Reptiles and attention

[Bradyloach]

hey everyone! ive been thinking.. uh oh...... haha and i just came across a question.

What do you guys think about reptiles and interacting with them. for example; I have a bearded dragon and I pick him up and pay attention to him every 2 days hes still pretty young and doesnt like to be picked up for more than 30 mins. So my question is are reptiles like mammals and NEED to have attention on them everyday? Im pretty sure a day off when there young everyday is good.

He still gets fed everyday and water and cage maintence. I pay attention to my Sav cassie for usually half an hour. taking it VERY slow with her.

Any thoughts guys and gals?

[Lankyrob]

I think lizards need more interaction or enrichment than snakes do but as to whether they NEED it, no idea :)

[infernalis]

I don't mess with my snakes much, aside from feeding them and changing water bowls or cage cleanings.

My lizards get some interaction every day.

[exwizard]

I interact with my snakes every chance I get and they have the temperament to show for it.

[Strutter769]

I interact with my snakes every chance I get and they have the temperament to show for it.

Me too. Although the Red Iguana I hope to have in the next couple weeks, from what I understand from his current human, need regular attention and talking to! I've never heard of an.iguana reacting to audio stimulation before, can anyone confirm?

[USMCgunner11]

I concur that frequent handling of snakes is only for the benefit of the handler in keeping their temperament calm. Not necessary for the snake's health.

As far as lizards go, my experience with them is limited because I only had Bearded Dragons for a few years. But with mine, they were more willing to "hang out" and seemed to be more social.

[Gungirl]

We had a green Iguana when I was growing up and it didn't necessarily react to what you where saying but It defiantly responded to voices. It didn't like my mom and would let her know to back off the second she spoke but he was fine with me. He was housed in a room just off the family room and if my mom was chatting on the phone near the room he would tail whip to make her move but I could walk right in and chat with him.

[Aaron_S]

I leave mine all alone for the most part. I have some amazing handlers I can take out to show someone and I have some nervous handlers. None are really aggressive so I don't think handling HAS to happen for them to be handleable.

[CK SandBoas]

I've cut back on the handling of all my animals quite a bit. I'll still take them out maybe once or twice a week, but only for short periods of time. I do admit i will take them out more if i'm having a bad day, emotionally wise. All of mine tolerate handling, but i know they don't need the attention or interaction.

[jarich]

hey everyone! ive been thinking.. uh oh...... haha and i just came across a question.

What do you guys think about reptiles and interacting with them. for example; I have a bearded dragon and I pick him up and pay attention to him every 2 days hes still pretty young and doesnt like to be picked up for more than 30 mins. So my question is are reptiles like mammals and NEED to have attention on them everyday? Im pretty sure a day off when there young everyday is good.

He still gets fed everyday and water and cage maintence. I pay attention to my Sav cassie for usually half an hour. taking it VERY slow with her.

Any thoughts guys and gals?

I would say the opposite is true for reptiles, they generally NEED not to be handled. I was just reading a study on stress indicators in reptiles the other day. While many reptiles do not show any outer indicators of stress handling, they still show an increase in stress hormones as a result. This is after years of being handled by a regular keeper. While it seems some animals just get used to people handling them, I think only the most intelligent of them are able to learn from it enough to not have it be stressful.

The other interesting thing is that these same studies showed that there is often a delayed reaction in many species between the stimulus and the signs of stress. Bearded dragons for instance have shown up to four hours between capture and stress indicators. So it may be that your dragon isn't liking things right away, but just not showing signs of it for a half hour. Just a thought.

[Bradyloach]

i really think the only thing a reptile gets from being handled is trust from the owner. You obvsously get way more from it then the reptile itself. my opinion tho!

[alessia55]

I handle my snakes for my own sake. I enjoy it, they calm me, and it probably makes them more tolerable to it. I don't think either of my snakes need it though. I sometimes leave them for weeks and when I take them out again it's like no time went by. They don't care either way really. Kaybe pretty much relaxes and stays put, Pika likes to explore. But I don't think they NEED it, no :)

[GarterPython]

This is my opinion. I don't think snakes hate being out and they might enjoy it a little bit since they get to roam around a little bit more than being in there cage but for the most part it is for the owners benefit. Thats my 2cent

[StudentoReptile]

Other than feeding time, I rarely have much interaction with my reptiles, tortoises, lizards and snakes alike. It's really more of a "not enough hours in the day" issue more than anything else. I just don't have the time to go in and "play with my snakes" like I used to.

However, I don't really feel bad about it either, because they are reptiles and don't really need it from me. I keep them because they are fascinating in their own right, not because I wanted a companion animal I could have perch on my shoulder and handfeed. Yeah, it is fun and cool to do those things (and I'm not knocking it)...but all of that is fluff to why I really keep reptiles.

[DeesBalls]

other than snake,s i have a bearded dragon, and a tortoise...

my bearded dragon gets food/greens/water bowl changed every day to every other day. he will not let me hold him, pet him, touch him period... so i dont try (although i should i dont want to cause stress) i do hand feed him though.

my tortoise- i hold everyday, i pet his shell, and i had feed him too. i am in his cage about 3-4 times a day either watering, giving food, or hay, or misting.

snakes- i will hold my RTB, and my oldest Royal about everytime i get in their cage to clean ect... my corn doesnt really like to be help, but can.

others, just feed/clean/water, i will just pick them all up for about 2-3 min. ever now and then to help get use to being picked up, so when they are breeding they wont get all "bally" when i pick them up.

[Terranaut]

We handle our reptiles. We do it for us not them. I doubt even lizards aren't inteligent enough to appreciate being handled. I believe the more tou handle them the less likely they are to stress over it and some , like my male carpet, do associate handling with exporitory freedoms and will seem to like being handled when they actually just want out of their viv.
We handle all of iur snakes at least once a week but the nature of handling is different from snake to snake. Eg. My wife will hold her royal for an hour watching tv. During that show I will get bored and handle one of ny boas for 10-15 min then put them away. Some I let roam the recroom a bit and others I hold. Each snake has its own tollerance to actual holding of the snake. My female JCP will go back to her viv after 20 min of free roam on het own. Weird eh?

[Charlie64]

In my experience, the snakes health isn't effected by whether you handle em or not.
I don't handle any of mine if I don't have to, and when I do, it's with a hook if possible.
Can't really say with lizards though. :)
The only lizards I have are feeders, so I try to not get too attached. lol

[Bradyloach]

My bearded dragon doesnt have any stress marks on his belly when i pick him up. his beard never goes black unless hes scared. thats pretty much it tho. i handle my bearded dragon usually 30 mins a day. sometimes i miss a day tho. he wonders in my living room to when im watching and sits in the sun. he doesnt seem to stressed

[Terranaut]

Our beardie will sleep while being held. No stress there either.

[red ink]

I don't mess with my snakes much, aside from feeding them and changing water bowls or cage cleanings.

My lizards get some interaction every day.

Exactly the same for me.

The only lizards I interact with are my BD and my stumpy tail even that is minimal, the rest of my lizards are geckos and they don't like the interaction

[Caylan]

Handling your reptile can be equally beneficial to the owner and the reptile at times, even snakes... The initial stress caused by the first few times of handling can be an issue, but after that the animal will start to recognise you somewhat, and and eventually feel less stressed when you do what you have to do. I know from work, that a lot of the snakes that were bought as adults have improved their eating habits immensely, over the course of the last couple years working with them, just because they aren't as startled when I open the cage to clean or water or ever feed. First year of work, I was getting bit multiple times DAILY, now its maybe once a month with a feed miss. Getting your animal used to you, will help it be less stressed when you have to work with it. Less stress equals a better life if you ask me(not that I know what no stress feels like :D)

[Hurrok]

In my own experiences, my first pet snake I got was pretty much as young as they get before you can purchase them from a breeder. After a week of letting him acclimate to his environment I took him out every single day, for around 30 minutes, then slowly upped the time over the weeks/months. He was head shy and skiddish, but after handling him all the time (mainly because out of sheer excitement) you can do anything around him and he doesn't react. Never has he bitten me, or striked at me. I think handling makes a major difference in my opinion. Honestly I'd let a child hold him without any kind of worry.

My female BP whom I got last year was already a yearling when I purchased her. And since she was in a tub for that first year with very minimal handling she was very skiddish, super tense and striked at you any chance she could. Now, 5 months later after handling her in small increments every 2-3 days she no longer hisses or strikes at me. Her body is more flexible and not like a plank of wood haha. She has come a long way, and I think handling has something to do with it. I still take caution when handling her and make sure she is in a good mood, because when she is about to shed I definitely leave her alone!

Those are my experiences so far, although I do find that individual personalities also have something to do with it. :)

[Ivalynfyre]

I believe handling is mostly for the benefit of the owner, but once they've gotten over the initial shock of getting taken out, might like being able to explore an area larger than their cage.

[jarich]

Handling your reptile can be equally beneficial to the owner and the reptile at times, even snakes... The initial stress caused by the first few times of handling can be an issue, but after that the animal will start to recognise you somewhat, and and eventually feel less stressed when you do what you have to do. I know from work, that a lot of the snakes that were bought as adults have improved their eating habits immensely, over the course of the last couple years working with them, just because they aren't as startled when I open the cage to clean or water or ever feed. First year of work, I was getting bit multiple times DAILY, now its maybe once a month with a feed miss. Getting your animal used to you, will help it be less stressed when you have to work with it. Less stress equals a better life if you ask me(not that I know what no stress feels like :D)

What do you do for work?!

[miya]

i think it depends on the reptile, i have 2 bearded dragons and they are nothing alike one of them loves loves loves attention while the other just wants to be given food and left alone i tried "socializing her" and that went about 2 weeks till she bit me when i tried to get her out soo ya lol she gets her way now but at least shes really pretty lol