Do YOU think Beardies Can Love You?

[beardie parents]

Yes, I understand that. That's why we have a forum called "beardie tales" Our Goldie gives me a sad look when I leave her in her home. She prefers 24/7 shoulder time. She likes to sit in the window and look outside but she better likes being outside. Yesterday she even crawled off my shoulder to walk toward the front door, which she knows leads to her favorite outside. It seems to me like she will go outside even if it's too cold for her.

 

[PumpkinJelly]

So what you're saying is, they have emotions like we do, so that means they CAN love...?

That's what I'm kind of interpreting here.

I enjoy hearing your cute stories about your Beardies. Goldie sounds like a cute Beardie who just LOVES attention!

 

[PudgysMom]

ABSOLUTELY. I have the photos to prove it.

Beardies KNOW their humans. NO DOUBT!

 

[beardie parents]

Yes, they can love. They won't think at a human adult level but the ones we've had definitely do love.

 

[Jess]

I agree that they do have emotions/feelings and they definitely recognise their people, but I still don't think that's the same as loving us.
There's no doubt that beardies are pretty intelligent reptiles... They are one of the few that make eye contact with you, and they have very strong little opinions and likes/dislikes. I think they generally enjoy being with us, but I just don't see the same relationship with my reptiles that I have with, say, my dog or my rabbit. I still love them just the same though, of course!

 

[PudgysMom]

I am very biased, but Pudgy and I were closer than I was with any dog or cat I ever had. She was my pet soulmate.

I don't think they love like humans do, but I think it's ridiculous that anyone would say they don't have the capability to be affectionate, recognize their humans, etc. etc.

 

[PumpkinJelly]

You're all very right in your own ways, since especially this is opiniative.

I'm sort of coming to the conclusion that Beardies can love, but only with limitations. So, the answer to the title of this thread would be Yes/No. (In my opinions, and some of yours)

They can have attatchments to us that have some traces of love in there, but they aren't actually "in love" with their owners, technically speaking.

Jess, you're SO right about them being smart reptiles. I've never actually had a snake or a gecko make eye-contact with me, from what I could notice. Whenever I looked at them, they would look in my direction, but it didn't feel like they were actually looking RIGHT at me. But with Beardies, on the other hand, whenever I go into the pet store, I am dramatically stared down, eye-to-eye, with a dozen tiny hatchlings. It's pretty cute, and unique at the same time. With snakes and geckos, they're just like "eh, ok.". With Beardies, they're like "OH HI!.... but what are you?" They're curious, while most other reptiles are nonchalant. They are very picky, too. Some days my baby beardies will eat their greens as if that was the last collard green leaf on the planet, other days they'll stick to their Baby Bites by Nature Zone and crickets, and let the greens dry out under the sunlight. Very personality-ridden animals

Beardies are really orignals :wink:

 

[diablo1988]

biologists and behavioral scientist have recently discovered that reptiles carry all the same parts of the brain that we do. snakes beardies monitors they all have em. they also discovered that they have a lot of emotion like we do. they can love or hate or be anxious and they can recognize people. i have a young female beardie i rescued recently who is terrified of me for some reason but will run and perch on my girlfriend for long periods of time. :mrgreen:

 

[PumpkinJelly]

Hmm. I havent heard of this discovery. but thats why its a debatable topic, right? I think i have some sort of experience with my beardie recognizing me. Whenever i walk into the room, my two baby beardies will look at me, and stay in their spots. But when a friend goes in there, they look at them, and reposition themselves in a more tensed position. its like they see them as a threat and me as a familiar good face.

 

[Jess]

Diablo, do you have any links to the research?

 

[beardie parents]

Miss O, one of the first two beardies we had, we got them 7 years ago, last Wednesday (11/23). Once she realized we loved her and wouldn't get rid of her she loved us. She was one who had to be loved. She got really scared when she heard the beep of a school buss and one time we weren't there to stop her, by the time my husband got back to where she was, she had disappeared. We never found her but the next morning about 11am I was going out the front door of my house, I looked down and saw her sitting in some wild flowers that were there at the time. She was looking at me with total trust, she knew we would come and get her. She knew we loved her and she loved us. No one can convince me otherwise. Goldie is a lot like Miss O but not quite as loving as Miss O, but she is loving and she needs to sleep on us before we put her in her tank. It's easier for us and her this time of year because I can wear two shirts and put her in between them so the lights we have on won't bother her. If I leave her in the bed until we go to bed and just pick her up and put her in her hide, she fights me more than if she's been on my shoulder for a few hours.

 

[Dragoon]

I don't think beardies can LOVE love you but I think they can get to know you and be comfortable around you. When a beardie curls up into a ball and goes to sleep on you, what would you call it? Friendliness? I think there's more to it. Just my honest opinion.

 

[diablo1988]

here is a few links...

http://www.neurotransmitter.net/reptilebrain.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/reptilianbrain.html
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F10E14FA345517738DDDAC0A94DB405B828DF1D3

last one is a pdf....i read my info from a university cant remember which on though. :shock:

 

[Jess]

Well, the only one that I could actually understand was the last one. That's neat that the python responded to different colors though. I know that Dudley is obsessed with the color red!

 

[diablo1988]

sorry i forgot 1

http://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk/reptile-emotions/

thats easy to understand