Reptile Intelligence

[scorpius]

An interesting article, one of many that show our reptile friends are smart little buggers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/science/coldblooded-does-not-mean-stupid.html?_r=2&

 

[diamc]

They are VERY intelligent. It really is amazing how bright & smart they really are. You probably wouldn't believe some of the things I could share about our beardies!

 

[wmwelch]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Lizard intelligence is greatly underestimated by too many people. They are capable of communicating, learning, being trained, and recognizing people, and even training their owners to a certain extent.

Wendy

 

[Sauzo]

I agree. Reptiles aren't as dumb as people think. Harley will actually jump off me onto the top of the couch back and walk along the couch and then jump down to the arm of the couch and stare into the bedroom doorway when she wants to go sleep under the pillows on the bed. She will also do the same when she wants back in her cage by going to the other couch arm which is closest to her cage and stare over there. And then sometimes she is just content sitting on me and stretches out on my chest and stuffs her head under my chin and goes to sleep.

And I swear my red tail boa, Rosey, can sense when I'm buying her a rat cause when I get home with it, she will be stretched out in the front of her cage looking out the window and this is pretty much every time I buy her a rat. The feeding times are not the same all the time either. She gets fed on a 10-14 day period and she is out there and ready probably 4 out of the 5 times and this is before I even get in the door so I know she isn't smelling it and moving outside that fast.

I also had a Nile Monitor that thought it was a dog. It would follow me around my old apartment and sit on the couch next to me. All these reptiles I had since there were 1.5 months old or younger so I really think when you bond with them at such a young age, they really do recognize their owners and understand. Just not really in the form we see from dogs and cats since most people are used to how those animals act. And I loves that article.

 

[amsmith5297]

Nice article. I agree, our scaly little friends are a lot more intelligent than most people think. :wink:

 

[Taterbug]

Here's a video of the anoles opening the grub challenges.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CmpjysGMHCE

 

[parodyofagirl]

Quincy changes colors when he hears words for things that he really likes or really dislikes.

 

[Goodtruant]

Draper will get down off his rock, and scratch at the glass when he needs to poop. He hates pooping in his viv.

 

[scorpius]

Draper will get down off his rock, and scratch at the glass when he needs to poop. He hates pooping in his viv.

I noticed that all my Beardies hate to poop in their vivariums ,

Maurice scratches on the glass, then poops on his paper them wipes himself on the paper then runs to the opposite side of the tank and hides until I take the paper out and put in a fresh clean piece of paper.

Ole Blue Eyes poops and runs to the other side as well then cleans his butt in the water dish. He use to wait for me to take him into the bathroom as I had trained him to poop in the toilet bowl (holding him of coarse) but I got too nervous about him potentially falling in so only did it a couple of times.

My female Button refuses to poop in the tank and waits for me to give her a bath in the bathroom sink then she makes a poop bigger than her tail!

They are very clean creatures and I guess it's instinct to be as clean as possible to prevent themselves from being located by lizard eating animals

 

[Goodtruant]

I think it's an instinct. The smell would help predators find them. So they keep their territory clean.

 

[Goonie]

Great article/video find!
I truly believe that beardies and reptiles in general are far smarter than we could ever give them credit for. We humans are so used to only learning about dogs and cats because their species are more abundant in our lives.

Draper will get down off his rock, and scratch at the glass when he needs to poop. He hates pooping in his viv.

I think Pookie is the odd duck here. He would only poop in his house. If he's out playing, he would suddenly stop, go home, do his business, then come back out. If he happened to have made a big poopy, depending on where it happened to land (he still tries to use his tree branch as the toilet, even though he's bigger than the branch), he would then cower elsewhere until I get home.
And no, I didn't train him to do that; he somehow decided that all on his own. I still have yet to figure out why though. He had also taught his daughter, Gianna, that she should go home to go potty.

 

[diamc]

Pookie & Gianna are 2 of a kind, no doubt.

 

[scorpius]

My Two males are housed each in a separate 55 gallon tank (one on top of the other so they do not see each other.

Top bunk houses Old Blue Eyes , Bottom bunk houses Maurice , as they are two males they do not like to look at each other and become jealous.

If I talk to Maurice in the Bottom Tank I hear the Big Guy jump from where ever he is and press against the glass tilting his head with his eye pointing downwards. Now he can not see anything yet he gets a black beard because he knows I am speaking to Maurice ( he never otherwise will get a black beard only when I talk to Maurice or he sees him)

Conversely if I am standing up and speaking to Old Blue Eyes on the top tank I hear Maurice start to run back and forth banging on the Glass and looking upwards pissed as all hell with a black beard when the only thing he can see are my legs moving back and forth. He will not do this if I am just standing there only when I talk to old Blue eyes.

The level of complex thought necessary to equate these separate observations from their point of view is astounding and certainly shows a higher level of intelligence that had been thought in reptilian species.

 

[scorpius]

Another interesting link with a quick summary of some intelligent reptiles

http://www.reptileencounters.com.au/the-5-most-intelligent-reptiles/

 

[scorpius]

and another interesting article

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/01/warmer-lizard-intelligence/