Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Taz is an adult mali that I got from another rescue person on Sunday. He was very active the first two days, and ate like a pig. Now he hasn't eaten for the last few. Here is his setup and diet:

Megaray Mercury Vapor UVB
40 gal. breeder, tile substrate
Basking temps 120-130
Ambient mid 80s
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Diet:
Spring mix and dandelion, beans (no kidney), small bird seed, some cracked corn, squash, carrots, zuccini, green beans (raw), some collards, some parsely.

Do adults sometimes fast for a few days? Is there anything that I should try? My baby is scarfing everything up daily.

Never mind.

I picked fresh dandelion with flowers this morning, and I barely got the bowl down before he snatched a blosom!

Mine eat every day but they live together and a feeding frenzy occurs when one bellies up to the bowl. Next time you have trouble try putting a hungry one in with a not so hungry one and see what happens.

I spend some time watching my uro's interact with each other and notice the baby always watches what the big fat guy is doing and copies him.

They are social so I have to believe even in the wild they watch each other and learn.

Not long ago someone mentioned on another thread that uro's were ornamental pets and shouldn't be handled. I don't believe this for a minute. Not when I see mine intereacting with each other, interact other lizard species and also asking to come play with me. Or at least to see what I am doing! They readily climb onto my open hands on their own.

I don't believe the ornamental thing, either. In fact, I don't know that such a thing should ever be true of any captive animal. I wouldn't want an animal in a cage just to look at. Most of the joy that I get out of having pets is interacting with them. I think that attitude denies their intelligence and ability to adapt.

I'm afraid my baby is wild caught, though. He does the belly dance and tries to tail whip me every time I go to pick him up, but he is getting better all the time. And, he eats like a pig!

Taz is an adult of unknown age. He is as tame and social as can be! He does the same lick greeting to me that my beardies do. He knows his name and already knows my voice and responds to it. He is just a doll, and I think he would suffer without interaction with his human.

He cleaned his plate today, and left me two presents! LOL!

A lizard that "knows his name"?? Might that be a bit of a stretch?

Why would it be a stretch? Just because they are lizards? Beardies definitely know their keepers, and react differently to strangers, so why wouldn't uros? At least one lizard species that I know of protects its eggs. Taz clearly responds when I call his name. He looks up, and makes eye contact with me, and will even walk in my direction when I call him. He is either responding to his name or to my voice. Either way, he knows me and knows when I am talking to him.

I'm only saying that true name recognition is a human phenomenom. We can understand the meaning of what a "name" means. Lesser mammals identify a sound with a meaning but certainly don't comprehend that they have a "name." They don't think "my name is Spot." Going quite a ways down the intelligence ladder, it's highly unlikely that any reptile has the astuteness to assess what a name is, much less that it applies to them. I do agree that they can recognize their keepers & their keeper's voices & can become comfortable, over time, with them. Eye contact between species, by the way, is a beautiful connection throughout the animal kingdom & is truly something that I wish was further explored. It's all about the eyes.
Take care.

Well, I'm very glad to know that you aren't implying that reptiles are unresponsive, at least in a positive sense, to other beings in their environment. There is a naturalized notion that cold blooded means no brian! LOL! As for the name recognition, maybe it is the inflection in my voice rather than the actual name that he is responding to, but he is responding just the same. He doesn't respond in the same dramatic way when I am simply talking, so I assume he knows his name, if indeed via the vocal inflection.

Yes, it is about the eyes! When Taz makes eye contact, there is a look of curiosity and engagement, and a bit of "where's the flower?". When Ngozi, my probably wild caught baby makes eye contact, it is clearly loathing! I hope that changes with time.

BTW, Taz cleans his plate daily now.

I guess we agree on the "vocal inflection" explanation. I believe Loraine soothes them with her motherly babytalk than I do with my reptilian/primate silence. Back to the eyes, though. I'm a kat lover. Even kittens stare at your eyes when you'd think they'd concentrate on your mouth which does the movement & vocalization. Obviously, the smaller the head & eyes, (ie: a small lizard) it's difficult to tell just what part of your face they're scrutinizing. However, with our adults it seems pretty obvious where they're looking.
As for snakes, turtles & crocodilians, they've apparently not progressed this far. They just see hands & movement & expect food to be nearby!
Interesting topic!
D&L.

Well, the more I work with reptiles, the more I see that there are ranges of intelligence level there as there are in the bird world, and among us humans. Even fish have varying degrees of social behavior, parenting, and intelligence. Ciclids protect their eggs and young until they "fledge" just like birds.

Do you or have you ever kept bearded dragons? OMG, they are very soulful! You know exactly how they feel about you by the look in their eyes. And they have a rudimentary language, a sign language. I have one female who knows the whole language and uses it! She is skittish toward humans because she was mistreated before she came to me as a rescue. I call her my indigenist. LOL! She has four different head movements, bobs if you will, two or three distinctly different arm waves, and then the smiles. Crack of a smile means "I am feeling timidly social today." Big gaping mouth and mouth stretch or what I call a beardie yawp, after Whitman, means "I am VERY happy!" THen she will stare a hole through you with unmistakeable hatred, meaning "I do not want to be your friend today, so don't touch me! LOL! The bobs and waves are a bit less obvious, though I have some comical interpretations there.

I want a trio of crockodile skinks. They are the lizards that guard their eggs and young. Here is an article that will amaze you:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/ch/ch/2001/2/

Link

Went to your link. Wow!! What you're doing is so "above & beyond." Your love, connection & committment to wildlife is, well, what the world needs more of. Thanks!

Thank you!

Did you see the article on crocodile skinks? Isn't that amazing?
Link

What article is that? My only experience with crocodile skinks was that they are a very interesting lizard if what you wish for is a critter that, given the correct cage conditions, you will never observe unless you stay up all night, in the dark. And, even then, good luck!

LOL! Great point!

Here is the article, though. Very interesting.
Link