ComicBookMama
Sub-Adult Member
I put the title in quotes because that's something I've read on numerous occasions... that beardies like to be petted... and I'm curious, because I tend to think of what an animal is designed for by nature. Primates like us are social touchers. We are accustomed to touching to explore, befriend, show affection - even our nearest relations in the animal kingdom do this, so touching and petting other species is something we seem to be programmed to do by nature. Our mammalian pets also seem to have a social touch language compatible to our own - whether it's the pawing or hip-bumping that dogs do, or the rubbing up against one another that cats do, or the social grooming that many small mammals do. So our petting them seems to be an extension of what they know and understand, and we can say with a fair degree of certainty that they like it. Certainly some even seek it out.
But bearded dragons don't touch one another in the wild, from all I've seen. The closest thing to social touch they appear to have, outside of mating behavior, is that "stacking" thing some do in captivity, and that seems to be a dominance behavior. So I wonder... how DO beardies see our need to touch, hold, and pet them? Are we even capable of knowing this? I once asked a reptile vet, "How do you know your pet snake likes you?" He replied, "He doesn't try to bite you." But this doesn't speak to me as LIKING - more as TOLERATING.
So... are our beardies simply tolerating, or learning to tolerate, our social handling of them? Or do they enjoy the occasional stroking and warmth of our bodies? I'd expect that it might feel good to them, but darned if I can figure out how to know for sure. I'd love to hear some ideas on this - because if beardies really don't like to be held and touched, I almost feel like I shouldn't be forcing it on Figment, aside from teaching him to tolerate handling in case of vet visits. Thoughts?
But bearded dragons don't touch one another in the wild, from all I've seen. The closest thing to social touch they appear to have, outside of mating behavior, is that "stacking" thing some do in captivity, and that seems to be a dominance behavior. So I wonder... how DO beardies see our need to touch, hold, and pet them? Are we even capable of knowing this? I once asked a reptile vet, "How do you know your pet snake likes you?" He replied, "He doesn't try to bite you." But this doesn't speak to me as LIKING - more as TOLERATING.
So... are our beardies simply tolerating, or learning to tolerate, our social handling of them? Or do they enjoy the occasional stroking and warmth of our bodies? I'd expect that it might feel good to them, but darned if I can figure out how to know for sure. I'd love to hear some ideas on this - because if beardies really don't like to be held and touched, I almost feel like I shouldn't be forcing it on Figment, aside from teaching him to tolerate handling in case of vet visits. Thoughts?