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By Russ Case
As REPTILES magazine celebrates 20 years of publishing, I wanted to send out a big THANK YOU to all of our faithful readers, as well as our advertisers.
Two things keep a print magazine alive: readers, whether they subscribe or buy the magazine in a store, and advertisers. With the continued support of both, REPTILES has been able to not only supply a reliable monthly reptile literature fix to our subscribers, but also maintain a presence in retail stores. I believe the latter, especially, has been very important in helping to move the keeping of reptile pets more into the mainstream.
A regularly available, monthly print magazine provides major support to a hobby. For one thing, it attracts new hobbyists by simply being "out there." People may enter a pet store to buy other pet supplies, having never kept a pet reptile, and their interest may be ignited by a spectacular-looking herp on a REPTILES cover. At least, that is what we at REPTILES hope happens on occasion!
There are some great websites out there (including ReptileChannel, of course), but the thing about websites is that they often attract people who are already into reptiles. The reptilekeeping hobby always needs new blood, and at the risk of sounding pompous, I think by its physical presence "out there," REPTILES has injected a lot of that over the years, and I hope it can continue to do so for many more. And it's all THANKS TO OUR READERS AND ADVERTISERS who have made it possible for the magazine to survive since 1993, so thanks to all of you!