Do you think geckos love their owners? Mine always gives me a cute look when he sees me, and loves to rest on my hand.
While this topic is probably open for much debate its generally believed that reptiles do not have "emotions". They have relatively primitive brains - and by this i do not mean they are stupid, only that as a species they are VERY old and their brains reflect this in their structure and function. They are adapted very well to the things they need to face daily to survive in the wild. While we may have been keeping leos for many many years in captivity they are by no means "domesticated" Simply put - reptiles, as with most animals, do not possess the capilities for "love" and other human emotions - simply because they are not human. We love to humanize them and put human words and emotions to their behaviors but its just not true. Leos tolerate handling very well as far as reptiles go, and dont appear to be bothered or stresed in anyway by the handling - and in some cases may even appreciate it - but as far as actually loving or having strong emotions towards people, thats just not how they work. Im not bashing reptiles of course, i am their biggest fan! However i think that while it may be fun to name our geckos and assign certain traits to them in our minds its important that we also remember that they are reptiles and respect and appreciate them for what that means
Yeah for sure, but it's weird, I feel like he's looking into my eyes He definitely knows who I am though, I dunno it's hard to explain
yes, i do think that some of my reptiles definately recognize me - my snakes are calmer in my hands than others, so are my leos and beardies. Maybe that has more to do with the fact that they have become accustomed to my smell etc.
reptiles have emotions. they can be happy and sad, confused, afraid, but they cannot love like a dog can. reptiles can be fond of their owners, but not love you. it wont go out of its way to help you like a dog or cat will do.
Yep for sure, mine definitely know who I am, and are verry happy when I interact with them. They are awesome pets.
why is my snake never looking to me? shes not interested in me.. and my skink either, it just look at me and when i'm gone he still looking like that.. weirdd.. and my RES just become interested if she sees food in my hand..
most defenately when ever someone tries to pick them up or even try and kiss them they jump off of that person and runs to me and curl up on my arm i also believe that they know who you are. have you ever had someone pick them up and they kind of freak out and squirm and when you picked them up they were totally relaxed?
I believe I am correct in saying that the reptilian brain lacks the amygdala, in humans the amygdala works to process emotions and the memory of emotions. So I would definitely say that reptiles experience primary emotions, or innate emotions such as fear but lack self-conscious emotions such as love. This is just my take.
As far as research goes reptiles aren't capable of showing affection, but I'm sure they do have them somehow, because mine sometimes just crawls up to me, or maybe they just know where the food comes from
I'm currently working on my undergrad in psychology in hopes of obtaining a graduate degree in Animal Behavior...which I want to translate into studying emotions in animals with less complex brains than mammals, such as birds, reptiles, amphibians, etc...so maybe one day I can answer this question with more assurance..haha
Would birds have more capabilities than reptiles since (I saw this in a movie about dinosaurs) birds have evolved from reptiles...?
birds have way more advanced brains than reptiles, birds can figure out puzzles and can feel love. most of the time animals that need toys to play with are more advanced than animal who just try to keep surviving, like our dear herps
Yeah. There are birds that mate for life and then mourn the loss of their mate. To the point where they are willing to die because they do not have their mate anymore. My boyfriend witnessed it in a seagull, believe it or not. Its mate (I don't know if they mate for life, doubt it) was hit by a car and was in the middle of the road dead. This gull was sitting next to the body, saw a car coming and just let it hit it. That shows some sort of emotional attachment.
It is true that birds tend to be more emotionally capable than do reptiles but birds still lack the complex amygdala of humans and their actions are in a lot of ways still instinctive. Some view birds as having a more encephalised amygdala than do humans. So it is true that birds brains are more complex than reptiles but the human capabilities of emotions are far superior to birds.
oh yeah, humans can feel many more emotions than most animals, not to say animals are worthless but we wouldnt be where we are as a species if we werent more advanced than the average animal. from what ive read though dolphins are right up there next to us
Hate to necro a thread, but I found this discussion recently and had to say something. The idea that "reptiles and birds cannot experience emotions" (or similar complex behaviors) is based on an inaccurate understanding of evolution, which is that reptiles and birds are "less evolved" than mammals. The old idea used to be that because their brains have different structures, that must mean that they are just mammal brains that are missing parts. That is not how evolution works. Evolution does not work toward a purpose with "less" evolved forms leading to "more" evolved forms. Because avian and reptilian brains evolved along different lines, they only superficially resemble mammal brains. Can you calculate the distance between yourself and a turkey from 60 feet away based on the scent you smelled with your tongue? Do you know how to navigate to the coastline based on weather patterns and a magnetic sense? Does that mean you aren't as smart as common Garter Snake or a Grackle? Your mammal brain must simply be "less" evolved, right? No, that isn't right. Our brains don't work like their brains do because we evolved differently. Birds appear to have no language center (broca's area) and no reasoning center (neocortex). For this reason it was believed for many years that any learning on the part of birds was imitation only. We now know that is completely wrong and that the language and cognition areas of the bird are completely different and located in different regions. Again, their brains are very different and use different structures for these functions than mammal brains. New Caledonian Crows can conceive and operate tools as advanced as apes. African Gray parrots have been taught to communicate with large vocabularies and can even understand grammatical syntax. Crows in the wild have been shown to be capable of deceiving and tricking each other to hide food caches, which requires a "theory of mind" beyond what a cat or dog would possess. In controlled experiments, some species of Monitor Lizards have demonstrated the capacity for primitive numerical calculation above what is possible for a common house cat. Nile Monitors have demonstrated the ability to hunt cooperatively using tactics that are arguably as advanced as those used by wolves. Komodo Dragons have not only demonstrated the ability to be tamed, but they can be target trained and even engage in dog-like play behaviors similar to mammals. Any zookeeper will tell you that you are far more likely to be attacked by a Leopard or a Tiger than a Komodo, because the Komodo is better able to distinguish between food and the person who gives food than big cats are. Komodos are actually affectionate and curious animals in captivity, whereas a Tiger will remain unpredictable and may still eat you. As far as emotions go, many species of Parrot can die of depression or loneliness. They also develop emotional neurosis when exposed to trauma and neglect (pulling their feathers out, rocking, smashing their heads against solid objects, etc). Several forms of reptiles (especially Black and White Tegus, Iguanas, and Rock monitors), appear to bond with their owners and seek out their attention for purposes unrelated to food or warmth. I don't know of any Parrot owner who would agree that a Cockatoo is "less" emotional than a cat or dog. It isn't that the more advanced reptiles and birds lack the capacity for emotions and primitive thought processes found in cats and dogs, it is that they are using different parts of their brains to do it. Likewise, their emotions are different than that of mammals, because THEY ARE NOT MAMMALS. Based on the older zoological school of thought some of you are working from, birds and reptiles would be capable of none of the advanced behaviors that have been well documented in zoological literature.
i definitely think my leos at least recognize me as their caretaker and friend, i have three and all of them come out of there hides to greet me when they see me and follow my face,instead of my hands expecting food.
I think that instead of less or more evolved brains, they have differently evolved brains!(if you said that in your post, please dont hate me, i only read part of the first paragraph)
