Leopard gecko affection?

[Superleo98]

Wish their was a behavior thread...

So tonight, I saw on my male leopard geckos Buki trying to climb the glass aquarium, so I put my hand in there and he climbed right on. He explored for a bit around my bed, but then when he saw the dog he ran to me and layed on the crook of my neck and just stayed there for a good 15 minutes. I know that a lot of owners say that they just tolerate us and don't have emotions, but I truly believe that they do have emotions/attachment to owners. Of course they aren't like cats or dogs, but I think that Leo's are capable of affection.

For instance, my male Leo Maiyer, will let me pet the top of his head and he leans into the touch. Also, one day my brother wanted to hold buki, but then he started waving his tail at him and ran over to me. Or even between 2 leopard geckos. I took Emma out to feed and Maiyer was searching all around his vivarium for her, and once I put her back inside she walked up to him, they licked eachother, and then slept in their moist hide.

What are your thoughts? Anyone else have a leopard gecko(s) like this?

 

[Yuk]

Mine don't exhibit that behavior yet, but they are still sub-adults. The are incredibly docile, though. I like that about them. I've never been much of a reptile person, but leopard geckos seem so sweet to me. Whether they actually are or not hasn't yet been proven that I'm aware of.

Studies I would like to see regarding behavior related subjects:
Leopard gecko intelligence compared to other reptiles and domestic animals. Some reptiles are incredibly intelligent, such as crocodiles, making decisions by actively looking for patterns.
Parenting - there's been a few studies on tolerance, but I haven't been able to read any of them myself, just citations. There have been mentions of leopard geckos "guarding the nest" and mentions of hatchlings sticking close to an adult female.
Any studies on what the various behaviors actually mean. Does licking ever mean anything other than curiosity (trying to sense what is in front of them).
Studies on recognition within their species - do they actually remember a colony mate -- I think this is proven by new gecko "intruders" getting attacked while cagemates are tolerated. I don't know how advanced it is though. Is it just a smell they recognize? etc. When are they accepted in the colony, that sort of stuff.

It'd be cool if any of this is out there. I've not done any real research on it yet, but if I find anything I'll post it here.

 

[Superleo98]

During a bad storm, a lightning struck really close to the house. Emma was in her dry hide, then ran over to Maiyer in the moist hide and put herself under him.
Perhaps leopard geckos can feel more secure with cage mates?

 

[Completeleopard]

The trouble is, all the behaviours you have said happened could be purely instinct :

- Running to the crook of your neck could be considered the Leopard Gecko finding a rock or ledge to hide under in the wild, it is also warm.

- Your Leo running to the other during a lightning strike could be instinct, thinking a predator is nearby, running to the same hide as the other Leo means less chance of being eaten.

- Your Leopard Gecko will not recognise the scent of another person, so will be unsure.

- Your Leo may look for the other Leo as they are used to being together, together is safer as less chance of being eaten by a predator. Once the other Leo re entered, your Leo tasted the scent to check he was a colony 'mate' and then instinct kicked in and they went back to sleep.

Not wanting to 'burst your bubble' as such, just saying what it could be.

 

[Yuk]

Some cool articles/links!:

Brainy lizards ace bird intelligence test | Cosmos Magazine
Taming and Training Reptiles FAQ
Smart as a gecko | Opinion | Oped
Social experience affects territorial and reproductive behaviours in male leopard geckos, Eublepharis macularius (an excerpt)

 

[Superleo98]

I understand what you could be saying is true. I'm not saying that leopard geckos can feel emotion like us humans do, but as yuk mentioned, their isn't much about as much as affection and attachment behavior go. Because of this, we are having to make our own assumptions. Leopard geckos aren't the smartest, but they certainly aren't dumb.

 

[Yuk]

I think we can all agree that not much is really known about reptile behavior other than survival instincts Which means there could be more, but we won't know until some one does the research to prove it one way or another.

One behavior that is promising is the observation of leopard geckos that look at the food bowl and back at the owner to get their attention that they are hungry. I've read quite a few of these observations, but since my food bowls are out of sight and they have a lot of roaming food, I don't think I'll ever see it. Looking to humans for "help" is something that separates wolves from dogs, and in my opinion is a really important behavior to look out for.

An interesting way to try it out would be to put something really tasty just out of their reach (but so they could still smell it). Put a secure hide nearby. See how long it takes them to give up and when they do, do they -really- give up by going back in their hide or do they crawl to the human and try to indicate in some way what they want. I'd imagine if they could indicate toward a food bowl, they could indicate toward a problem that needs solving. If they could do something like that, I would never look at them the same way lol

 

[Superleo98]

I just tried your little experiment yuk, but with a little twist

I thought Maiyer would be perfect for it so I used him. I took him out. And offered him a superworm, but out of his reach. I had his humid hide out as well (we were on the tile floor so he walked around a bit, then sat on my leg once putting him back, he immediately started scratching at the glass. (I had a pic of him doing it but I accidentally had the flash on so I turned away) he now is trying to climb out his vivarium. So I opened the door. Emma is taking insterest in me(staring me Down) after calling his name (recognizing my voice) he immediately came out on to my hand.

(And yes I have a panda case )

 

[Yuk]

Was his humid hide still warm? And was it Maiyer that really loves his moist hide? Toothless has a strange love of his moist hide to the point that as soon as he sees it, he gets really excited and drops whatever he is doing to get to it. I don't know if he's marked in there or if it smells like Candy or what, but I can bet that if I tried the same thing, he would high-tail it right to his favorite hide.

I think for it to be completely unbiased, there should be a familiar hide that is warm wherever you are doing the test, then a food item moving around with a small wire cage (or similar) around it (so they can lick the air and know it is there but not physically reach it), and so your hand isn't associated with it. Then record how long they try to get to it, and where they go/what they do next.

I would be -extremely- surprised to see that sort of behavior, because it's a good indication of domestication - even past domestication. I don't think a lot of domesticated animals would pass that test. Horses and goats would, probably also pigs, but I doubt sheep or chickens. My dogs follow me around thinking I will give them food/attention. My chickens follow me around thinking I will discover food for them. Cats come near expecting food/attention. Even fish, upon seeing a person, will swim up to the top of the tank to wait for food. The leopard geckos peek out of their hides when I come near, but they aren't expecting anything that I am aware of. Just curious.

On that note, one thing I did read is that some pet leopard geckos were supposedly reintroduced into the wild to lay eggs. The wild leopard geckos would stay near the eggs while the pet leopard geckos had very little regard for the eggs they had laid. I don't know all the details or how much truth there is in that since I heard it second hand, but clearly we are changing their behavior in captivity.

 

[Superleo98]

I will try your experiment method on another day, because it is late and I wanted to try a small version of it.
Yes the humid hide was warm.
It's just that he ALWAYS goes into that hide in his vivarium with Emma, but he didn't this time. He scratched at the glass, and as I said, climbed onto my hand. After letting him explore a little bit on my bed I put him back and he went to sleep with Emma. Same type of behavior I saw last night with Buki.

If you do the experiment, be sure to post here
I will as well once I'm able to do it.

And to add Completeleopard, he may have tried to find a safe spot at the crook of my neck, but there were books, pillows, and blankets to hide in, but instead he ran to me. Perhaps he recongnizes that I was a safe zone..? Or could be that I was warm. Either way...

 

[Replv4ev]

Geckos definitely display some cool behavior. My leopard gecko loves to come out and watch whats going on. While one of my female crested geckos knows who I am and every time I come over to her tank she comes right over to the door and climbs right out on me without even needing to touch her etc.