With its many landscapes and habitat types, New Jersey has a wide variety of reptiles and amphibians. Calling Spring peepers enhance spring evenings, and the eager trill of Gray treefrogs is a backdrop to damp summer days. Children thrill to find familiar Box turtles, Eastern newts or Garter snakes, while many less-familiar reptiles and amphibians struggle to keep their niche across our changing landscape. NJDEP Fish and Wildlife biologists work extensively on behalf of imperiled reptile and amphibian species like the Bog turtle, Tiger salamander and others, to halt their declines and restore populations.

See the links below for more information about New Jersey’s reptiles and amphibians.

Reptile and Amphibian (Herpetile) Information

• Online Field Guide for Reptiles and Amphibians – Information on 71 New Jersey species
• Meet The 22 Snake Species of the Garden State (nj.com)
• Snakes of NJ guide (pdf, 230kb)
  • Snake ID At a Glance – Northern NJ (pdf, 2.4mb)
  • Snake ID At a Glance – Southern NJ (pdf, 1.6mb)
  • Snake Identification: Avoid Being Confused! (pdf, 4.3mb)
• Status Assessment of the Northern Pine Snake in N.J. (pdf, 510kb)
• Northern Pine Snake – September 2003 Species of the Month
• Timber Rattlesnake Conservation in NJ
• Venomous Snake Response Team
• Snake – Help!
• Frogs of NJ (pdf, 610kb)
  • Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog
• Amphibian Migration (YouTube)
• Turtles of NJ (pdf, 520kb)
• Reptiles and Amphibians in Winter (Discover DEP Podcast)
• Governor Murphy Designates Bog Turtle as New Jersey’s State Reptile (Governor’s Office News Release, 6/18/18)
• Eastern Tiger Salamander – February 2003 Species of the Month
• Pine Barrens Treefrog – May 2003 Species of the Month
• NJ Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Workshop Proceedings – April 17-19, 2006 (pdf, 1mb)