experience that a Snapping Turtle will eat only submerged food 

 will know better than to try to feed one in half an inch or so of 

 water. Further, complete knowledge of an animal will assure the 

 owner of making useful observations of the animal in captivity. 

 Another instance: If Mudpuppies or Red-backed Salamanders were 

 to deposit spermatophores, or otherwise breed in captivity, careful 

 notes should be kept and published, for little is known about the 

 reproduction process in these species. 



In general, I recommend that aquaria be stocked in September 

 and the inhabitants released by the following June. Few aquaria 

 receive adequate care in summer. 



I have often had to make an arbitrary decision as to which 

 animals are aquatic. In certain areas some forms not included in 

 the guide may be decidedly aquatic, while some forms included 

 here may be found to stay on dry land. My excuse must be that 

 nature has failed to provide sufficient distinction between terrestrial 

 and aquatic animals in these groups. 



The guide contains little or no mention of where to obtain the 

 invertebrate food animals eaten by the forms discussed. That sub- 

 ject has been covered in some detail in my companion volume, 

 A Field Guide to the Lower Aquarium Animals. 



[lo] 



