Varanid lizards never cease to amaze...

[_Varanidae_]

Anyone that has kept monitor lizards for an extended period of time understands that monitors are very intelligent, and capable of complex thought and problem solving. Has anyone ever observed behaviors in their captives that were surprising or gave you a greater appreciation for their intelligence or learning capacity?

Below are two video clips which depict a fascinating foraging behavior that I discovered in Varanus beccarii several years back. A description of the behavior and its ecological and evolutionary implications was eventually written up published in the journal Herpetological Review. LINK TO ARTICLE (http://robertmendyk.com/Mendyk_and_Horn_2011_Skilled_forelimb_movements_an d_extractive_foraging_in_the_arboreal_monitor_liza rd_Varanus_beccarii.pdf). Thus far, this has been the pinacle of my "Wow!" moments, but hopefully the future will bring further discoveries...

Forelimb-assisted extractive foraging in Varanus beccarii:

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[dinosaurdammit]

Ive gotten my monitor to tripod on command, give me his foot without hassle, and stay in tripod (this works for all of about 30 seconds but hey my dogs wont even sit that long). Its all food motivated and you can see him problem solve, its as if hes thinking "if i tripod i get that nice juicy chicken heart, hmmm, might be worth it". Anyone who has even seen a monitor can tell you they are smart, they actually make eye contact with you, its like you are watching their souls. I am never surprised as to how smart they are. They are just perfect animals.

[infernalis]

I really have nothing to compare to that, I have witnessed resourcefulness with my captive V.exanthematicus in as much that they can and will go to great lengths to obtain food items offered.

I will admit, the first time I ever saw the videos that you linked in your initial post, it was a "wow moment" for myself, as well as many others.

It spawned several threads on a few different discussion boards.

The intelligence studies performed by Dr. Gordon Burghardt at the university of Tennessee are fascinating...

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[murrindindi]

Ive gotten my monitor to tripod on command, give me his foot without hassle, and stay in tripod (this works for all of about 30 seconds but hey my dogs wont even sit that long). Its all food motivated and you can see him problem solve, its as if hes thinking "if i tripod i get that nice juicy chicken heart, hmmm, might be worth it". Anyone who has even seen a monitor can tell you they are smart, they actually make eye contact with you, its like you are watching their souls. I am never surprised as to how smart they are. They are just perfect animals.


Hi, not to take away from anything you`ve said, but when you get the monitor to tripod on command, how do you do it exactly?

[dinosaurdammit]

Hi, not to take away from anything you`ve said, but when you get the monitor to tripod on command, how do you do it exactly?

You start out with clicker training, just as you would any animal. Find the food that gets them motivated, for him its chicken hearts. You use tongs and lead him a bit then slowly raise it up and behind his head, kinda how you teach a dog to sit. He will then tripod and you give the clicker a click and reward him. After a while they dont expect the food on the spot though do expect to get it after the behavior is completed. Its really simple to do and they pick it up super quick.

[murrindindi]

Thanks for the explanation, it seems to me the monitor is in fact expecting food when he/she sees the tongs, and if you usually present it higher than the animal`s head it will tripod.
I do agree they can easily be clicker trained and that`s a great way to get them to learn that you aren`t always offering food when you approach or possibly make physical contact.

[varanus_mad]

Thanks for the explanation, it seems to me the monitor is in fact expecting food when he/she sees the tongs, and if you usually present it higher than the animal`s head it will tripod.
I do agree they can easily be clicker trained and that`s a great way to get them to learn that you aren`t always offering food when you approach or possibly make physical contact.

Id never have tried it with my pair they saw the bag and went nutso...

[infernalis]

California Academy of Sciences has been whistle training a Bosc monitor on display at African Hall.

The lizard is first subjected to a short whistle, then offered a treat, By association, the animal now expects the treat when it hears the whistle.

http://photos.zoochat.com/medium/goldengatepark429x-149164.jpg

[infernalis]

Id never have tried it with my pair they saw the bag and went nutso...

Both of my Boscs become ravenous maniacs at the sight of hemostats.

[murrindindi]

Id never have tried it with my pair they saw the bag and went nutso...


Seeing the bag the food comes in is seeing the food, as far as they`re concerned!
I could rub my hands with fish, rodents, chicks etc, but my (late) Ornate monitor would never, ever try to bite them. He would obviously tongue flick, even try to turn my hand over to look on the other side. I had a video film of a feeding session and sent it to a friend who downloaded it and put it up on another forum for me, but for some reason when she stopped posting there she deleted the film.
I don`t have another copy, just a few scenes still on the camera tape (VHS) but I haven`t downloaded them to the computer.
I sent a couple of copies to others, but I`m not sure if they still have them (this was 5 or 6 years ago).
This is "Eket", my Varanus ornatus, he died just over 2 years ago, aged 14 years... He reached 230cm (7.5feet).
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7228/6896716102_fde5e5a763.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6784797539_456fc58ca2.jpg
EDIT: Wayne, can you take the code off for me? Thanks!

[fuzzhc]

Dont know if it is normal behaviour for boscs but when mine figured out how to prize his food off a peg by doing death rolls, I was quite taken back. Already mentioned this in a post but hey it was cool! :D

[murrindindi]

California Academy of Sciences has been whistle training a Bosc monitor on display at African Hall.

The lizard is first subjected to a short whistle, then offered a treat, By association, the animal now expects the treat when it hears the whistle.

http://photos.zoochat.com/medium/goldengatepark429x-149164.jpg



They did the same thing at London zoo (U.K) with Rajah the Komodo dragon, it was featured in the "Lizard Kings" documentary.
I think these days it`s quite common practice in some zoos to use that technique.

[infernalis]

They did the same thing at London zoo (U.K) with Rajah the Komodo dragon, it was featured in the "Lizard Kings" documentary.
I think these days it`s quite common practice in some zoos to use that technique.

Target training.:cool: very similar to Dr.Burghardt's work.

[varanus_mad]

Seeing the bag the food comes in is seeing the food, as far as they`re concerned!
I could rub my hands with fish, rodents, chicks etc, but my (late) Ornate monitor would never, ever try to bite them. He would obviously tongue flick, even try to turn my hand over to look on the other side. I had a video film of a feeding session and sent it to a friend who downloaded it and put it up on another forum for me, but for some reason when she stopped posting there she deleted the film.
I don`t have another copy, just a few scenes still on the camera tape (VHS) but I haven`t downloaded them to the computer.
I sent a couple of copies to others, but I`m not sure if they still have them (this was 5 or 6 years ago).
This is "Eket", my Varanus ornatus, he died just over 2 years ago, aged 14 years... He reached 230cm (7.5feet).
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7228/6896716102_fde5e5a763.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6784797539_456fc58ca2.jpg
EDIT: Wayne, can you take the code off for me? Thanks!


throat tumor wasn't it i remember seeing the feeding video mate i though it was brilliant.

[Pirarucu]

California Academy of Sciences has been whistle training a Bosc monitor on display at African Hall.

The lizard is first subjected to a short whistle, then offered a treat, By association, the animal now expects the treat when it hears the whistle.

http://photos.zoochat.com/medium/goldengatepark429x-149164.jpgLOL, I wonder why a picture of a salvator is on the Sav cage...

Moody Gardens is target training as well as training to respond to voice commands, such as "back up".

[infernalis]

LOL, I wonder why a picture of a salvator is on the Sav cage..

Look closely padawan...

http://www.varanus.us/Special/enlarged.jpg

[Pirarucu]

Figured it was probably something like that, but couldn't make out the text. It would still make more sense to have a picture of a sav's tongue, if you ask me..

[infernalis]

Figured it was probably something like that, but couldn't make out the text. It would still make more sense to have a picture of a sav's tongue, if you ask me..

Agreed... The picture just above it is in fact an exanthematicus.

[_Varanidae_]

It spawned several threads on a few different discussion boards.



Do you happen to have links to these discussions? I'd like to check them out.

[infernalis]

Do you happen to have links to these discussions? I'd like to check them out.

sure, I will go hunt them down....

[red ink]

Ask David to put up the videos of his V. varius wanting out...

[infernalis]

I tried to replicate this with my Boscs, I hid a rat pup inside this log and left it be, This is what I got..

http://www.varanid.us/LF/knot.jpg

[infernalis]

one link, this is fun, searching for threads I have read quite some time ago....

"Intelligence" in Varanids; an Example of Learned Behaviour. (http://www.herpcenter.com/lizard-videos/39699-intelligence-varanids-example-learned-behaviour.html)

[infernalis]

Do you happen to have links to these discussions? I'd like to check them out.

after scanning all of the forums I read, it became apparent that the threads were either titled wrong, or buried in archives...

If my memory serves correctly, I think it was you who started the discussion on Kingsnake was it not?

anyway, the quickest method was this...

Google results (https://www.google.com/search?q=Forelimb-assisted+extractive+foraging+in+Varanus+beccarii&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&ei=ShkUUbXkMZOL0QGb8YCADg&start=10&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=539) - that yielded a boatload of results, that video is popular!

Thank you Robert, The search revealed some incredible facebook profiles, including Warenfans.

[jarich]

Was reading this the other day about learning capabilities in monitors...

http://rogermeekherpetology.com/PDFs/46_Varanus%20learning%20HND.pdf

[infernalis]

Thank you Josh.....