A herp is commonly referred to as a reptile or an amphibian. Herp is short for herpetofauna and comes from the Greek word herpes, which means crawling things or creeping animal.
All herps are “cold-blooded” which means they lack an internal thermostat. Instead, they must regulate body heat through their interactions with the environment.
Other names associated with herp (Reptile and Amphibian)
- Herpetology – The study of reptiles and amphibians (Crawling things)
- Herpetologist – Someone who has had formal training in reptiles and amphibians.
- Herp Sitter – Somebody looks after, and care’s for reptiles and amphibians that don’t belong to them.
- Herper – People that have an interest in herpetology who keeps reptiles and amphibians as pets.
Herp examples
Reptiles
- Lizards
- Snakes
- Turtles
- Chameleons
- Dinosaurs
- Crocodiles
- Geckos
Amphibians
- Frogs
- Toads
- Salamanders
- Newts
- Caecilians
- Blindworm, also called a slowworm
