Ribbeting, hissing, and rattling, 31 known species of amphibians and reptiles call Montana home. Amphibians and Reptiles of Montana provides complete, basic information about all of them. With descriptions, colour photographs, and eight identification keys (including egg and larval stages), this comprehensive field guide – the state's first – allows the identification of Montana's frogs, toads, salamanders, turtles, lizards, and snakes.
Find out where and when to look for these often reclusive critters; what their calls sound like; which ones really mean it when they bite; how each species hunts, breeds, eludes predators, and overwinters; when they shouldn't be disturbed; how to handle them; and why populations in some places are dwindling and what you can do about it. Learn about the Western Skink, which leaves its blue tail behind for predators; the tiny but deafening Pacific Treefrog, which manufactures natural antifreeze inside its body in winter; and the Greater Short-horned Lizard, which might squirt blood at you from its eyes. Painted Turtle babies become male or female depending on air temperature, and when a gartersnake flicks its tongue, it's really testing the air for the odour of prey or a potential mate's pheromones.