Ophiology or Ophiodiology is the branch of herpetology that deals with the scientific study of snakes, including the natural history and behavior of the animals. An individual who studies snakes is known as an ophiologist. Many professional ophiologists find employment in zoos or universities, while amateur ophiologists mainly keep snakes as pets.

The oldest preserved descriptions of snakes can be found in the Brooklyn Papyrus (a medical papyrus dating from ancient Egypt and is one of the oldest preserved writings about medicine and ophiology). The manuscript is dated to around 450 BC and is today kept at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

Ophiology is a sub group in the field of herpetology which also deal with batrachology (frogs), saurology (lizards) and cheloniology, chelonology or testudinology (turtles).

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