Texas Herp - exploring Texas reptiles & amphibians
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Texas Indigo Snake - a protected south Texas species
“Texas Herp” is devoted to appreciating and learning about the herpetofauna, or “herps,” of Texas.
Our state is home to many varieties of frogs, salamanders, snakes, lizards, turtles, and the American alligator. These animals are beautiful, fascinating, and mostly harmless. They play integral roles in the systems of plants and animals that are essential to life.
This website is a project by Michael Smith, an amateur naturalist whose interest is primarily about herps as wildlife, and secondarily about keeping and breeding reptiles. For more about that, see: http://www.jsdragons.com
“Texas Herp” is devoted to appreciating and learning about the herpetofauna, or “herps,” of Texas.Our state is home to many varieties of frogs, salamanders, snakes, lizards, turtles, and the American alligator. These animals are beautiful, fascinating, and mostly harmless. They play integral roles in the systems of plants and animals that are essential to life.
This website is a project by Michael Smith, an amateur naturalist whose interest is primarily about herps as wildlife, and secondarily about keeping and breeding reptiles. For more about that, see: http://www.jsdragons.com
From the age of 11 (in 1962), I grew up mostly in north Texas. I’ve been interested in herpetology for all those years, and so I have some experience with Texas herping. I have written on the topic, given talks, and been president of a regional herpetological society. Nonetheless I’m still an amateur and there’s still a lot that I don’t know … and learning more is a lot of fun. If you would like to contact me, the email address is: michael@texasherp.info
Pages and Content on this site:
1. Introduction – that’s this page!
2. Herps and Herping – an introduction to reptiles and amphibians, some suggestions and ideas about going herping, and legal and practical ideas about the activity of herping.
3. Conservation – issues and ethics about conserving herps. There are a number of serious threats to the survival of many reptiles and amphibians, and we can all do our part to conserve them.
4. Places for Herping – Texas includes a number of “biotic provinces” that are unique in their geography, plants and animals. This page gives information about these areas and the herps that live there, starting with the Cross-Timbers & Prairies where I live.
5. Helpful information – including identification guides for venomous snakes and other resources.
I would like for this to be a newcomer-friendly site, though I would also love it if my experienced herping friends found it helpful, too! Much of the content of this site will be designed for people with a serious interest in herps, but perhaps limited experience with them. If you have suggestions about the site, please contact me.
Our other site:
Jo and I do some captive-breeding of a few species, and she makes jewelry with natural stone and crystal while I offer some photos and other materials for sale. Please visit us at: www.jsdragons.com
