# intelligence



## Rhetoric (Apr 13, 2011)

My male used to just glass dance when he wanted out but over the last few weeks hes started to push and slide his body against the sliding glass doors... Do you think its more of a random thing or that some sort of thought process is going on? I think its a more of a thinking thing, it seems too weird that the doors slide and he just happens to slide against them. Good thing those doors are heavy! I've also got a lock on 'em. He can squeeze out if its cracked open though lol.

anyone else have any stories?


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## dustintp (Apr 13, 2011)

http://s927.photobucket.com/albums/ad118/dustintp/?action=view&current=2011-03-27_15-14-24_11449.mp4

Here's a video that I think shows it, the ball has holes so the fruit falls out.


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## Rhetoric (Apr 13, 2011)

Thats awesome! I'll have to try something like that. I've been trying to think of "games" or ways to help stimulate them mentally.


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## slideaboot (Apr 13, 2011)

That's a cool video. It's kinda hard to tell if the gu is just pushing the ball around until food falls out (knowing that if he/she pushes it long enough that food will eventually fall out) or if he is just trying to get at the food and, consequently, food HAPPENS to fall out. 

I'd love to see more videos, hear more stories, etc on this. Tegus are DEFINITELY the most intelligent reptile I've kept in 20+ years of keeping (and I've had 'em all, it seems).


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## dustintp (Apr 13, 2011)

That really was the whole point, just making them work for the food. He does recognise it but without making it a puzzle its hard to say if he knows the cause and effect really or if its just "hey food"


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## WildlifeLover429 (Apr 13, 2011)

Love the video


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## teguboy77 (Apr 13, 2011)

Awsome video and another thing is the tegu gets good exercise too lol.


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## reptastic (Apr 13, 2011)

It ceases to amaze the level of intelligence these lizards show, my tegu nero use to come outside on my porch bask for a little while then she would head back in the house< i first noticed she was doing this when she was only 3 mos. once she was full grown i let her venture further in the yard and sure enough she would climb the stairs and go right on inside. here is a video i got when she was younger:

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhOJdtMlKo8[/video]


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## Strange_Evil (Apr 13, 2011)

Wow great vids and thread,tegu's really are brilliant it seems,thats one of the main reasons i looked into getting one,i can't wait! 

I have read over and over again


> The giant black and white tegus of South America are among the most intelligent and highly adapted of all living lizards.


 Truly amazing,really looking forward to the direction this thread goes in.


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## Maro1 (Apr 13, 2011)

Strange_Evil said:


> Wow great vids and thread,tegu's really are brilliant it seems,thats one of the main reasons i looked into getting one,i can't wait!
> 
> I have read over and over again
> 
> ...



Brilliant compared to What? What I saw in the video (Which was cool) was persistence for a food source. Not problem solving

Maro1


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## Rhetoric (Apr 13, 2011)

Maro1 said:


> Strange_Evil said:
> 
> 
> > Wow great vids and thread,tegu's really are brilliant it seems,thats one of the main reasons i looked into getting one,i can't wait!
> ...



Compared to (some) other reptiles. I don't have any videos of it but I know they're for sure smarter than my beardie haha. 

I don't have videos of my tegu doing it but there are videos where tegus seek human attention but it could go either way as far as it showing intelligence or not.

Some can easily say that tegus actions and behaviors are more related to pure instincts than real intelligence. I think it just depends on the behavior itself. I would be interested to see any arguments for either side, if that is what ends up happening just keep it clean and no personal attacks or anything.

I've seen some other sites where people have stories about their tegus watching them open the tanks enough and the tegus start to figure out how latches work. I'm guessing they would have to be outside the enclosure, I'm not sure how latches would be effective inside lol. If I find anything for either side I'll be sure to post a link. I've been looking around a bunch on these guys to see if I can figure out a way to entertain them while they're out and about. The ball video was neat.

Though tegus and monitors aren't really related, there are studies that show savys are able to count to like 5 or something. I know its not related to this specific topic but just cool about lizards in general.


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## reptastic (Apr 13, 2011)

Maro1 said:


> Strange_Evil said:
> 
> 
> > Wow great vids and thread,tegu's really are brilliant it seems,thats one of the main reasons i looked into getting one,i can't wait!
> ...



i have seen some of my tegus figure out something my iguanas or other reptiles would have never figured out, for instance the tegus and my green iguana loved getting into my attic, since there was nothing in there but old insulation and dust i sealed the door off to keep them out, now this worked for the iguana, once he saw he couldnt push on the door and it just open he gave up...now the tegus were a different story nero(in the video above) figured out there were otther "ways" of getting in lol such as pushing through a flimsy metal plate on an old furnace like thing that faced inside the attic. my thing is why did the iguana give up and the tegu search for other options and eventually suceeded? i do think they posess a higher level of intelligence than most other reptiles, i dont think the things my tegus did were just a coincident!


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## Strange_Evil (Apr 13, 2011)

Maro1 said:


> Strange_Evil said:
> 
> 
> > Wow great vids and thread,tegu's really are brilliant it seems,thats one of the main reasons i looked into getting one,i can't wait!
> ...



Should choose my words more carefully,but brilliant compared to other reptiles i have kept,and i am not just referring to the video(s),but also the fact they are one of the few species of lizards who can become target trained,i have also seen videos and read of tegu's literally figuring out how to escape from locked/secured enclosures and remembering the way back out,ounce put back. They are always moving and thinking.Just great creatures,who also time and time again have been proven to seek out human attention.

It may seem a little over the top to call a reptile "Brilliant" but thats just how i see them.

But like you probably know (and if not then i will tell you),i don't have a tegu,neither have i studied the behavior or intelligence of tegu's to give any worth while debate on this matter. I was simply just posting the way i felt on this matter. I am sure some think they are dumb others think they art smart for reptiles,

I gotta head to bed now,so i did not really proof read this,i may have repeated the same thing twice or left out some info,if so sorry. Just posted this to clear things up on how i felt.


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## Rhetoric (Apr 13, 2011)

Heres just a brief story about a tegu this guy owned. He says she knew her name and would come when called lol. I don't know of many smaller lizards that can learn their names. Now that we also have a cat my male tegu reminds me of a cat in many ways. Mainly the curiousity.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77593


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## jamelyn77 (Apr 13, 2011)

Well my female Mordecai definitely tests her whole cage for a way out and finally figured out if she banged on the door it would wiggle the lock and open... right in front of me I watched this twice, and she continues to try this even though I have now secured the lock so it cant open.... I think she did it with intent... but she also loves to get lost in paper bags too


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## Toby_H (Apr 13, 2011)

On one hand... I think a lot of Tegu owners REALLY want their Tegu to be extra smart and the owners desire for the Tegu to be smart makes them see extra 'smarts'...

On the other hand I think Tegus are capable of 'figuring' in a way no other reptile I've kept is...


For a very long time I could put my adult Tegu in the bathtub and he couldn't escape. Then one day he 'figured' out how to situate himself sideways and brace his tail against the back wall and inch his way up. The very next time I put him in the bathtub he immediately 'remembered' how to do it and repeated the escape method. I've sinced moved and the new bathtub is shaped/sloped slightly different so this method no longer works. He repeated this escape method quite a few times and every time he failed. He eventually 'learned' it didn't work and gave up. But when I visited my parents, who had the same style bathtub as my old house, he tried it again and it worked. 


I think a Tegu rolling a ball until food falls out... or a tegu banging on a door until it opens... are poor examples of 'Tegu intelligence', or at least debatable example... but I am thoroughly convinced Tegus are capable of 'figuring' and 'learning' in a way or to a degree no other reptile I've ever kept...


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## jamelyn77 (Apr 13, 2011)

Toby_H said:


> I think a Tegu rolling a ball until food falls out... or a tegu banging on a door until it opens... are poor examples of 'Tegu intelligence', or at least debatable example... but I am thoroughly convinced Tegus are capable of 'figuring' and 'learning' in a way or to a degree no other reptile I've ever kept...



which is why I also said she gets lost in paper bags... I will say that she doesnt bang or try to manipulate any other part of her cage anymore but goes directly to the spot that opened... I was just sharing not making a claim to genius


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## Rhetoric (Apr 13, 2011)

I agree that a lot of people would like to think their pets are smarter than they truly are. At the same time I still think that tegus can learn/figure out things fairly quickly and don't forget them too quickly either. Maybe I should have said that instead. I like the replies this threads getting though.
Anyone have more stories?!


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## dustintp (Apr 14, 2011)

I think our expextations of intelligence is a bit high. My ball is not a puzzle so does it really show intelligence? No, and I only use it to make him work for his food, just like a large mamal keeper will do. It shows persiverence... But in respect persiverence shows a level of intelligence that other reptiles do not have. He does know if he pushes the ball food will fall out. He sees it as a source of food. He no longer tries to eat the ball like he first did. He knows the ball is not food. But he will also push the ball w/o food in it. Banging on the glass, once again persiverence for an end result. My female will scratch and push on a cd case I have wedged under my entertainment center to delay her getting behind it. She knows she wants to get by it and eventually will. Pushing the glass or door on a cage is the same thing. These guys are persistant to an annoying degree. an owner may exagerate the intelligence of them but are they smarter than another reptile, I believe so.


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## slideaboot (Apr 14, 2011)

I crack up every time I let Aesop free roam because it always goes something like this:

Walk as FAR away from the cage as possible. Get behind every piece of furniture that he can find. 

Rinse and repeat.

Walk RIGHT BACK into his cage and bask. EVERY. TIME. 

I LOVE THIS LIZARD.


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