training?

[gzambran]

I've gotten my 7-week old "Alejandro" to be comfortable with handling and he will come up to my hand to be taken out of his viv. He seems to have potty-trained himself probably because its so much warmer in the basking area of the viv than in the rest of the house. So far so good with him but I was wondering what the best praise / rewards are for dragons? Can they hear well enough to understand "good boy"? I'm not sure if petting or food would work (he eats well when he decides that hes hungry but isn't extremely food-motivated)... I would like to teach him to walk on a leash /harness (he lets me put it on but dosent seem thrilled about walking in it) and it would be good for him to learn a few basic commands ( stay, come) that would be helpful to keep him safe in the house. I'm not sure if thats asking a little too much, but I figured it'd be worth a try! Thanks!

 

[ziggy23]

I'm not sure if that kind of training is possible. The type of training that you normally see is more like conditioning. Like with potty training, they figure out if they go in the bath, or a certain easy to reach spot that can then they will have cleaner vivs. The training is almost automatic, because you both have a similar goal, to keep the viv clean, and the less work for it would take to clean it up the more likely you'll get to it quickly.

 

[Beardednoob]

I know iguanas can learn commands, making lizards capable. I am not sure yet if a bearded dragon can or is willing to learn them. They teach commands to iguanas by repeating everything over and over again, once the iguana hears the commands enough they can hear it and relate it to what has been done before.