Who laid this?
Identify eggs, egg masses and nests.
Found jelly-like eggs in a pond or ditch, a cluster under a log, leathery eggs in the mulch, or a dug-up nest with curled shells? Answer a few questions about what you can see and this key narrows the possibilities to the frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes and lizards that actually live where you found them, showing its reasoning at every step. It also tells you when your find may not be a reptile or amphibian egg at all. Skip any question you can’t answer. Free, and in beta.
No AI-generated answers. Built from real sources and fixed rules.What this meansClose
When you use this tool, no AI writes your answer. The result comes from rules we set ahead of time, applied to information gathered from sources such as field guides, scientific records and our own courses. It is not made up on the spot.
AI did help us build it: writing code, organizing information and drafting some of the drawings.
Loading the key…
How it works
Jelly or shell, then the details.
Frog and salamander eggs have no shell: each one sits in clear jelly, in water or somewhere damp. Reptile eggs have a shell and are laid on land. From there the key asks how the eggs are arranged (strings, round masses, floating films, single eggs), what they are attached to, their size and number, and where and when you found them. Add your location, and the list gets short.
Look, photograph, leave them
Every question can be answered from a photo. Take one of the whole group and one close up, with a coin for scale, and leave the eggs where they are. If you lifted a log, rock or board to see them, put it back just as it was.
Turned them up while digging?
Eggs found while gardening, mowing or moving mulch are usually reptile eggs. Choose “Eggs with a shell”, and the last screen covers what to do next. Until then, keep each egg the same way up and do not bring them indoors.
What the key can’t do
Eggs can rarely be named to one species by eye, and the eggs of many species have never been described in detail. Treat the result as a short list with the reasoning shown. Only characters backed by a published source can rule a species out; every candidate lists its sources.
Egg characters were compiled from published species accounts and keys, with sources listed on every candidate. Found tadpoles or salamander larvae instead? Try Which Tadpole Is This? To see every species on record for your county, use What Lives Near Me.
Go deeper
Turn a name into understanding.
The key narrows down who laid the eggs you found. The courses teach how those animals live, how to tell them apart, how to care for them, and how to talk about them with people who are afraid of them. Every course is self-paced and grounded in science; two are free, and the rest are priced to stay within reach. Where a card shows an opening date, you can enroll now and start on that day.
Coexisting With Wild Snakes
For anyone who shares space with snakes
A free course on living alongside snakes: the myths, the biology, why identification rules fail, and what to actually do.
Self-paced · about 5 hours · Free
View Full Details
Certified Herpetological Guide
For adults
Covers the biology and the conservation, then pushes further: how to talk about these animals with people who are afraid of them.
Self-paced · about 50 hours · $149.00
View Full Details
Certified Junior Herpetologist
For teens and tweens
The certification track written at a younger reading level, with adult-partnered fieldwork.
Self-paced · about 30 hours · $109.00
View Full Details
Foundations of Herpetological Husbandry
For people who keep reptiles and amphibians
Science-based care for reptiles and amphibians in human care.
Self-paced · about 8 hours · $49.00
View Full Details
Starting and Running a Reptile & Amphibian Rescue
For people starting or running a rescue
What it takes to run a reptile and amphibian rescue, including whether wildlife rehabilitation is a path you want to pursue.
Self-paced · about 6 hours · $35.00
View Full Details
Field Ethics & Practices
For anyone joining a herping or wilderness trip
A short, free course on how to be a good field companion: respect the site, respect the animals, keep locations private, know the rules, and stay safe.
Self-paced · about 2 hours · Free
View Full DetailsFree, and staying that way
Help keep these tools running
This tool, the free snakes course, the Primer and everything on our Resources page will always be free. If it helped you and you would like to help keep it running (and help us build the next one), you can pitch in. Everything given goes to LEARN, the nonprofit rescue that runs The Herpetology Collective, so it also helps feed, house and care for the animals we take in.