Amphibian and Reptile
Groups of the UK

Photo © Angela Julian

 

ARG UK promotes the conservation of our native amphibians and reptiles and their environment by promoting and supporting the development of a network of independent Amphibian and Reptile Groups (ARGs).

localgroups

Find your local group

You can help our native amphibians and reptiles by getting involved with one of the 60+ independent volunteer ARGs in the UK.

support

Find resources for your ARG

Affiliated groups benefit from our insurance scheme, local groups websites, advice notes and fundraising support.

record

Record your sightings

We provide online recording through the Record Pool to help capture herpetofauna data from across the UK.

education

Download kids stuff

We produce fun downloads for kids and their parents and teachers, and other useful resources.

 

Basking spots

ID guides and resources

Details
Other pages

Amphibian and Reptile ID Guides

Amphibian ID guide 2014 - for websiteARGUK and ARC jointly produce two photo ID guides for amphibians and reptiles which are intended as a resource to support training courses,Reptile guide 2016 - ID guide 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 Identify Britians snakes - ARC posterthe 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'.

2015-04-11 10.13.40Dragons 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