Reptiles Magazine – September-October 2025

Summary

A western hognose snake, photographed by Jeff Galewood, Jr., takes the cover of Reptiles September/October 2025 (Volume 33, Number 5) — the issue that says goodbye to the printed version. Printed continuously since 1993, the magazine moves to digital-only because more people now get information digitally.

Editor John Virata explains the change, noting the late editor Russ Case invited him back to the printed magazine in 2015, and he returned to print in 2018 after Russ died. Digital readers keep five years of back issues with live links to ReptilesMagazine.com.

The cover snake is written by its own photographer: Galewood has bred the plains hognose for years and has been a reader for decades because his father subscribed. The green forest dragon, Calotes calotes, by Scott and Christian Larsen, and David Schultz herping Tanzania's Ruaha National Park complete the best pages.

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Content Guide

▸ Departures and Arrivals

p.4 · From the Editor's Desk — John Virata
The editor says with this issue they say goodbye to the printed version of Reptiles, in continuous print since 1993. The reason is economic: more people get their information digitally and the publisher has accepted it. He notes the late editor Russ Case invited him back to the printed magazine in 2015, and he returned to print in 2018 after Russ died. Digital suits phones and tablets, lets you read anywhere with a connection, gives five years of back issues and links straight to the company site and ReptilesMagazine.com. A print run ending after 32 years is the end of an era for the hobby. Read it before you argue about which format is better.

p.6 · Mailbag
Reader letters run here. Letters are where a magazine's community shows. Send one letter this week.

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.

p.64 · Herp Events / Ad Index
Events and the advertiser index close the issue. Event calendars are how keepers meet each other. Check one show date before the year ends.

▸ Features

p.14 · Vet Report: What to Look for in a New Reptile — Eric Los Kamp, DVM
The vet report covers what to check in a new reptile. Quarantine and first checks decide whether a new animal thrives. Ask your vet for a new-arrival check before you buy anything.

p.16 · Winterizing Your Herp Collection — USARK
USARK sets out how to prepare a collection for winter. Winter preparation is the chore that saves animals every year. Check your heating and backup power this month.

p.18 · Western Hognose Snakes — Jeff Galewood, Jr.
The cover species, also called the plains hognose, gets a full keeping and breeding article from the man who photographed the cover. Galewood has bred the species for years and has read the magazine for decades because his father was a long-term subscriber. Photographer-as-author is the best kind of species article. Compare your hognose setup with his before the next season.

p.28 · Herping Tanzania — David M. Schultz
Retired fisheries biologist David Schultz travels to Ruaha National Park in Tanzania to look for the many reptiles and amphibians living there. Field trips are the reason herpetology magazines exist. Look up one Ruaha species before you read.

p.36 · Keeping and Breeding the Green Forest Dragon — Scott and Christian Larsen
The father-and-son pair have bred green forest dragons for years. Calotes calotes means "beautiful, graceful and slender, magnificent" in Greek, which they call the perfect name for identifying the species. A name that describes the animal is the rarest thing in taxonomy. Learn what your own species' name means.

p.44 · Zoo Med's 40-Gallon ReptiHabitat — Foster Reves
Reves builds a bioactive enclosure in Zoo Med's 36" x 18" x 18" 40-gallon ReptiHabitat for a 38-year-old leopard gecko. A 38-year-old gecko is the number that proves the husbandry. Check your own gecko's age against that.

p.52 · Care Tips for Trans Pecos Rat Snake — Russ Rozell
Rozell covers the natural history and captive care of the Trans Pecos rat snake, native to west Texas and parts of New Mexico. Range-true care is the detail most keepers skip. Ask what locality your rat snake is from.

p.60 · The Importance of Vitamins and Supplements — Juliana Virata
Vitamins and supplements get the closing feature. Supplementation is the feeding step owners guess at most. Check one supplement's dose against your animal's size.

▸ Publishing Detail

Subscription and contact
Six issues cost $24.00 and twelve $40, with Canada and foreign surface mail adding $6 a year in US funds. A single copy is $6.99. Call 800-876-9112 or email repservice@cdfulfillment.com. Reptiles is published by Living World Media, Inc., 52 Golf Oval, Springfield NJ 07081-2504, editor John Virata, design director Liliana Estep. Check the rate before you subscribe.

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Editor's Take

The farewell is the reason Reptiles September/October 2025 matters: continuous print since 1993 ending because readers moved to screens, told by an editor who came back to print in 2015 at the late Russ Case's invitation and again in 2018 after Russ died, is a magazine ending honestly rather than quietly. Jeff Galewood, Jr. writing the western hognose he photographed, and reading the magazine for decades because his father subscribed, is the hobby's own history on one page. Scott and Christian Larsen on Calotes calotes meaning "beautiful, graceful and slender, magnificent" is the most quotable line in the issue, and Foster Reves's 38-year-old leopard gecko in a 36" x 18" x 18" 40-gallon bioactive setup is the number that proves the point. Weakest is that the source gives titles, authors and page numbers but no feature body text, so the vet report, winterizing and vitamins cannot be quoted. The cover "OCTOBER 25TH & 26TH" event is truncated. Buy this for the farewell and the hognose; it is a keepsake issue.

Strengths
• Farewell gives 1993, 2015, 2018 and Russ Case
• Galewood is both photographer and author
• Calotes calotes name meaning is a perfect quote
• 38-year-old gecko in a named 40-gallon setup

Weaknesses
• No feature body text available to quote
• Cover event details truncated
• Vitamins and vet pages are titles only

Verdict: Recommended — a keepsake issue, weaker on feature text.