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Hello Everyone,
I was asked this question about adult Water Monitors and Argentine Black & White Tegus and could not answer it. I thought I post it here and see what everyone thinks. Here is the question:

Generally speaking what is “better” at problem solving ( example; escaping through trail and error, etc) and what is “better” at analyzing situations as opposed to instinctually reacting ( example; distingushing between food items and the owners hand, etc.) I hope the question is clear.

I know I used the word better but you all know what I mean.

I have adult and young water monitors and they have learned the difference between food and hand. They will escape again from a place they have escaped before. But my albig makes them all look like dummies. She calculates. You can see the wheels turning in her eyes. Tegus, all I ever see them doing is just sitting there. I don't think anyone would know the difference, in fact, a person could just have a plastic tegu for a pet. I have heard they make nice captives and are easy to care for. But this is a monitor board, after all. The thing that bothers me is they have no necks.

I've never had an Argentinian B&W tegu. I have looked after a water monitor for a couple years. It was easily the most intelligent monitor I ever owned (of course, the primary comparison would be to argus monitors, which are just too focused to really be intelligent). This was the only lizard I've ever had that could actually reason through simple problems. For example, one time when presented with a wire mesh barrier and a rat on the other side, it first tried to push and claw its way through the wire, just like all other monitors I've ever dealt with. Then it paused for a moment. Maybe I am overly anthropomorphizing here, but it seemed to me as if it was considering the situation. After a second or two, the water monitor ran around the barrier to a gap, and then through to get the rat.

I had a Columbian B&W tegu, once. It was a nice lizard, not at all bad tempered like I've heard is typical for that species, but as far as intelligence goes it was just another lizard, and not up to typical monitor level.

These are just my impressions and experiences, and far too subjective to be taken as real data, but it's what I've got to offer right now.

Luke

I don't think it's possible to accurately answer that question . Its along the lines of the age old what's smarter a cat or a dog. I know what's cooler.

The whole smartest reptile thing . Water monitors , tegus, king cobras , wood turtles are all suppose to be up there. I've had plenty of all of these and never really found one to be any brighter then the other. Different in some ways but there are cross overs in their behaviors. Box turtles seem to show as much intelligence as any lizard.

Intelligence is hard to gauge . Animals don't always express their intelligence the same way. Animals have different drives. Because an animal repeatedly finds the way out of it's enclosure does that mean it's more intelligent then one that contently stays at home ?

One person insults another's intelligence by calling them a bird brain . That same person compliments a monitors intelligence by saying its bird like. Its about Human perception .

I heard a study was done that showed water monitors have the ability to count to six. This is the same as a lion. B/W Tegus I've always found them to have great personality's. They condition very easily. Their fast learners . Faster then water monitors in this respect , so because they adjust to captivity faster means their smarter ? It go`s back to perception .

Ernie Eison
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.

Ernie, do mean the San Diego Zoo experiment with White Throats ( albigs) that counted to 6 in the snail experiment?

That's probably the one. Thanks.

Rom Whitaker was talking about how intelligent water monitors are and he mentioned an experiment showing that monitors have the ability to count. I don't put a lot of faith in the scientific test used to determine intellect in animals.

Ernie Eison
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.