Thursday, January 25, 2007
A Recommended Book Worth Your Investment
"Surround
-- Ronald Reagan
The aforementioned quote really captures the manner in which the idea for this recommended book from the Rhoads' bookshelf was conceived and executed.
To tie in to the above quote by one of our nations's great leaders from the past, the preface of the book I am endorsing states:
To tie in to the above quote by one of our nations's great leaders from the past, the preface of the book I am endorsing states:
"Having more than 70 authors contribute to a text is a wonderful thing. No one person can have the knowledge to write a comprehensive book such as this. The reader...will be able to look up information in this book and often find not one, but two or three viewpoints. As mentioned in the first edition, I don't necessarily agree with all the viewpoints--but that is what makes this text so great...there is always someone out there who has more experience or knowledge than you do--all the more reason to have more than one opinion."
The book is Reptile Medicine and Surgery - Second Edition (2006). The editor of the book is Douglas Mader. Just about every significant effort and accomplishment in herp medicine during the past 20 years can trace its roots to Doug Mader. This book is no exception.
You can see that I uploaded a photo of my bookshelf featuring the book, photographed right next to the first edition. (Please forgive the sloppiness of the shelf - it gets used quite frequently!) That first 1996 edition was a going-away gift from a vet who I worked for over four years ago. It had 512 pages with many black and white photos. It was a landmark for the herp medicine industry, no doubt.
Ten years later, we now have the Second Edition. It is in full color with just under 1000 images, with 39 more chapters than its predecessor, and a whopping 1,242 pages -- 730 more than the first edition!
Though this book is intended as a comprehensive textbook for students of veterinary medicine and an indispensable resource for qualified vets, it offers unparalleled, expert insight into reptile biology, disease and husbandry for the reptile keeper and caretaker.
Some of the new chapters that should be of interest to herpetoculturists are ones such as Disinfectants for the Vivarium, Medical Care of Amphibians, Laws and Regulations--American and European, Stress in Captive Reptiles, Behavior, Ultrasound, and Working with Venomous Species -- Emergency Protocols.
If you could only choose three books about reptile care, this would be one of those I'd recommend.
You can see that I uploaded a photo of my bookshelf featuring the book, photographed right next to the first edition. (Please forgive the sloppiness of the shelf - it gets used quite frequently!) That first 1996 edition was a going-away gift from a vet who I worked for over four years ago. It had 512 pages with many black and white photos. It was a landmark for the herp medicine industry, no doubt.
Ten years later, we now have the Second Edition. It is in full color with just under 1000 images, with 39 more chapters than its predecessor, and a whopping 1,242 pages -- 730 more than the first edition!
Though this book is intended as a comprehensive textbook for students of veterinary medicine and an indispensable resource for qualified vets, it offers unparalleled, expert insight into reptile biology, disease and husbandry for the reptile keeper and caretaker.
Some of the new chapters that should be of interest to herpetoculturists are ones such as Disinfectants for the Vivarium, Medical Care of Amphibians, Laws and Regulations--American and European, Stress in Captive Reptiles, Behavior, Ultrasound, and Working with Venomous Species -- Emergency Protocols.
If you could only choose three books about reptile care, this would be one of those I'd recommend.
# posted by Dusty Rhoads @ 7:49 PM 
