Reptile intelligence...

cricket4u

New member
The like was for your effort and willingness to share, not the article itself. I find this article vague and misleading. There are thousands of reptiles, therefore a huge variation in regards to "intelligence." I am not even comfortable using the word intelligent when it comes to reptiles.:D

Few scientists bothered to peer into the reptile mind, and those who did were largely unimpressed.

:scratchhead: Because most reptiles have responded and failed miserably beyond responding to meals. The experiments are so undemanding and involve food which will obviously trigger a reaction.

Sadly, most Gekkonidae lizards rank very low in cognitive abilities. They are lucky to be so darn cute and reasonably sized making them popular.

An example: If the insects run under cage furniture, the geckos will never find them. They do not even have the ability to think about digging the insect out. Out of sight, out of mind. On the other hand, my monitor lizards have the ability to think, " I have to dig out my food if I want to eat!" They will start clawing everything trying to reach the insect.

In the end does it really matter? Not to me it doesn't. I enjoy them all the same and look at their mental deficits as being unique.
 

Riverside Reptiles

Administrator (HMFIC)
I thought the article was great considering that it was written for the NY Times for lay people, not a scientific journal or for the reptile community. Anything that changes the public's perception of reptiles as dumb creatures that simply want to bite people is a good thing for our community as a whole (especially in these days of attempts at massive reptile bans in the US). I can't speak for the actual studies that were mentioned as I haven't seen the papers, but they came from reliable educational and scientific institutions, not just some nutcase. I don't think that anyone is trying to prove that herps have genius level intelligence. I think that the point is simply that they do have a higher level of intelligence than previously assumed. Again, any positive press for these animals is a good step for our community IMO.
 

cricket4u

New member
In this perspective, it's absolutely a positive. They're sadly unappreciated by many simply because they can not return affection as a dog or cat will. Very shallow in my opinion.

I'm sure you know what I was concerned about.... Some people may think that their geckos want to play checkers!:biggrin:
 
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