one question of your own.

p.8 · Herper's Most Wanted
The wanted-advertising page lists species. Wanted lists show what the hobby actually wants. Compare it with what you already keep.

p.10 · Herp Queries
Keeper questions are answered here. Queries are the practical core of any reptile magazine. Look up one problem you have not solved.

p.12 · Reptile News
News runs here. News pages are the only place conservation reaches keepers. Read one item before the features.

▸ Advertising and Information

Zoo Med
The ReptiHabitat Pro 120 is advertised: a 2' x 2' x 4' (61cm x 61cm x 122cm) PVC enclosure of about 120 gallons or 454 litres, with locking side-latch doors, side vents, adjustable cable ports and a heavy-duty metal screen top, suited to uromastyx, bearded dragons, ball pythons, skinks, small monitors such as ackies, and small tortoises, at ZOOMED.COM. Enclosure advertising is the real buyer's guide. Measure one space at home against 2' x 2' x 4'.

RodentPro
RodentPro.com supplies frozen mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, chicks and quail, plus live insects, at P.O. Box 118, Inglefield, IN 47618-9998, phone 812.867.7598, fax 812.867.6058, info@rodentpro.com. Feeder suppliers are the businesses keeping the hobby running. Check one supplier's sizing chart before you order.

Publishing detail
Reptiles is published bimonthly by Living World Media, Inc., ISSN 1068-1965, USPS 13189, at $6.99 a copy, six issues for $24 or twelve for $40, with Canada and foreign surface mail adding $6 a year in US funds; a separate listing gives a US annual mail subscription of $30, Canada plus $15 and other countries plus $30. Subscription enquiries: 800-876-9112 or repservice@cdfulfillment.com. Editor John Virata, design director Liliana Estep, at 52 Golf Oval, Springfield NJ 07081-2504. Advertising director Peter Lymbertos, 818-624-6254, plymbertos@npsmediagroup.com. Check which rate applies before you subscribe.

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Editor's Take

The Lee Grismer interview is the best thing in Reptiles March/April 2026: La Sierra University, Southeast Asia and Baja California, and more than 300 species discovered is a career described with the weight it deserves, and Dave DiNaso going to Tioman Island to see the animals in Grismer's own country gives the piece a field spine. Andrew Cohen's Zak at 18 years is the single most persuasive number in the issue, because a desert iguana kept that long is proof of husbandry rather than a claim. Weakest is the cover: Mikey Bustos with 2.9 million, 447k and nearly 7 million followers is reach, not herpetology, and the four bioactive vivariums are described rather than examined. Most features again survive only as titles — hepatic lipidosis, the four small chelonians and the Corn Island method cannot be quoted. Buy this for Grismer and Zak; the influencer cover is a circulation decision.

Strengths
• Grismer gives 300 species and a named university
• Tioman Island gives the interview a field spine
• Zak at 18 years proves the desert iguana husbandry
• Six features have named authors

Weaknesses
• Cover is reach rather than herpetology
• No feature body text available to quote
• Bioactive vivariums described, not examined

Verdict: Selective read — the Grismer interview and Zak, weaker cover.