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Tigerlily

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Why are herp books so expensive in Australia? Is it because herping is considered a niche market so they don't print as many?

I just can't wrap my mind around the idea of paying over $100 for a basic husbandry book, especially if I'm buying online and I have no idea whether it's going to actually be full of excellent information or just bogus (I've seen a lot of bogus reptile books).

Also is there a reason why there is such a lack of actual "caresheets" for Aussie reptiles online by experienced herpetologists/breeders/keepers/whatever you would like me to call them? I know there are a couple, but compared to the number of caresheets or even entire websites dedicated to the husbandry of say... budgies, lol, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack when it comes to finding certain information.

It almost feels like the lack of information out there is linked to the high prices of the books; I'm not a conspiracy theorist but are the experts trying to keep trade secrets to themselves? What gives?
 
I have some quite good books that I bought under $100. I bought mine from herp books online and found them to have a fast reliable service.

As for your question about price, they are like any text book, a lot of work goes into researching the topic over years and the author and researchers need to get a living out of it along with the publisher , printer and retailer.

Another source of good cheap books is places like book fest where you can get very cheap quality books.


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Because good quality books take A LOT of time and effort.
If its a good book than i dont understand why paying the price is wrong
I think for just over $100 Marion's frog book is ridiculously cheap .. i'd easily pay $300 for such a good book like that, its worth it
 
Not sure what kind of information you are seeking but keeping most australian reptiles requires a bit of research and a lot of common sense. Most breeders of specialized monitors, snakes, geckos etc will give you their opinions on correct husbandry for species they have bred in the past some of it may not be correct but it works for them you need to take it all on board and work out what works for you. As far as I am concerned there is no one way to successfully keep, raise and breed a certain reptile but there is certainly wrong ways that should be avoided paying 100 dollars plus for a herp book seems a bit steep especially when you can find the same information through a search on google or ring a breeder politely and ask for ten minutes of their time and knowledge most are happy to share it. So goes the old saying knowledge isn't knowledge unless you share it cheers.
 
They are sharing you want experienced knowledge you have to pay! Stop being cheap people
 
They are sharing you want experienced knowledge you have to pay! Stop being cheap people
CRAP there is nothing cheap about spending hundreds/thousands on a hobby you are passionate about if you want the info you can find it you don't need to buy super expensive help books just talk to the right people and watch your animals
 
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All under $100



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I actually frequent forums , Internet sites and Facebook pages as well find I must sift through a lot of misinformation being spread by people who have heard something and passed it on without any verification and here say is passed as fact where as books like I have have to factually correct. I think a combination of all resources is the best approach as the more informed you are the better equipped you are to apply the knowledge you have.


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Trust me it's not the authors getting the money..... I see less that a cup of coffee for each one of my books sold... Consider that there is over 3500 hours worth of work, plus images - costs of equipment, trips etc..... If I actually costed it I would of lost thousands . I can only speak for myself - it was a labour of love
 
The bloke who wrote "A Guide to Australian Snakes in Captivity - Elapids and Colubrids" is totally dodgy... funny looking too! Lol, giving you a hard time Scott! Every book listed in this thread is worth more than the cover price you pay.
 
I actually frequent forums , Internet sites and Facebook pages as well find I must sift through a lot of misinformation being spread by people who have heard something and passed it on without any verification and here say is passed as fact where as books like I have have to factually correct. I think a combination of all resources is the best approach as the more informed you are the better equipped you are to apply the knowledge you have.

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Couldn't have put it better myself, Andy.
 
Don't get me wrong; I'm an avid reader and I actually prefer reading books over browsing the internet. BUT, I feel like in this day and age when you can find the weirdest, most useless, random stuff online in a heartbeat, serious info like how to care for your animals properly should be more readily available to people...
[MENTION=23122]mrkos[/MENTION] I get that keeping reptiles is an expensive hobby and you should be able to afford it before you get into it (like any other pet, duh). Sharing your knowledge by writing a book, AWESOME. I plan to write a book myself someday. But it's not cheap wanting a book about how to care for your animals that costs even more than not one but TWO vet consults.

Also, not everybody is interested in breeding so a lot of info I've found online is useless to me. I just want to know how to give the best care possible for my pets, and in my experience when you buy a book with a name like "Pythons of Australia" it covers most of the species but doesn't go into as much detail on one species as I'd like.

Maybe a bad analogy, but the one that comes to mind right now: there are SO many books out there on how to keep pet dogs. Encyclopedias of dog breeds, training books, breed specific books, what name you. A lot of them are crap. But I honestly can't remember when the last time was that I saw a big beautiful glossy hard-cover coffee table book full of photos and tons of information that cost more than $60 (barring the rare antique books - I'm not a hardcore book collector). But the snake books I've found so far are paperback, cheap print, often black and white photos yet still cost more...


Because good quality books take A LOT of time and effort.
If its a good book than i dont understand why paying the price is wrong
I think for just over $100 Marion's frog book is ridiculously cheap .. i'd easily pay $300 for such a good book like that, its worth it

I guess it's just a matter of how invested you are in your hobby; supply and demand... I was hoping to get some more opinions on why more people haven't built websites dedicated to husbandry of Aussie pythons - I guess they're just too busy living in the real world actually interacting with their pets instead of being a total bored procrastinator like I am today and spending too much time online! Don't blame me, I still have a week to go before I can handle my snake and I'm bored!:oops:

PS [MENTION=34534]andynic07[/MENTION], thanks for the recommendations! I'll check em out, I guess you can already tell which one I'll be looking at first :)
 
There are a couple of species specific books like the GTP one or a carpet snake one or children's python one which are all a good read. I have had a look high and low for specific books or articles on rsp's to no avail. There are some good articles by Doc Rock if you google him you will be able to access them. The carpet python book is one that I don't have but think I will get and it is called the complete carpet python.


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We had the Doc Rock articles bookmarked, but yesterday when I tried to read one, the page was missing.

Just had another look; must have been a problem with the bookmark.
 
[MENTION=7935]eipper[/MENTION] Ok, straight from the horse's mouth! Trips, equipment... Sounds like there was a lot of research involved that a book about more domesticated animals like dogs wouldn't need. Makes sense, curiousity somewhat sated. By the way, your colubrid/elapid book was the first one that came recommended to me :) I didn't know the author was a member of this forum so that's really promising. I WILL BUY YOUR BOOK SO MY SNAKE CAN HAVE A HAPPY LIFE AND YOU CAN HAVE YOUR COFFEE! (just please don't buy from Starbucks lol)
[MENTION=34534]andynic07[/MENTION] thanks, I will google Doc Rock now!
 
We are blessed to have a lot of knowledgable people on this site and also include authors like Scott and Geckodan (Danny Brown).


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Tiger Lilly i am sorry you have misread my post as you
Clearly do not get my meaning. My reply was aimed at planky who seems to think you need to go out and spend 100 plus dollars on a book to successfully raise a reptile pet. My point is if you find information regarding breeding of a certain species well read it and use it because guess what to breed a reptile you need a healthy reptile and to have a healthy reptile you need to
Raise it correctly can you see a pattern emerging here
 
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Tiger lily,

I am currently reviewing a book on pythons for "the guide to" series. This very act is why books are worth the money. Good books are peer reviewed by a number of sources to both check the information contained within and make suggestions such as additions or exclusions. This act is not undertaken usually by authors of websites or caresheets.

The cost of books is directly related to print runs, quality of paper, you then have editing, layout, image costs, author royalties and finally the publisher and wholesale margins...... The more you print the less per book your print run is. Most of the dog breed books are printed in the tens of thousands compared to most reptile books being less than 4000.


Cheers
scott

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Btw Tigerlily,

Unless you are thinking about keeping elapids or colubrids my book would only be of marginal value....By all means buy it if you wish but I would hate for you to be a disappointed as there is bugger all about pythons in it.

cheers
 
@mrkos no I'M sorry!! I understood and I agree with your post... it was me who wrote your name instead of @Planky... sorry for the confusion, your advice was great.

@eipper, I have a beloved little common tree snake... which is why I'll be needing that book! I do hope you go into proper details like how to tuck them into bed at night :lol:

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Also,

The cost of books is directly related to print runs, quality of paper, you then have editing, layout, image costs, author royalties and finally the publisher and wholesale margins...... The more you print the less per book your print run is. Most of the dog breed books are printed in the tens of thousands compared to most reptile books being less than 4000.

that's what I thought but wasn't sure. Thanks for answering my question!
 
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