Do YOU think Beardies Can Love You?

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PumpkinJelly

Sub-Adult Member
This is a very controversial subject to many Beardie owners. Some people claim that their Beardies "love" them and have "emotional ties" to their owners. Other people say that the part of the Bearded Dragon brain that controls emotions is "underdeveloped", or not very much used; Therefore, Beardies do not love you back. I created this thread to hear your thoughts, since I'm curious about the subject too!

This is nothing serious, I'm just wondering what you all think about the subject :D

If ANY arguments arise, I will not have a problem with any moderator just deleting the thread completely. So keep the peace, and stay positive! I'd love to hear your comments on the subject!

:D
 

Gail

BD.org Addict
No, I don't think dragon love their owns. I do think they get used to people and learn to be comfortable with them but that is far different then love. As far as dragon who cuddle or "want out to be held", that is just us projecting human emotions onto a pet we love.
Cuddling is simply a dragon getting comfortable on a warm safe platform and the ones who "want out to be with us", that is just a dragon who wants out of the confines of a cage.
 

PumpkinJelly

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
That's pretty interesting, and something I'd like to hear. I'm really optional when it comes to this subject. I mean, they can obviously dislike us. (When they don't want to be held and are very territorial and stuff). But does that also mean they can like us? I'm not sure. :?
 

Gail

BD.org Addict
I do think they like us to a extent, or at least learn not to fear us. I had a dragon who definitely had people he disliked or at least was uncomfortable with while other people were able to hold him no problem.

I do have a dragon now who dislikes everyone. She isn't afraid of people but would rather not be touched or held. Its a struggle to interact with her but she doesn't bite so its not too bad for me. If a new owner got a dragon like her, they would probably think she hated them but she is just a dragon who isn't comfortable with humans. Its nothing personal towards me, its not hate.
 

PumpkinJelly

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
And its all what puzzles me. My dragons seem to "like" me, I guess you could say. When I put my hand in their tanks they will run and hop on my hand for a lift out of the tank. They love to explore and whenever it's late and they're tired while out of their enclosure, they somehow find a way to me, curl next to me, and go to sleep. Not sure if it's a means of "protection" or "security" when they come to me. But I'm definetlely sure they are curious. They snoop out practically everything until they come to senses that it's not something they can eat, and it's not something that can eat them. I definetely know there's also means of them tolerating you. Very interesting subject, I can say. :)
 

alkemisten3

Hatchling Member
No, they cannot Love humans, the brain is not developed for that.
I am talking from a scientific standpoint and not some dreamy blaha.
:study:
 

PumpkinJelly

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Haha yes, Scientifically I guess they cannot. I'm just trying to hear what you all think, and so far the majority has said no (In which the majority is only a few people...)
 

Jess

Extreme Poster
I was actually going to post a thread about this! LOL, looks like you beat me to it.

I agree with Gail. I think that they can like us to an extent and enjoy their time with us, but I don't think that they love us. Of course, we like to think that they do though! :p
 

PumpkinJelly

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Well, Great minds think alike :D I was really curious about it because it is really something people debate over. I was just curious because honestly they do show emotions towards us. They can be afraid of us and they can extremely dislike us. So I figured why can't they like/love us? But I don't think it's more of loving, but more of tolerating.
 

Jess

Extreme Poster
I think the ability to like/dislike is completely different than love. I mean, my I guess my roaches have feelings because they like food and they probably dislike being eaten, but that doesn't mean that they can love or form bonds. :wink:

Reptiles are designed to be solitary creatures. Since they don't need other reptiles to survive, they don't form bonds with other creatures like mammals do.

That being said... We can never know exactly what they think. My first beardie was a very intense little snuggler, and he seemed more attached to me. I rescued him and did a lot with him to try to get him healthy.
Dudley, on the other hand, would rather run around and explore most of the time LOL. He has an attitude. He'll sit with me for 5 or 10 minutes before he is bored. But when he is tired, he likes to snuggle and demands that I pet him until he falls asleep. And when something scares him, he seems to be comforted by me.

Even if they don't love us, I still think that they can enjoy the relationship that they do have with us.
 

PumpkinJelly

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Jess: DUDLEY SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE FIZ! Whenever I take Fiz out, he's all for exploring. He'll try to slip under bed sheets, under stuffed animals, under furnitiure, etc. He'll sit with me for a few minutes, chilling on my lap. But after a few minutes, he'll bound right off of my lap and try to explore. I bet if he could climb, he'd be on top of my ceiling fan looking down overhead to see if there's anything he hasn't already explore! But when it's around 8 o'clock (9 is their bedtime), he'll snuggle with me and go to sleep. I've only had baby Fiz for a month, but he's already got personality! And I know what you mean by being happy with the relationship they do have with us. (I like your relations to the bug thing, I guess your right with eating & being eaten!) I mean, It would be pretty cool for Fiz to love me like my dog does. But I have to be appriciative that I have a relationship at all with him. I mean, he could hate me and bite me all the time and try to run, so. He obviously doesn't mind me so I guess that's pretty good considering he is a reptile :D As long as I can interact with him and I can "pretend" he loves me, that's all that matters :)
 

randommonks

Sub-Adult Member
I also agree with Gail, and think that beardies more tolerate being captive and handled than enjoy the attention and interaction. But again that's just me and my experience with Darwin. He's not the most sociable of animals, but has a natural curiosity that rivals even my cat. He tolerates handling well, even by youngish kids, but makes it very clear with squirming and scratching when he's had enough.

Favorite rock indeed :D
 

PumpkinJelly

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
I wouldn't say they don't enjoy being handled but, not neccessarily that they enjoy being held in someone's arms, but handling = a chance to explore outside of the viv, and I know my Beardie enjoys exploring outside of the viv. I mean, it's common sense that they would. Sitting in a tank for most of the day, it's probably nice to get out and do your own thing for a little bit. Like school. It's pretty boring most of the time, but then when you get home you're happier. The viv = school & outside the viv = home. It's a nice change in atmosphere.

So I would say they don't enjoy being handled like a baby and stuff like that, but they do enjoy being taken out and given the chance to explore and be out of the viv.
 

RoachKill

Member
For "solitary reptiles" BD's sure manage a lot of social adaptability fitting into our families. One example:

Spike's our 7 year old female. She was outside being watched by my wife, when she got freaked by some noisy crows. She chose to run to my wife instead of running into some dense plants. Where the heck did the "Help Mommy!" response come from?
 
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