We were at a local petsmart getting crickets a few days ago and noticed the Reptiles Magazine with the Retic (Whatever morph it is) on the front cover.... but something seemed wrong....

So when I picked it up and looked closer it looks to have scale damaged right in the center of it's head and maybe a little on the nose as well and I thought why would you put that on the front cover.... seemed unprofessional to me or was I just seeing things? Maybe I'm wrong about the choice of photo being a poor choce?

Another question, how many people actually subscribe to it?

And if so, do you like it, dislike it.... what are the pro's and con's for you?

I subscribe to it, and while there is some great stuff, its also VERY short, and usually only has a little bit of stuff that im interested in. The main articles are usually good, but there is a lot of... Fluff. Extra, that i just dont really have much feeling for.

I wish it had more content. I would gladly pay a little more for it if it had more stuff to read during a boring day at work!

Yeah.... and unfortunately it is the ONLY US mag.

Everytime I'm at an expo and one of their reps call out to me from their booth as I walk by, I laugh.

Their forums are a joke, full of idiots (members and mods alike). And the magazine is not much better. I understand its geared towards new hobbyists, but it sucks they've monopolized the market for herp magazines. I don't want to pay....well,.....however much it is to get 12 magazines full of basic info I already know. I want an "advanced" herp mag!

I subscribe. Its actually pretty cheap if you subscribe.

It usually has one or two decent articles in it. Maybe 3 if you're lucky.

Its not cutting edge and most if not all of the information you find there you can find on the net.

But I still subscribe because I kinda still like having a magazine to drag around with me. Its nice to take along if I know Im gonna be sitting somewhere for a while. They also have a lot of nice pictures. If I recall they recently did an article on retic morphs and it was pretty cool. The last issue had a nice article about rhino iguanas.

Its fun. Its entertaining to read. And yeah it is geared towards the new keeper but it has to be. I mean the % of hardcore keepers with 100 snakes is much lower than the average PetCo shopper who has one beardie as a pet. I understand that. Doesnt bother me a bit.

Plus they sometimes will do articles on some unusual stuff. Like breeding horn frogs or some weird colubrid Ive never heard of. Thats always fun to see.

And Sputnik some of their shots have come under question before. I remember a centerfold of a monitor that was emaciated. I didnt notice the retic with scale damage but I wouldnt doubt it. Usually the pics are pretty good. But sometimes I wonder about their quality control.

And I like to take a look at some of the new products out there and the ads.


For the few bucks a month it costs me to subscribe its worth a read. MHO.

I do wish they were a little more extensive in the advanced herpetology aspects of the magazine as oppose to being catering to the beginners and new folks getting in!

If anything I think the new folks are just as important as the folks that have been in it, but for their sake as well we need the advanced information to help keep EVERYONE on the same page. :)

I have a subscription now (finally remembered to reup it at the tinley show) and I think it was less than $40 for 24 months. That is reason enough for me to get and look at it.

I believe the retic that was used likely belongs to NERD seeing as Kevin did the article, but don't quote me.

And to be honest, it's not the first time I've seen that facial scale/s missing from some of the retics that they have posted pictures of. I'm guessing its from rubbing their heads on the Freedom Breeder type grating of their rack while trying to find a way out. So it didn't surprise me to see the retic on the cover missing those same scales.

I wish Reptiles had a bit more bulk of quality content. The main articles are usually pretty good, but the rest is just filler advertisements.

I hope sometime somebody comes out with a magazine with a bit more scientific content for the more advanced herpers. If anyone here is into Saltwater fish like I am, there is a magazine called "Corals" that I really like...it's the more advanced version vs. tropical fish hobbyist...less fluff more content.

That's pretty much why i stopped getting it years ago, too many articles on turtles for my liking.... too many adverts (I realize they pay for the magazine), but it just seems to be full of adverts and a few articles stuffed in between....

The sometimes poor quality of cover shots just tarnishes the rag right from the word go....

Some of the best magazines about herps come from either Europe or Australia.

used to get it .
had a 'script for years.
don't anymore, but if you guys are thinkin' about it, check it out on e-bay.
i've seen 'scripts there for 11.00 / year.
don't think you'll find it cheaper anywhere.
they don't always have 'em, but when they do...score !
ck

Some of the best magazines about herps come from either Europe or Australia.

your right there. i have a few issues of reptilia and a couple others from over there and they were much better content

All the US mags that had the great articles went under and Reptiles bought them out. I most likely won't renew my subscription tho , not enough in it to keep me interested. Some of the articles I've gotten excited about turned out to be filler material. I get better info off of Reptile Radio than I do Reptiles mag.

Like someone already said, the photos came from NERD as did the article. I doubt reptiles magazine had much to do with the selection of the pics. It was a poor choice on Kevin's part to put that ghost stripe on the cover. Honestly, I didn't notice it the first time, and I had to go check my copy when I was reading this thread.

Anyways.. I subscribe. I got my subscription for $20 or so for 2 years. It's mostly basic info, but, it's nice to read about species I am not familiar with. I pretty much only read it while in the bathroom anyways. So, I figure it's worth the $1 or so an issue I ended up paying for the subscription. Plus, they send out an issue every 3 weeks or so. I got my january issue a couple weeks ago. It's nice since it's so short as of late.

Yeah, so, most of the info is useless if you are reading about species you already keep or are familiar with, but they do articles on all sorts of different species that I have found interesting. I was disappointed in the retic article, as I was expecting it to be more about the morphs and genetics of some of the morphs that nerd has been a bit vague about, but it was really more of a "keeping retics for beginners" type article. Not something I really was too interested in reading, especially since I've seen all those pictures before. So yeah, those are my pros and cons.

I'm pretty much with all of you as far as the pros and cons, but stores aren't gonna carry the good stuff and who wants to waste dollars to euros on junk?

So, let's get an informal poll going so all of us stateside who don't have the international experience can find a good overall mag that would be worth a subscription.

Maybe as a community we should get together and TELL RM how we feel about the mag? I have been working with some really great people over there on the advertising side of things for the show, and have to say that they are all very open to ideas. They really are nice people that run the thing, so I doubt that constructive criticism would be taken in a negative way.
I guess my point is that only talking about it HERE does no good, but maybe talking to THEM about some changes might make it better?

They have alot of control of what is in the magazine. When I produced the Carpalls they told me to submit several shots to them and they would pick the ones they wanted to use. It has been over a year and they have never posted any pictures. They seem to have a poor view of Hybrids. I think the only hybrids I have ever seen were the Emerald/Amazon crosses.

I may subscribe with the ebay route, never thought of that. It's nice to have something interesting to read in the.... um .. quiet room. ;)

Maybe as a community we should get together and TELL RM how we feel about the mag? I have been working with some really great people over there on the advertising side of things for the show, and have to say that they are all very open to ideas. They really are nice people that run the thing, so I doubt that constructive criticism would be taken in a negative way.
I guess my point is that only talking about it HERE does no good, but maybe talking to THEM about some changes might make it better?

That's possible.... I'd love to have the time and resources to get a group of people together and start a magazine based on the more serious keeper. I think there would be some great articles....

Im still trying to figure out how they got around the monolopy laws.... since they bought out ALL the other US herp mags.

Im still trying to figure out how they got around the monolopy laws.... since they bought out ALL the other US herp mags.

Just because they bought out everyone else does NOT mean someone else cannot start one up. Hence the loophole in the monopoly laws...granted, they might make it difficult as hell TO have another one start, but it can be done.

Maybe as a community we should get together and TELL RM how we feel about the mag? I have been working with some really great people over there on the advertising side of things for the show, and have to say that they are all very open to ideas. They really are nice people that run the thing, so I doubt that constructive criticism would be taken in a negative way.
I guess my point is that only talking about it HERE does no good, but maybe talking to THEM about some changes might make it better?

I'd love to try to give them some constructive criticism. I'd be great if it were something other than that thing I read in the bathroom. Are YOU volunteering to start said group? If so, let me know when and where to be with my "criticism". If you are not volunteering, I'd be willing to throw my name in the hat for starting up said group.

I know some guys that put together a really great radio show -- I'm thinking they should put it in print :rockon:


http://jetpythons.com/headscratch.gif I wonder how much it would cost to start up a new Reptile Mag?

I know some guys that put together a really great radio show -- I'm thinking they should put it in print :rockon:


http://jetpythons.com/headscratch.gif I wonder how much it would cost to start up a new Reptile Mag?

Sounds good to me. If you guys ever decide to do such a thing, I'm available to help out with design / technical stuffs as well as investment.

Sounds good to me. If you guys ever decide to do such a thing, I'm available to help out with design / technical stuffs as well as investment.

Don't know what I could contribute.... but would do so!

A reptile radio Mag or at least news letter would be great! I bet i could finally get a photo published ;)

I may subscribe with the ebay route, never thought of that. It's nice to have something interesting to read in the.... um .. quiet room. ;)

Be careful going that route. RM has sent out notifications in the past and I think printed warnings in the mag that false subscriptions are/were being sold.