SNAKES OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, NATURAL HISTORY AND CARE IN CAPTIVITY. John V. Rossi and Roxanne Rossi. 2003. Kreiger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. ISBN 0-8061-3294-9. 364 p. $59.95 (hardcover).—There appears to have been a shift among some herpetoculturists in North America from keeping snakes only for their variety and designer phenotypes to a desire to learn about the natural history of native species. John and Roxanne Rossi are certainly in this camp, with their emphasis on deriving natural history observations from captives and snakes in the wild. The information they present in this book is based on a combination of regional scientific literature, personal observations in the field, and on captives and observations provided by others. The authors are keenly aware that captive-bred snakes may not always exhibit natural behavior or survive as well as wild snakes, but they also know that captive husbandry can contribute to our...

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