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Geckos and other reptiles being Friendly Anonymous
I gotta wonder, Cats and Dogs will become 'close' to their owners, which makes a bit of sense since mammals are generally more social.

But, do other animals, especially reptiles like said leopard gecko, become close or attached to their owners?

Also: ITT Geckos
>> Anonymous
Sure they do, just because they're not cuddly mammals doesn't mean they can't love you back.
>> Anonymous
I'm not sure lizards can "love" someone in the same way a cat or a dog might, but they can certainly become more attached to one person than others.
>> Anonymous
they can certainly decide to stay close to their primary source of food and shelter.
>> Anonymous
Its on your hand stealing your heat
>> Anonymous
its a nigger
>> Anonymous
Sure they do not, they are moar wild etc
>> Anonymous
Remember that guy who bred tame, social foxes?

Could someone do the same with reptiles or even amphibians?
>> Anonymous
>>251335

1: It was a woman that bred them.

2: You could do it, provided you were able to identify those traits in the animals. It might be difficult to tell when a frog is being antisocial though.
>> Anonymous
>>251335Remember that guy who bred tame, social foxes?

didn't they just turn into floppy eared dogs?
>> Anonymous
I don't know if they really bond with their owners, but damned if reptiles don't enjoy lying on us warm-blooded creatures and sucking up our sweet, sweet warmth.
>> Anonymous
Goddamn that's a fat leopard gecko.

Having fat stores in the tail is a sign of good health, having fat stores in the legs and neck isn't.
>> Demyx's Landmaster !!LRYbbMT7F9I
my python loves me. She's a Burmese, 16 feet long, and the sweetest thing. I'll take her out of her cage and let her have the run of the living room. When I sit down, she'll make her way to me and wrap every bit of herself around me and stay there until it's time for her to go back in. When I let her stay in my room during the night, I'll always wake up embraced in python coils. She won't do it with anyone else, even people she's known for a while and who she lets hold her.
>> Cloudchaser Shaconage
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A cousin of mine was fascinated with spiders when he was young, he even had a jumping spider that he could turn loose, move a few feet away and the spider would actually come to him
>> Demyx's Landmaster !!LRYbbMT7F9I
>>251577
Jumpers are very intelligent for spiders.
>> Anonymous
My male russian tortoise is too small to try to mate with the female, but he tries anyway. He promptly gets his ass kicked and runs directly to me whenever it happens. After the umpteenth time of this happening, I'm beginning to think it's not coincidence.
>> Anonymous
>>251287
That thing is obese, and is making me think that it isn't shedding but that fatass's old skin layer simply popped off.
>> Anonymous
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>>251287
I know they aren't reptiles, but i've found that leeches can grow quite attached to you...
>> Anonymous
>>251591
om nom nom nom
>> Anonymous
>>251591

Although I know how useful they are, I hate them very, very, very, very much.
>> Anonymous
>>251335
It would depend upon the species. Some reptiles and amphibians commonly bred in captivity are already docile and social animals, though they differ behaviorally and in their social cues from mammals. You can't expect them ever to affectionately lick your hands or wag their tails; passivity and a willingness to be held are about as much as you can hope for.

>>251337
Unless he's referring to some small,
lesser-known project somewhere, it wasn't/isn't a woman but a team of Russian scientists led by Dmitri Belyaev

>>251577
>>251579
Jumping spiders don't recognize human beings as anything more than large, vertically-oriented surfaces they can climb to get a better view of their surroundings and potential prey. If you sit outside on a lawn chair in a yard that needs mowing during the spring you'll find you may have to shake the same spider off five or six times before it eventually takes a hint. They may show an attraction to specific colors though.
>> Anonymous
Even if they don't LOVE owners, reptiles getting in close enough to soak up body heat is surely a sign of trust at least.
>> Demyx's Landmaster !!LRYbbMT7F9I
>>251826
Definitely true there. My Burmese (see above) is always wary around a new scent (possibly also heat signature, who knows what they can really see with their pits), and she'll stay away from anyone new. It takes her a while to warm up to people, and only if she sees them regularly. I'm the only one she's truly comfortable and trusting around, it may also be because I love her so much. Even reptiles, amphibians and fish can sense when someone likes/loves them.
>> Anonymous
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Bearded dragons are very responsive and seem to recognize their owners. They won't act like a dog, of course, but that doesn't make them stupid and unresponsive. If a bearded dragon feels frightened he'll puff up his beard and my beardy has never done that in front of me so he obviously feels at ease. I handle him every day and he likes to climb up my arms and get tangled in my hair or he'll literally snuggle up in my lap or a warm blanket. He also kind of licks people, like by flicking his little pink tongue, though it's not a sign of affection.

My red eared slider notices people too, though that may just be because he's hungry and not attention seeking.
>> Anonymous
>>251936
MORTAL KOMBAT
>> Anonymous
>>251919

Stop anthropomorphizing animals. Reptiles can't tell that you "love" them. The most some of them can do is trust you and see you as a provider of food and heat.

Geckos, no matter what you think, aren't that intelligent. They may be able to become accustomed to being handled and recognizing you as no threat, but that's it pretty much.

Intelligent lizards are mostly tegus, monitors, larger skinks, and iguanas. From my own experience, tegus seem to be the most intelligent. At least at the level of a cat. Mine definitely seems to "enjoy" attention from me and doesn't mind being held, but I assume it's mostly a response from him seeing me as a vector for food. He knows that when I'm in the room, there is a good chance that he will get food, so he begins to paw at the glass to get me to hold him.

Intelligent snakes include the big pythons, Burms and Retics (especially retics), cobras (King Cobras are said to be one of the most intelligent reptiles out there), vipers, and Scrub/Amethystine Pythons. Most colubrids are on the lower-end of the intelligence spectrum in snakes.

Amphibians are possibly the least intelligent of herps. I've never encountered one that had any inclination towards human interaction.

Turtles/tortoises are something I'm not as familiar with, but my Box Turtle seems to be somewhat more intelligent than most small to medium sized lizards. I assume they have a fairly developed brain that increases in capability/capacity as you go up to larger species.

So basically, the larger lizards and snakes tend to be more intelligent and seem to be more keen on interacting with humans if they're raised properly. And more evolved reptiles like vipers are also fairly intelligent, probably capable of tolerating humans if they weren't venomous.

But love? Love is an abstract concept that's mostly attributed to higher mammals, like Primates. Some shit like whales too.
>> Anonymous
I spent a few days watching my neighbor's animals while they were gone, one of them a bearded dragon. After the first day they were gone, he went into a corner and didn't move at all for a few days, he wasn't even eating. But as soon as they returned, he was moving around his tank quite actively and back to normal. I can't say it missed them, but he definitely knew they were gone, and wasn't too pleased about it.
>> Anonymous
>>251919
>Even reptiles, amphibians and fish can sense when someone likes/loves them.
lol fucking fuckwit retard faggot
>> Anonymous
after all these years I STILL don't think my red-earred turtle likes me. Still have to watch my fingers when I pick it up for fear of getting scratched
>> Anonymous
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>>251919
>Even reptiles, amphibians and fish can sense when someone likes/loves them.

You're the kind of animal lover I hate.
>> Anonymous
>>252052
Yes, the more predatory (predatorial?) an animal usually the more intelligent they are.
>> Anonymous
my friend had got a chamilion*sp and called it Eric i hav refused to call it erric i now refur to it as axel arse kick the 3RD
>> Anonymous
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>>252605
gtfo
>> Anonymous
>>252052
Interesting fact: there are some reptiles where play behavior is known. These include turtles, monitor lizards and not surprisingly crocodilians. A lot of people forget that reptilians haven't stopped evolving millions of years ago, they have kept changing all this time within the confines that their niche permits.
>> Anonymous
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I've been breeding Crested Geckos for several years now. From my standpoint (an at least semi-experienced breeder) reptiles don't exactly show love/affection. However, they do in fact get used to handling and when handled enough become much less skittish, but that's not just for their owner, it's for any person that decides to handle them.

What I have noticed, however, is that my male and female breeders will generally spend much of their time together...they almost ALWAYS are sleeping by each other. That might just be the whole additional heat source thing, but it appears that they're at least semi-sociable creatures.

Pic related; it's my male breeder
>> Anonymous
>>252647
Not really sociable, simply social. A lot of geckos, notably Eublepharines, live in small colonies, sleep next to one another to conserve heat, and communicate with one another via the movements of their tail and occasionally small vocalizations. That doesn't make them any more affectionate towards one another than squid.
>> Demyx's Landmaster !!LRYbbMT7F9I
>>252518
>>252578
I'm sorry if my personal experience doesn't conform to your narrow-minded view of nature.
>> Anonymous
>>252697
Idiot.