Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My sulcatas, redfoots, and Russians WILL NOT eat while I'm gone on vacation. My next door neighbor comes over, and gives them a head and a half of lettuce, a bundle of hay, and they just sit there, and do not eat. The male sulcata just sits inside the Dog house he uses as a hide the whole time we're gone. But, when I get home, the sulcatas devour 2 whole heads of lettuce, plus the yard. I just thought this was interesting. Do they "recognize" their owners, maybe?

I think they do. My boy Jerry never approaches me, though he eyes me plenty, and this is because I go out into the yard all of the time. Sometimes, I go to the mulberry bushes where he likes to spend summer days and sit there with him. So, my presence doesn't automatically garner a feeding response. However, whenver my father goes outside, he generally has food in his hand. Jerry recognizes my father as the spoiler, so even if I'm sitting at his side, he will immediately turn and run toward my father, realizing full well that he is the one who will drop a zuchini on seeing him. Whenever I have company over, Jerry generally behaves indifferently, occasionally retreating to a hide where he won't be disturbed. My other sulcatas behave in much the same way, so I think they do recognize different people. Perhaps they acknowledge a difference in smell, as I can't imagine they can tell one human from another based on their movement oriented eyesight. Who knows?

T.G.

Do your sulcatas have free roam of the yard like mine? My big sulcata, "Ozzy" is the complete opposite if we have company. He basically demands attention if we have someone over. He's definitely not shy when it comes to people paying attention to him. The females are another thing entirely. If we have two or three people over, they are the first to hide under the bushes. Its hard to say if they tell people apart by smell or sight.