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snakes will take earthworms; the medium-sized ones, small frogs and fish; 
but the large specimens often require live small mammals. For short 
periods of a few days to a week, most species can fast and remain in good 
health. For care over longer periods, reprints of an excellent article by 
Gorham (1963) on care of small herptiles in inexpensive home-made quarters 
are available through the Education Section of the National Museum of 
Canada, or directly from the Curator of Herpetology. Other informative 
publications are those of Breen (1949) on reptiles in general, and Roberts 
(1960) on turtles; these may be obtained through local pet shops. Some of 
the handbooks in the section on selected references also contain information 
on keeping these animals. 
For keeping reptiles and amphibians for periods when immediate 
preservation is not possible and behaviour observations are not required, 
refrigeration, placing the animals into induced hibernation, is a solution. The 
best temperature is a few degrees above freezing — about 35°F. 
Tadpoles and Salamander Larvae 
Tadpoles and salamander larvae may be reared in an aquarium or in shal- 
low pans. Pond water should be used at the start, but evaporation losses 
may be replaced, as necessary, with tap water which has been allowed to stand 
a few days in an open container. Aquatic plants may be placed in the con- 
tainer with tadpoles and larvae but are not essential. Tadpoles will feed on 
algae, aquatic plants, and strained baby spinach. Salamander larvae will 
eat scraps of raw lean beef, chopped earthworms, or white worms. When 
the tadpoles and larvae start to transform, a stone or board must be placed in 
their container to allow them to crawl out of the water. If this is not provided 
they will drown. 
A mphibian Eggs 
Amphibian eggs may be hatched in a container of pond water. The 
resulting tadpoles or larvae should usually be separated into several con- 
tainers, or a portion of the hatch returned to the pond, to prevent death from 
over-crowding. 
Reptile Eggs 
Reptile eggs must have a warm and relatively moist environment and are 
subject to moulds. Legler (1956) recommends the following method of 
caring for them: 
"Eggs collected in the field are brought to the laboratory in damp cloth sacks .... 
Each clutch is identified by a waterproof label and each egg is numbered with a soft pen- 
cil. The eggs are then placed between two layers of moist, absorbent cotton in glass 
containers. The cotton is molded with the hands to form pads approximately one-half 
inch thick which fit snugly into the container. A finger bowl four inches in diameter 
at the top and one and three-quarter inches deep was [usedl. . . . Molds developed less 
frequently when a shallow container was used. 
"The top layer of moist cotton is tamped down around the eggs and the dishes are 
stored. A maximum-minimum thermometer is placed nearby to record temperatures 
during incubation. Moisture can be controlled by sprinkling water over the cotton.” 
Zweifel (1961) has discussed the difficulties with various techniques and 
suggested this alternative method: 
. . the container is a flexible, transparent plastic bag (1| mil polyethylene) and 
the eggs rest on the medium rather than being buried in it. The exact nature of the 
incubating medium seems to be relatively unimportant; it acts merely as a moisture 
reservoir. I have used rotten wood in which skink eggs were found, sand, sandy soil 
