Basking spots

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[LOCAL GROUP MAPS GOES HERE]

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Amphibian and Reptile ID Guides

ARGUK and ARC jointly produce two photo ID guides for amphibians and reptiles which are intended as a resource to support training courses, or to help in responding to enquiries concerning identification. 

Both our amphibian and reptile guides have been updated recently, and the reptile guide now contains some examples of two small non-native snakes, as escaped pets are sometimes reported particularly in urban areas.

You are welcome to download and laminate these guides to help with field identification.

You can download the Amphibian ID guide here:  pdf Amphibian ID guide 2014 (updated)

and you can download the reptile guide here:  pdf Reptile ID Guide 2016 - full resolution

There is a Snake in my Garden - What Can I Do?

Many ARGs have taken this type of phone call from a concerned (or excited) member of the public - who may perhaps wish to find out more about what is living in their back-yard, or sadly (in some cases) wish the animal to be re-located. The emphasis of ARGUK is on protecting native species in their environment so, whilst we welcome the records (which can be added to record pool - www.recordpool.org.uk), we do not offer an amphibian or reptile re-location service.

However, it is always useful to be able to help identify the animal and offer additional advice and support, perhaps to allay concerns, or to enable a gardener to provide a more suitable home for our native amphibians and reptiles. So, in addition to the ID guides above we have, jointly with Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, provided a number of useful leaflets and other resources. The first of these is 'There is a Snake in my Garden - What Can I Do?' - which provides some answers to FAQs, and can be downloaded here:  pdf There is a snake in my garden - what can I do . This can be supported by the ARC poster 'Identifying Britain's Snakes'.

Dragons in your garden

For those keen wildlife gardeners out there, ARC have also provided a very handy booklet 'Dragons in Your Garden' which provides an illustrated, user-friendly guide to creating perfect habitats for amphibians and reptiles. For pond lovers, the Freshwater Habitats' Trust have also produced a guide to creating and maintaining ponds:  pdf Creating Garden Ponds for Wildlife  

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Sticker Sheets

    ARGUK is delighted to partner with the artist Mabel Harris (www.mabelart.com) to create a vibrant new range of stickers and         character sheets for our budding young herpetologists. These are perfect for events and other herp-themed activities.

    Following on from the generous support for our education work by Natural England we are able to make sheets of 24 x 40      mm circular paper stickers available for purchase at a substantial discount at a price of only £2.50 (including first class postage        and packaging) for a set of 5 sticker sheets each with a different design including: adder, grass snake, slow-worm, sand lizard      (Northern Dune Race), and great crested newt. Additional sheets can be purchased for an extra 50p each.

    For more information about these or to buy a sticker set please contact us directly on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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'What's That Snake' and the 'Pond Pack' - KS1 & KS2 resources

We are delighted to be able to bring you two unique resource packs developed especially for kids (at KS1 and KS2) by those clever folk at Herefordshire Amphibian and Reptile Team (HART) and the Herefordshire Nature Trust, with loads of fun activities, ideas and stories, to help you find out more about our very special native reptiles.

For reptiles we have 'What's the Snak'e, and for those of you with a pond at school or home, or even in your local park, a special 'Pond Pack'. Both packs have with lots of amazing ideas and activities for primary schools or kids at home.

Please download and use pdf Whats That Snake?  and the  pdf The Pond Pack pdf at home or for your school, and let us know how you get on.

Have fun!! 

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The Crested Newt - A Dwindling Pond Dweller

Robert Jehle, Burkhard Thiesmeier and Jim Foster.

This beautifully presented book is a 'must read' for all those interested in the evolution, ecology, behaviour, conservation and management of crested newts. It contains 145 pages, 16 colour plates, and approximately 80 figures and tables.

Price £20.00 incl. p&p.  Order form.

Reptiles and Amphibians of Dorset

A BHS publication by David C. Wareham.

A softback book containing 120 pages including 106 colour plates, 16 maps and 10 line drawings.

This is an excellent field guide for those interested in herpetology, natural history and conservation.

Price £14.99, BHS members special price £9.99.

[download link to order form]

Amphibians and Reptiles of Herefordshire

A thoroughly illustrated guide including information on geology, the history of ponds and recording, conservation in the garden and in the countryside together with detailed species accounts and distribution maps.

Price £6.99 Plus £2.00 p&p. To obtain a copy, send a cheque, made payable to Herefordshire Council, and your contact details, including email address, to Steve Roe, Herefordshire Biological Records Centre, P.O. Box 144, Hereford, HR1 2YH.  The atlas can also be bought from the Biological Records Centre in the Town Hall in Hereford.

Amphibians and Reptiles of Surrey

By J Wycherley, R Anstis.

Hardcover, measuring 155 x 215mm (6 x 8.5 in). 112 pages of line drawings, colour photographs, distribution plots and explainitory text.

Although this book is titled as the amphibians and reptiles of Surrey, as Surrey hosts all of the UK's native reptiles and amphibians, this book is applicable across the UK. The distribution maps are limited to the Watsonian vice county of Surrey. The book includes detailed accounts of all native species of herpetofauna, and includes reference to introduced species. An introductory chapter even covers a potted history of the dinosaurs of Surrey. With a foreword by Sir David Attenborough (a Surrey resident), the book also includes guidance on survey techniques, and a list of current toad crossing sites. The handy size of this book makes it equally useable as a reference source or field guide. This book is a 'must have' for Surrey ARG members.

More information on the SARG website >>

Order Amphibians and Reptiles of Surrey on Amazon >>

Frogs and Friends.  The Distribution and Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles in Nottinghamshire

A comprehensive guide to the natural history of the amphibians and reptiles of Nottinghamshire.  Covers identification, biology and distribution.  Includes maps and photographs of all native Nottinghamshire species.  Packed with practical ideas to benefit amphibians and reptiles both in the countryside and in the garden.  Brought to life with delightful cartoons and line drawings, quirky facts, poems and literary quotations.

Available from Dr. Sheila Wright, Nottingham Natural History Museum, Wollaton Hall, Nottingham, NG5 8RH.  £9-00 (£7-50 + £1-50 p&p).  Cheques should be made payable to Nottingham City Council.  All proceeds from sale will be used for practical conservation projects.

More Atlases are available to download in our Atlases and Surveys section >>

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Have you seen or surveyed reptiles or amphibians in the UK? Put them in our Record Pool!

Inspired by the recording activities of our National network of volunteer groups around the UK, ARG UK are proud to launch “Record Pool”, a national web based amphibian and reptile recording database, as a resource to collect data through the UK in the interest of monitoring native populations for the purposes of conservation and ecology.

Whether you’ve seen a toad in the back garden, an adder whilst out on a walk, have a clipboard full of newt data from a field trip, or are a professional ecologist, we encourage you to put your records in the ARG UK Record Pool!

For online help with identification, or confirmation of photos, go to: iSpot from The Open University. For iphone & ipad users you can download the HerptileID - Amphibian & Reptile Conservation App from itunes

Promoting local recording

Amphibian & Reptile sightings in Kent, Surrey, Herefordshire, Sussex, Suffolk should be sent directly to the following ARGSs via their website online forms, though any data sent to the Record Pool would be forwarded onto the relevant ARG. 

• Surrey ARG - Online suARC & ARGUK Reptile Identification Guide (2013)bmission form  
• Kent RAG - Online submission forms 
• Herefordshire ART - Reptile online form, Amphibian online form
• SxARG - Online submission form
• Suffolk ARG - Online submission form

The Record Pool

All the data entered into the record pool remains the copyright of the recorder and is stored onto a central database server. The intention of the recordpool is to capture data from around the UK from a variety of different sources. All the sightings will be forwarded to the relevant local recorder whether that is the local ARG, LRC or County recorder. 

If you would like to have records sent to your group or you are a county recorder please do get in touch This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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Here you'll find links to other organisations and websites about reptiles and amphibians. If you're looking for links for ARG local groups websites, please see the Local Groups page.

You'll also find links to useful publications from external websites here in our publications section.

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