ok, try to imagine yourself in the Cretaceous Period. You get your first look at this "six foot turkey" as you enter a clearing. He moves like a bird, lightly, bobbing his head. And you keep still because you think that maybe his visual acuity is based on movement like T-Rex - he'll lose you if you don't move. But no, not Velociraptor. You stare at him, and he just stares right back. And that's when the attack comes. Not from the front, but from the side *whoosh*. from the other two raptors you didn't even know were there. Because Velociraptor's a pack hunter, you see, he uses coordinated attack patterns and he is out in force today. And he slashes at you with this... A six-inch retractable claw, like a razor, on the the middle toe. He doesn't bother to bite your jugular like a lion, say... no no. He slashes at you here, or here... Or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is, you are alive when they start to eat you. So you know, try to show a little respect.
Then this happened, I noticed Alex writing a full-length Autobiography about his life experiences and political views. I have decided to encourage this behavior by.....
I actually trained my monitor lizard to do the same thing, but his right arm became so powerful he was able to shatter the glass enclosure and escape. Then a week later I saw on the news that he won a BIG RIG and $100k at the World Arm-wrestling Championships in Las Vegas. Sure enough he came back home and now we drive around the country solving crimes and tearing phone books in half at high school pep rallies.
"discount" is made operative by the fact that a REAL dragon would (likely) be priceless (if real) therefore making these "dragons" quite cheap in comparison. :)
Reptiles are very intelligent. They have good memories, problem solving skills and some have even been known to form emotional bonds with their caretakers. My Green Iguana learned how to unlock the dog door by observation. She once went missing for two weeks when she let herself out. Then one day she came walking up to me when I got home from school. She managed to survive outdoors for two or three weeks in the California desert and then find her way home. She was a bit dehydrated but otherwise unharmed. My tortoise responds to verbal commands. He comes when I call him and he will stop what he is doing immediately when I give the command "stop".
My family had a large green iguana for years and he was extremely intelligent and sociable. He lived in an open enclosure and could walk around the house mostly at will and would climb up and perch on top of the couch most of the time or just explore and bask around the house. He came if his name was called and was seemingly very affectionate and sociable. I was quite young but I felt safe around him and he seemed to seek and enjoy affection and interaction. He was more like a dog than anything. Unfortunately we were too relaxed and content leading him to find his way outside one day and we never saw him again :( I still miss him to this day and could never think of reptiles as anything but intelligent and capable of affection and emotional bonds with people.
My friends turtle Chuck Norris did the same, he would call him over w/e he was home from school and the turtle would slowly walk to the living room from the yard 🤣
Healthy, bright-eyes, lovely lizards, a gorgeous, spacious enclosure, supervised outside-time, consistent training... Sir, my hat is off to you! These two are in the best home they could possibly have, with a human who cares deeply for their well-being 💕
It is interesting that the lizard recognizes being allowed outside as a reward, rather than a natural thing (since there is only a glass panel in between). This would imply they know they are in captivity and only own a small space. And they are also interested in exploring their surroundings, rather than being apathetic. Very nice.
*David* You've got it. In many ways it's like a suburban dog that lives indoors that enjoys going for walks but at the end of the day seeks to go inside for comfort (although with dogs there's the extra element of social needs). These monitors seek to be let back into the enclosure (and have ways of signalling me, although not nearly as interesting as the letting out behaviour so I haven't done a video - they just stand in front of the enclosure, look up at the sliding glass door and flick their tongues). Inside the enclosure is where they can bask and is also where they get fed. If I found that on trying to get them into the enclosure they struggled and scratched in an attempt to stop me putting them back in it would be a different scenario entirely (and I'd probably have stopped keeping them ages ago because of how it would make me feel).
This is actually a very cool way to train your animals, not just lizards. They're all pretty dang smart. The concept of Ignoring unwanted behavior, and rewarding them when they behave the way you want, is a quick way for them to learn how to properly do stuff. And over time, they begin to improve that behavior on their own, like Alex did by progressively raising his hand on his own, and then reaching higher and higher. Giving treats is not the only "Reward" you can give to your animal, giving them attention or letting them out to play also works. I have tried this method shown in the video on my cats, whenever they wanted to be let out in the backyard, they'd have to wait until i did so, I'd ignore the constant meowing and scratching on the glass door, for as annoying as it was, but eventually they picked up the idea i was trying to show them. Now they always wait until i let them out, and do so by sitting in front of the glass door and remaining completely silent. Thanks Man, You Are a Very Effective Teacher
I really hate how a lot of people say that reptiles only think about food, water and survival. Obviously they are things they care about but they are so much more complex than that. This video shows how intelligent they really are. They can learn like other animals and people and this video shows this perfectly
Right?? Bigger lizards, especially monitors and tegus, clearly show affection for their owners. Seeing them jump and dance with excitement when they see us coming is just the best thing ever. 💜
@@spazzmaticus1542 So? I don't even like dogs. Besides, if you ever get to know one of these magnificent creatures, you'd understand just how attached to their owners they can be. They bond with you just like any cat or dog would, and will recognize you specifically. We're only just now beginning to understand the complexity of bird brains, namely their intelligence and the surprising depth and complexity of their emotions. It's clear my ducks love me deeply, something most people wouldn't even think them capable of. I think it's high time we reconsidered the way reptiles think and feel, too.
One day he started raising his arm higher and higher. Now he's doing my taxes. Was the next step I would have liked to hear ^^ those are some beautiful specimen.
Thank you very much! I had been ignoring my TH-cam channel for quite a few years as I've been busy with other projects, but have decided to slowly replace the tired, old, low-quality content with new videos. The two newest videos are this one and the one titled How to tell an alligator from a crocodile.
"Reptiles are often seen as slow dimwitted animals..." *takes weeks to train him to slightly wave his hand* "...this is not the case" Are you sure? I've seen people achieve this with pet fish.
_"I've seen people achieve this with pet fish."_ Because fish have hands. I'd like to see someone train a fish to wave its hand, slightly or otherwise. :) All jokes aside, the point of the video wasn't that I was trying to teach him to wave his hand, but that he started doing it himself in anticipation of the action of being let out. I just encouraged it. Nor did it take weeks to teach him. The time periods had to do with when he started initiating new behaviour.
Yeah, all fish have hands. Most are ghost hands, invisible to the human eye or cameras ; ) I get what you're saying, but your initial premise seemed contradictory to the story which you laid out. Otherwise, great video.
Incredibly well done - engaging, straight to the point and a thoroughly enjoyable video. Definitely innovative and one of the best reptile videos I've watched for a very long time!
I like how he didn't put the video about this up after a few days of training but actually spent a lot of time and prepared a good amount of footage showcasing the learning, nice
That's what I was think. Is it you training the lizard or the lizard training you. I mean he does simple tricks and you open a door, you lift him out and let him roam around and all he has to do is get your attention
@@Robert53areaIt has to be getting attention in positive, non destructive ways. For instance, if he thought he could get attention by scratching the door, he would start scratching the door.
Interesting. I never really realized how often we just seem to tread over the fact that reptiles are perfectly capable of conditioning much like other animals. It's easy to forget that these are thinking creatures too because seem so much more different from us, as opposed to a mammal which is the same classification as humans. Excellent video.
Thanks! *Beemer:* _"It's easy to forget that these are thinking creatures too because seem so much more different from us, as opposed to a mammal which is the same classification as humans."_ You just nailed what I have been saying to people for years: That one of the fascinating things about keeping reptiles is trying to understand the thinking processes of an animal with whom we haven't shared a common ancestor for hundreds of millions of years.
Very impressive. I tried that with my juvenile bearded dragon. He has to sit in the front right corner of his enclosure in order to be taken out. This works 100% of the time. I now touch his ribcage with my index finger and he puts both of his hands on my hand so I can lift him up. Sometimes he even does it when I simply approach him with my hand. My leopard gecko even comes to me when he sees me and I call him by his name. Reptiles are so much more smarter than one would think, your video was really educational and helps me prove my friends wrong :P
I remember when americans made fun of obama purely out of context sometimes. It was weird, but rare and relatively benign. Now I see americans making fun of and visciously insulting their president in every fucking context imaginable while waiting for their compatriots to come and clap. It's annoying, makes you seem like assholes and the culture surrounding it seems like indoctrinated garbage. Get a fucking hold of yourself and stop telling me "but I didn't vote for him" with a slightly nervous laugh whenever I meet you IRL, I never asked, I don't give a fuck, he's not Satan and you're neither original, nor funny.
The nearly scientific calmness of the footage and the simple but amazing explanation of behavior and training is what makes this video outstanding. They're beautiful, fascinating animals and I really hope this makes more people aware of how responsive these reptiles are if you know how to treat and train them right.
@@crocdoc2do you have recommendations on care guides for either a monitor or tegu? I want to get one but I want to make sure I'm absolutely ready for one, I've always loved reptiles and really want one that shows a lot of effection like this
@@entomologistmaximus5097 Monitors don't really show affection, but can become tractable. You're probably best off with a captive bred Argentinian black and white tegu.
Thanks! I have had a couple of people comment that it came up in their recommended list quite randomly. One was a psych student, if I recall correctly. Anyway, glad you enjoyed it!
I like the idea of the lizard training his human by gradually understanding that "left arm raised" means he should be let out, and expanded on that concept until he could merely wave whenever he wanted to leave
Zards are dumb as shit because thair brains are smaller than my last shit. The bigger brain to body ratio, the smarter you are. PERIOD. humans, dolphans, dogs, ... very smart. Very big brains. I bet you can show that we have evolved dogs to have bigger brains, but i have seen no evidence in brain size evolution becides humans to my knolage. Shit like this should be fromt page news but the media wants us to be dumber than a nut sized brain elephant. Sad. So sad. Very sad. Yes sad.
That kind of stuff is very old logic, and Shrews kind of go against the whole brain mass per body ratio since they should be ruling the world since they have us beat. Recent tests have been made to test Lizard's cognitive abilities and the results were better than sparrows watch?v=sZM2aVGIrvU has some more info from Duke University about the subject. It turns out most IQ tests didn't consider that cold blooded creatures eat less, and can only be tested once a day to get accurate results.
Lucetube GPlusStillSux i giess so. Our brains actually are smaller than before too. But we got smarter. And birds need to have tiny brains yet they can beat puzzeles. Although reptiles dont have a beak or hands, and reptiles are slow.
The way they look around reminds me of pets people would consider more intelligent than reptiles such as parrots and dogs. Your cinematography captures that aspect really well. Wonderful work.
He’s a dog in lizard skin he’s really cute and I can tell just by watching this video that lizards are 100% capable of recognizing and reciprocating compassion , gentleness , calmness , and I can also say I think this lizard has an attachment to the owner 100% influenced by food , and conditioning but also I think the lizard loves him in a lizard way , something is humans would need to be a reptile to understand😊😊❤️❤️
You're like Daily Dose of Internet....you don't over talk, you talk and then let the video speak the rest. Really well done, didn't think I'd stay interested for the whole video but I was! And have watched others too.....subbed
I have such a soft spot for reptiles. I feel like people disregard them because they can't read their faces or body language like they can with mammals. The result is treating them with misplaced apathy in comparison to mammals. In reality, I intuit that they are just as cognizant as mammals are, and videos like this lend evidence to such.
You gotta watch their eyes, tongue, and throat area. But especially the eyes. I can tell when my baby is content, when he's irritated, when he's suspicious, and when he's okay with hanging out just from his eyes.
Amazing. Your knowledge and patience with your animals are a true testament as to what you've accomplished with such misunderstood animals. People think I'm crazy when I say my female red tail boa knows me apart from others. She exhibits certain behaviours uniquely to me. But she has nothing on these monitors. Makes you wonder if the largest of monitors i.e the komodo is capable of what your showcasing or possibly even more..
Thanks! Komodo dragons are very closely related to lace monitors (lace monitors are their closest living relative) and my limited experience with Komodo dragons is that they're very similar in terms of intelligence.
They're all amazing. I love the monitor you have called Satan, they're all beautiful but his phase or morph is just unreal. I've always wondered.. where a komodo can take down a much much larger prey animal than it's own size what's the largest prey that these smaller more personable cousins of the komodo can do
I've seen photographs of wild lace monitors taking half-size feral cats and a friend had her rooster taken by a wild lace monitor as well, but for the most part they take smaller things. The interesting thing about Komodo dragons is that most of the prey species with which they are now associated were introduced to the islands.
Satan is a bells phase lace monitor. It's a naturally occurring morph (a bit like striped California kingsnakes). I prefer the normal, speckly/banded type, but have raised a few bells phase babies in the hopes of getting a female to pair up with Alex. As Satan ended up being male, he was rehomed to someone in Queensland quite some time ago. He had calmed down a lot as he got bigger (the video was taken when he was still quite small).
copa white There is a male komodo at London zoo that is clicker trained and runs to its keepers for a scratch and play just like a dog when its name is called. It even gives them oogly eyes when they give it a good scritching.
Yeah, I filtered by newest and just about every other comment is someone thinking they're clever for reusing the same joke for the 10,000th time. I see it in just about every exotic pet video too.
Nailed it. What I am curious about is whether the line 'your dog has autism' appeared on the Simpsons or something, as it's the most commonly used phrase.
I had a conehead lizard for over 5 years when I was a boy and he knew the sound of my voice. When called, he would quickly climb up near the top of his enclosure waiting for me to hand feed him a cricket/moth. He only responded to my voice. Lizards are the best. Great video and God bless you!
As a psychology student this was extremely interesting to watch. Very informative, and very neat. I'd love to see more videos on how you can condition these lizards to repeat certain behaviors.
I have to be careful about what sort of things I do with them, particularly when it comes to what is being used for a reward. The reason I showed this particular behaviour is because the reward was being let out of the enclosure, rather than food. I could teach them all sorts of things using food as a reward and they would learn them remarkably quickly, but there is a danger in using food as a reward, particularly with the male. He's very food focused and if he associates a series of steps with being fed he soon starts short-cutting the routine and gets twitchy earlier and earlier in the routine, to the point that there's a danger of me getting bitten. They have a spectacular feeding response.
I owned a few small pet lizards when I was a kid and enjoyed finding salamanders out in the wild. These monitor lizards are so beautiful! Excellent narration and Alex is a nice buddy to have to spend time with and amuse you with his actions.
I never considered LIzards dumb, just mysterious, and calculating. I use to have a Bearded Dragon who seemingly stares off into nothingness at times but I always thought she was up to something. And when I'd feed her, she does the same except her eyes/head follow me...MENACINGLY! xD Soon as I set loose her live crickets or other bugs she liked, and remove my hand she stops holding still and just barrels like for them in jumpscare fashion .
i didn't actually mean da dragon durp was a stalker i just find them everywhere and then i comment that as a joke you are too sensitive seriously i like their channel too
I already loved monitors and especially lace monitors, but now I love them even more. This is a great video and demonstrates that lizards aren't just dumb machines. Wonderful work with this pair!
Really enjoyable video. Watching this, it made me realize I am probably being a bit too rigid with my own thought process. Not all the actions they do are food driven. Thanks for that!
Thanks! Funnily enough, I had originally planned to include a bit on why I don't ever use food as a reward with them (Alex in particular) but then decided it would have made the video too long. Although food is a great motivator and they learn incredibly quickly, lace monitors are too food focused and Alex in particular quickly short-cuts routines. He'll start off understanding that the routine involves going through steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 before food enters the equation, but before long starts thinking of food at step 1 (anticipating the upcoming sequence) and becomes potentially dangerous. Despite his calm, almost dopey appearance in the video he's a weapon when he gets his food brain on and becomes incredibly quick and agile. It's the very same short-cutting that lead to him raising his arm before I opened the enclosure, but in that context it is safe and amusing rather than likely to result in a hospital stay. :)
All joking aside, operant conditioning works on people as well. Positive reinforcement for the behaviour you want, negative reinforcement for the behaviour you don't want. Just be subtle about it as humans are a bit sharper than lizards. :)
Thanks! I had a look at your page when I was checking to make sure this video was coming up in searches on TH-cam. Beautiful ornatus and was impressed that you told people not to handle their monitor when they first get it, but to let it settle in. Nice work. How's that big enclosure you were working on going?
crocdoc2 thanks, ornatus are definitely poorly represented species indeed, Lace are definitely more popular and on the premium. It’s a better flagship species when teaching monitor care, behavior, and behavioral plasticity. Once again bravo Here’s a link to that enclosure status. th-cam.com/video/nQYJTNXK68o/w-d-xo.html
Thanks. I'll check out the enclosure video now. Funnily enough, I am just in the middle of watching another of your videos (Why Your Monitor Lizard Might Die). Again, nice work. That's a great one for new keepers to see.
crocdoc thanks It’s those basics that veterans don’t explain that I comprehend when I was exposed to politics. Manners and respect are universal and forgotten when people participate in what they consider a personal pass time or hobby. Problem is this hobby entails living individual beings that require new and old breeders, hobbiest, and biology professional to embrace humility and patience for the sake of the animals we keep.... you know how it goes..lol
I knew reptiles were smart and I think only people that have reptiles would know just how smart but now we can show the world just how smart they are with your video.
monitor lizards are clever animals. they have so many things they have to remember in nature, that I'd hope any captive ones were trained and given mental stimuli like this as a standard. they need to exercise their minds to keep them sharp. also, one reason a lot of reptiles were thought to be dumb originally was because they possess different responses to stimuli that if a mammal exhibited would be considered unusual or lacking a proper one. when exposed to loud noises or bright lights reptiles tend to freeze as a response, so it looks like they aren't responding. it's interesting.
Amazing! Great training video. It's so unbelievably cute how he waves you over to let him out. Monitors are so intelligent, and your pair of Lace Monitors are gorgeous.
Its always great to see someone who knows how to treat their reptiles with care and respect. Also, the making of the video itself is very good. Keep it up, you have one more subscriber now
You training him, him training you, whatever! This is awesome!!! Bravo 👏🏻 and what a wonderful life they have, seeing them laying on the couch and all! 🛋️ ❤ Monitors and crocodilians are the smartest of all lizards.
Lizards are curious, inquisitive, and rewarding houseguests. I had an iguana for years, and during the winters she mainly stayed indoors with her basking spot in her enclosure. She did her business outside in the summer, but was confined to indoor in the winters, of course. Eventually we were able to get her to do her business in her spot on newspaper, never ever thought a lizard could be paper trained yet she surprised me. She even lived with a cat who slept and ate together with her.
How fun and interesting to watch how you trained these two beautiful creatures. Well done! You can see the anticipation of getting out of their enclosure. Thank you for sharing and teaching the rest of us about their intelligence.
Impressed with their clean, well designed enclosure, that you let them out to roam, that you have two, and that you have taken the time and effort to learn about them! Well done!
What a gorgeous, awesome monitor! As a reptile keeper, lover and zookeeper, I just love seeing videos like this! Well done for capturing all of those stages, too! Takes an extra presence of mind.
Incredible video. It really shows the intelligence of monitors. In this case a laced monitor. Glad someone made a video showing this. They truly are amazing lizards.
I watched the video twice... just because that lizard is so cool and he's incredibly smart. Handler deserves credit too. I've had 3 monitors, savanna, Nile, and blackthroat... the Nile was extremely evil.. I named him Satan! The black and savanna were absolutely docile which is pretty cool because Ive always heard blackthroats are quite defensive.
crocdoc2 I still have the Savannah which is full grown at 4 feet The wife made me give up the blackthroat because he was to big at 6 feet he was like a dog... loved that guy. Found a reptile shelter who took him in As for the Nile he got sick and sadly passed He got parasites, didn't catch it in time. He was about 4 feet and made it so difficult to take to a reptile vet. He would whip his tail and bite So I wasn't able to take him in till he became so lethargic but was to late:( They told me had I taken him in few months prior it would have been really easy to treat.. my fault. I've had to get stitches twice from the niles bite, 1st one tore ligaments.
"the next time you see a reptile, watch out for it suddenly cloaking and doing a teleport-crossup combo, those can easily hit you for 40% and feeds him plenty of meter."
Most reptile keepers don't have their animals long enough due to living conditions. Many reptiles will learn routines, where their enclosure is. They can go out during cleaning, just make sure no predators or open doors/windows are around. Chamaeleons will enjoy climbing wood placed near their enclosure, especially mounted to the ceiling. They will enjoy sitting in plants in the window. Make sure they can go back when they feel cold.
I've never seen this channel. I don't watch a lot of video's on reptile behavioral science. I don't know why this was in my recommended section. But I'm really glad it was. This is a great video. Keep making stuff like this it's great
This is such an incredible video. I come back to it periodically and am always blown away. Your enclosure is outstanding. The monitors themselves are extraordinary. Lace monitors are such beautiful and intelligent creatures. One of my favorite reptiles. I wish we could get this species in the US more easily and affordably. Super rare and expensive here.
I have a tegu, her name is stella and she learned this extremely easily. It was just conditioning over time. She makes the same hand signal. We take her out, and immediately she goes potty (she doesnt like stinking up her on enclosure. These types of lizards are much harder to train howerver.
Oh, I thought you were referencing the video of the marmot screaming _"Alan Alan Alan"_ then _"Steve Steve Steve"_ I can't recall the velociraptors talking?
For years i was wondering what was i.. A dog person.. A cat person.. Or a bird person.. Since.. you know.. i love those animals But i'm coming to the conclusion that i am a lizard person. This videos are just so facinating and make me want one more and more.
Interesting! I wanted to say that this type of training also works on smaller lizards like geckos. I have a crested gecko who does almost the same behavior, which is waiting near the door and waiting for me to pick him up. He recently learned to put his left paw on the glass and look directly at me, which means "I want out now". And it seems he's also trained me a bit, since he now changes color to speak to me. He will turn chocolate brown if he's hungry and will turn pink if he's happy to be out. He'll normally turn a chocolate brown with a pink head when I let him out, even though I regularly feed him. So even if a gecko has a smaller brain, they're still incredibly intelligent! So that most likely means almost all reptiles are incredibly intelligent and can be trained easily. I know most won't take me seriously due to being a simple cosplayer, but reptiles are still one of my experienced fields. So if anyone here owns a leo or crestie, you can do similar training with your gecko. I've trained both my leos to track a paintbrush with their eyes, even though it was accidental. But now we use it to get their attention toward food, plus it gives them a sense of hunting something other than a cricket when they're done eating and want to play.
Most animals can be conditioned. Cresties and leos are definitely unintelligent, but they can still be exposed to stimuli and be conditioned to do certain behaviors. Your geckos seem really cool, and i definitely believe that some of the behavior with the hand being put on the glass could be the result to conditioning, but i feel like the crestie firing up is more of a coincidence. The change of coloration in crested geckos is usually a response to negative stimulus(like stress or very high humidity for a long time)
This is definitely a " they can open doors?" Moment
They can
Clever girl...
ok, try to imagine yourself in the Cretaceous Period. You get your first look at this "six foot turkey" as you enter a clearing. He moves like a bird, lightly, bobbing his head. And you keep still because you think that maybe his visual acuity is based on movement like T-Rex - he'll lose you if you don't move. But no, not Velociraptor. You stare at him, and he just stares right back. And that's when the attack comes. Not from the front, but from the side *whoosh*.
from the other two raptors you didn't even know were there. Because Velociraptor's a pack hunter, you see, he uses coordinated attack patterns and he is out in force today. And he slashes at you with this...
A six-inch retractable claw, like a razor, on the the middle toe. He doesn't bother to bite your jugular like a lion, say... no no. He slashes at you here, or here...
Or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is, you are alive when they start to eat you. So you know, try to show a little respect.
@@kennarajora6532t rex is not motion based eyes it has great normal eyes
@@Asterion_Mol0c yeah I know, but I was just quoting the movie.
Then this happened: Recently I have noticed Alex going over my taxes. I have decided to encourage this behavior by...
Terrakinetic then this happened: I noticed Alex scrawling rudimentary pictograms on the rock wall. I have decided to encourage this behaviour by...
then this happened: I noticed Alex writing a political treatise for Humans-Lizards. I have decided to encourage this behavior by...
then this happened: I realized Alex was writing a communist manifesto. I decided to encourage this behavior by...
Then this happened, I noticed Alex writing a full-length Autobiography about his life experiences and political views. I have decided to encourage this behavior by.....
Then this happened: I noticed Alex militarizing and declaring a formal war against the neighbor's dog, I decided to encourage this behavior by...
So Alex raises his hand, and you immediately let him out...
Who trained who?
clever girl...
bruh
@@Corgi_fax you really went out of your way to write an essay.
Respect :)
@@Corgi_fax wooosh
@@NaCl_is_salt Go back to reddit, you dweeb
how to train your dragon
Akaryusan jesus fuck thats funny
We need a part 2
the European dragon does come from reports of these kinds of lizards.
i was gonna make that joke XD
Akaryusan lmao
I actually trained my monitor lizard to do the same thing, but his right arm became so powerful he was able to shatter the glass enclosure and escape. Then a week later I saw on the news that he won a BIG RIG and $100k at the World Arm-wrestling Championships in Las Vegas. Sure enough he came back home and now we drive around the country solving crimes and tearing phone books in half at high school pep rallies.
Hope he is ok
I'd watch that show
shabadoo1 when does s2 come out ?
make a movie about this
Solving crimes is so much easier with an arm wrestling monitor lizard as your sidekick.
How to train your discount dragon
Emmett Rasmussen ROFLMAO
Hardly "discount"; Varanus Varius are very expensive, IF you can find them for sale.
"discount" is made operative by the fact that a REAL dragon would (likely) be priceless (if real) therefore making these "dragons" quite cheap in comparison. :)
This is actually very funny because I live in Thailand and there are tonsss of them around my university.
*Nateetorn Kittikunpituk* Those aren't lace monitors. The large monitors you commonly see around Bangkok are water monitors, _Varanus salvator_ .
This is one off the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen.
Also is it just me or does anyone else think that these lizards are so cute.
Thanks! Regarding the lizards being cute it isn't just you; a lot of people feel the same after having watched the video.
They are very nice to look at
I also think that lizards are cute
No it's not just you reptiles are just adorable.
Wait till you see a bells face (natural occuring morph, i think)
Reptiles are very intelligent. They have good memories, problem solving skills and some have even been known to form emotional bonds with their caretakers.
My Green Iguana learned how to unlock the dog door by observation. She once went missing for two weeks when she let herself out. Then one day she came walking up to me when I got home from school. She managed to survive outdoors for two or three weeks in the California desert and then find her way home. She was a bit dehydrated but otherwise unharmed.
My tortoise responds to verbal commands. He comes when I call him and he will stop what he is doing immediately when I give the command "stop".
how long did it take to teach your tortoise this?
My family had a large green iguana for years and he was extremely intelligent and sociable. He lived in an open enclosure and could walk around the house mostly at will and would climb up and perch on top of the couch most of the time or just explore and bask around the house. He came if his name was called and was seemingly very affectionate and sociable. I was quite young but I felt safe around him and he seemed to seek and enjoy affection and interaction. He was more like a dog than anything. Unfortunately we were too relaxed and content leading him to find his way outside one day and we never saw him again :( I still miss him to this day and could never think of reptiles as anything but intelligent and capable of affection and emotional bonds with people.
They will be good employees with their problem solving skills
My friends turtle Chuck Norris did the same, he would call him over w/e he was home from school and the turtle would slowly walk to the living room from the yard 🤣
My Sulcata knows his name. I think it was conditioned by hollering it at him in his room when it was time to feed him.
Healthy, bright-eyes, lovely lizards, a gorgeous, spacious enclosure, supervised outside-time, consistent training... Sir, my hat is off to you! These two are in the best home they could possibly have, with a human who cares deeply for their well-being 💕
Thank you!
Nick Conte - thank you!
It is interesting that the lizard recognizes being allowed outside as a reward, rather than a natural thing (since there is only a glass panel in between). This would imply they know they are in captivity and only own a small space. And they are also interested in exploring their surroundings, rather than being apathetic. Very nice.
*David*
You've got it. In many ways it's like a suburban dog that lives indoors that enjoys going for walks but at the end of the day seeks to go inside for comfort (although with dogs there's the extra element of social needs). These monitors seek to be let back into the enclosure (and have ways of signalling me, although not nearly as interesting as the letting out behaviour so I haven't done a video - they just stand in front of the enclosure, look up at the sliding glass door and flick their tongues). Inside the enclosure is where they can bask and is also where they get fed.
If I found that on trying to get them into the enclosure they struggled and scratched in an attempt to stop me putting them back in it would be a different scenario entirely (and I'd probably have stopped keeping them ages ago because of how it would make me feel).
Their spatial intelligence is larger than people realize, as is their reasoning of causation.
He dont own nothing. He didnt make or buy the materials😂
@@crocdoc2 ultimately it's a trust bond they make with humans.
@@keengwilli6
I'm not sure who or what you are talking about.
It is so lovely to see a pet owner put in the time and effort while utilising a monitor's natural behaviour to increase their quality of life. Kudos!
Thanks!
I thought the same thing!! Excellent training technique, and the video was shot great too...
talybama Thanks!
Thanks, talybama!
This is actually a very cool way to train your animals, not just lizards. They're all pretty dang smart. The concept of Ignoring unwanted behavior, and rewarding them when they behave the way you want, is a quick way for them to learn how to properly do stuff. And over time, they begin to improve that behavior on their own, like Alex did by progressively raising his hand on his own, and then reaching higher and higher. Giving treats is not the only "Reward" you can give to your animal, giving them attention or letting them out to play also works.
I have tried this method shown in the video on my cats, whenever they wanted to be let out in the backyard, they'd have to wait until i did so, I'd ignore the constant meowing and scratching on the glass door, for as annoying as it was, but eventually they picked up the idea i was trying to show them. Now they always wait until i let them out, and do so by sitting in front of the glass door and remaining completely silent. Thanks Man, You Are a Very Effective Teacher
Thank you!
I really hate how a lot of people say that reptiles only think about food, water and survival. Obviously they are things they care about but they are so much more complex than that. This video shows how intelligent they really are. They can learn like other animals and people and this video shows this perfectly
@*Drifty * Well some mammals and birds look basic, yet can be seriously smart, like pigs and crows for example
I mean my bearded dragon lets me know exactly when she wants a cuddle so reptiles are a lot smarter than we give them credit for
They dont have the emotional part of the brain that mammals do. While they are intelligent, they will never love you like a dog would.
Right?? Bigger lizards, especially monitors and tegus, clearly show affection for their owners. Seeing them jump and dance with excitement when they see us coming is just the best thing ever. 💜
@@spazzmaticus1542 So? I don't even like dogs. Besides, if you ever get to know one of these magnificent creatures, you'd understand just how attached to their owners they can be. They bond with you just like any cat or dog would, and will recognize you specifically.
We're only just now beginning to understand the complexity of bird brains, namely their intelligence and the surprising depth and complexity of their emotions. It's clear my ducks love me deeply, something most people wouldn't even think them capable of. I think it's high time we reconsidered the way reptiles think and feel, too.
One day he started raising his arm higher and higher. Now he's doing my taxes. Was the next step I would have liked to hear ^^ those are some beautiful specimen.
The Black Baron HAHAHA
This shit made my night 😂
My monitor now drives me to work.
They way you observe and interact with your animals is simply satisfying
Lord Mado
Thanks!
can I just say I almost thought this was a professional nature documentary because of your voice :)) your narration really stands out for me
Wow, thank you!!
This was excellently shot, edited, and scripted. Keep up the good work, my guy.
Thank you very much! I had been ignoring my TH-cam channel for quite a few years as I've been busy with other projects, but have decided to slowly replace the tired, old, low-quality content with new videos. The two newest videos are this one and the one titled How to tell an alligator from a crocodile.
"Reptiles are often seen as slow dimwitted animals..."
*takes weeks to train him to slightly wave his hand*
"...this is not the case"
Are you sure?
I've seen people achieve this with pet fish.
_"I've seen people achieve this with pet fish."_
Because fish have hands. I'd like to see someone train a fish to wave its hand, slightly or otherwise. :)
All jokes aside, the point of the video wasn't that I was trying to teach him to wave his hand, but that he started doing it himself in anticipation of the action of being let out. I just encouraged it. Nor did it take weeks to teach him. The time periods had to do with when he started initiating new behaviour.
Yeah, all fish have hands. Most are ghost hands, invisible to the human eye or cameras ; )
I get what you're saying, but your initial premise seemed contradictory to the story which you laid out. Otherwise, great video.
Thanks.
"Free me papa."
1. You're a good owner
2. They are beautiful
3. This is sick! Awesome job man.
Thank you!
Meanwhile, my bearded dragon:
*white noise*
Lol
Incredibly well done - engaging, straight to the point and a thoroughly enjoyable video. Definitely innovative and one of the best reptile videos I've watched for a very long time!
JTB Reptiles Thank you!
I like how he didn't put the video about this up after a few days of training but actually spent a lot of time and prepared a good amount of footage showcasing the learning, nice
Thank you for noticing. :)
JTB Reptiles coming from another reptile lover that means a lot.. Yeah sure.. Gee
How did you do this are you a wizard? Sorcery? Also really cool keep it up and theirs no telling what you can teach😄
In the Lizards mind he thinks finally now I have trained my human to let me out when I want to...
Without a doubt!
That's what I was think.
Is it you training the lizard or the lizard training you. I mean he does simple tricks and you open a door, you lift him out and let him roam around and all he has to do is get your attention
@@Robert53areaIt has to be getting attention in positive, non destructive ways. For instance, if he thought he could get attention by scratching the door, he would start scratching the door.
Interesting. I never really realized how often we just seem to tread over the fact that reptiles are perfectly capable of conditioning much like other animals. It's easy to forget that these are thinking creatures too because seem so much more different from us, as opposed to a mammal which is the same classification as humans. Excellent video.
Thanks!
*Beemer:* _"It's easy to forget that these are thinking creatures too because seem so much more different from us, as opposed to a mammal which is the same classification as humans."_
You just nailed what I have been saying to people for years: That one of the fascinating things about keeping reptiles is trying to understand the thinking processes of an animal with whom we haven't shared a common ancestor for hundreds of millions of years.
@@crocdoc2 interesting.
"I didnt want them scratching the glass"
*trains them to scratch the air instead*
Yes. Annoying noise vs no noise at all. Hardly rocket science
Very impressive.
I tried that with my juvenile bearded dragon. He has to sit in the front right corner of his enclosure in order to be taken out. This works 100% of the time.
I now touch his ribcage with my index finger and he puts both of his hands on my hand so I can lift him up. Sometimes he even does it when I simply approach him with my hand.
My leopard gecko even comes to me when he sees me and I call him by his name.
Reptiles are so much more smarter than one would think, your video was really educational and helps me prove my friends wrong :P
Thanks!
100 like
You deffinetly just said that cause buddie is sicker than you
The types of lizards you mention all happen to be abnormally smart as lizards go.
When they started waving the video was completely sold for me, congrats for training them so well!
Thanks!
Wow, that's amazing
Thanks!
Know why? BECAUSE IT'S A DRAGON WITHOUT WINGSSSSSSSSS!
Cermy 667th like
Potato Chips Bleach Flavored
(Across the road) neighbour of the beast
damn 1000 perfect likes dont even wanna be the oddball and ruin it
Just caught myself saying "Now that's a good boy" when he raised his arm as a response to your beckoning
Adorable puppies
Gross sushi
it's clearly a cat
lol xd you fool it's clearly a fish
you spergs thats a bird.
sushi777300 It’s obviously a hamster, duh
Omg he is so cute! Love those little hands
*Alex:* _"Wait, what?! I have BIG hands! Trump, he has small hands."_
crocdoc2
Lol
That can painfully cut into you
I remember when americans made fun of obama purely out of context sometimes.
It was weird, but rare and relatively benign.
Now I see americans making fun of and visciously insulting their president in every fucking context imaginable while waiting for their compatriots to come and clap.
It's annoying, makes you seem like assholes and the culture surrounding it seems like indoctrinated garbage.
Get a fucking hold of yourself and stop telling me "but I didn't vote for him" with a slightly nervous laugh whenever I meet you IRL, I never asked, I don't give a fuck, he's not Satan and you're neither original, nor funny.
*Lyk D'Nine* Why would you defend someone that's turning your country into the laughing stock of the world?
The nearly scientific calmness of the footage and the simple but amazing explanation of behavior and training is what makes this video outstanding.
They're beautiful, fascinating animals and I really hope this makes more people aware of how responsive these reptiles are if you know how to treat and train them right.
Thank you!
And he can t pose perfect lizard 10/9
@@crocdoc2do you have recommendations on care guides for either a monitor or tegu? I want to get one but I want to make sure I'm absolutely ready for one, I've always loved reptiles and really want one that shows a lot of effection like this
@@entomologistmaximus5097
Monitors don't really show affection, but can become tractable. You're probably best off with a captive bred Argentinian black and white tegu.
You literally trained him to wave when he wants out. And how gorgeous they are!
Great work.
I kept Piranhas for years. When they got hungry they would form a semi-circle and evil-eye me until I fed them something.
Dannie Jensen
Thanks!
They've trained you well!
Hooloovoo Same as me.
I don't know why this was recommended to me by TH-cam, but I don't care, it's great!
Thanks! I have had a couple of people comment that it came up in their recommended list quite randomly. One was a psych student, if I recall correctly.
Anyway, glad you enjoyed it!
That's a good way to avoid the scratching.
Can they be trained.
Mmmm.. I suppose
Is he a good boi?
Yes, for certain.
I like the idea of the lizard training his human by gradually understanding that "left arm raised" means he should be let out, and expanded on that concept until he could merely wave whenever he wanted to leave
LOL
Love how intelligent monitors are, and it's amazing seeing that intelligence in action!
Zards are dumb as shit because thair brains are smaller than my last shit. The bigger brain to body ratio, the smarter you are. PERIOD. humans, dolphans, dogs, ... very smart. Very big brains. I bet you can show that we have evolved dogs to have bigger brains, but i have seen no evidence in brain size evolution becides humans to my knolage. Shit like this should be fromt page news but the media wants us to be dumber than a nut sized brain elephant. Sad. So sad. Very sad. Yes sad.
RStaR RaptoR then why are humans more intelligent than a elephant or whales? You don't need a large brain to be intelligent.
The Meat Grinder No it just had to be large proportionally to your body, size is relative.
That kind of stuff is very old logic, and Shrews kind of go against the whole brain mass per body ratio since they should be ruling the world since they have us beat.
Recent tests have been made to test Lizard's cognitive abilities and the results were better than sparrows watch?v=sZM2aVGIrvU has some more info from Duke University about the subject. It turns out most IQ tests didn't consider that cold blooded creatures eat less, and can only be tested once a day to get accurate results.
Lucetube GPlusStillSux i giess so. Our brains actually are smaller than before too. But we got smarter. And birds need to have tiny brains yet they can beat puzzeles. Although reptiles dont have a beak or hands, and reptiles are slow.
The way they look around reminds me of pets people would consider more intelligent than reptiles such as parrots and dogs. Your cinematography captures that aspect really well. Wonderful work.
Thanks! I can't take full credit - they're pretty photogenic.
He’s a dog in lizard skin he’s really cute and I can tell just by watching this video that lizards are 100% capable of recognizing and reciprocating compassion , gentleness , calmness , and I can also say I think this lizard has an attachment to the owner 100% influenced by food , and conditioning but also I think the lizard loves him in a lizard way , something is humans would need to be a reptile to understand😊😊❤️❤️
You're like Daily Dose of Internet....you don't over talk, you talk and then let the video speak the rest. Really well done, didn't think I'd stay interested for the whole video but I was! And have watched others too.....subbed
Thank you!
I have such a soft spot for reptiles. I feel like people disregard them because they can't read their faces or body language like they can with mammals. The result is treating them with misplaced apathy in comparison to mammals. In reality, I intuit that they are just as cognizant as mammals are, and videos like this lend evidence to such.
Intrigued.
You gotta watch their eyes, tongue, and throat area. But especially the eyes. I can tell when my baby is content, when he's irritated, when he's suspicious, and when he's okay with hanging out just from his eyes.
Amazing. Your knowledge and patience with your animals are a true testament as to what you've accomplished with such misunderstood animals. People think I'm crazy when I say my female red tail boa knows me apart from others. She exhibits certain behaviours uniquely to me. But she has nothing on these monitors. Makes you wonder if the largest of monitors i.e the komodo is capable of what your showcasing or possibly even more..
Thanks! Komodo dragons are very closely related to lace monitors (lace monitors are their closest living relative) and my limited experience with Komodo dragons is that they're very similar in terms of intelligence.
They're all amazing. I love the monitor you have called Satan, they're all beautiful but his phase or morph is just unreal. I've always wondered.. where a komodo can take down a much much larger prey animal than it's own size what's the largest prey that these smaller more personable cousins of the komodo can do
I've seen photographs of wild lace monitors taking half-size feral cats and a friend had her rooster taken by a wild lace monitor as well, but for the most part they take smaller things. The interesting thing about Komodo dragons is that most of the prey species with which they are now associated were introduced to the islands.
Satan is a bells phase lace monitor. It's a naturally occurring morph (a bit like striped California kingsnakes). I prefer the normal, speckly/banded type, but have raised a few bells phase babies in the hopes of getting a female to pair up with Alex. As Satan ended up being male, he was rehomed to someone in Queensland quite some time ago. He had calmed down a lot as he got bigger (the video was taken when he was still quite small).
copa white There is a male komodo at London zoo that is clicker trained and runs to its keepers for a scratch and play just like a dog when its name is called. It even gives them oogly eyes when they give it a good scritching.
Their intelligence and forward thinking is borderline scary and I love it!
He’s like doing the dog trick
“Give me The paw!”
[Insert dog joke]
Thank you for highlighting out how generic and old that dog joke is getting (and for not posting it). :-)
Yeah, I filtered by newest and just about every other comment is someone thinking they're clever for reusing the same joke for the 10,000th time. I see it in just about every exotic pet video too.
Nailed it. What I am curious about is whether the line 'your dog has autism' appeared on the Simpsons or something, as it's the most commonly used phrase.
@@crocdoc2 N I C E D O G
I think your dog has autism, did you vaccinate it?
This is a very impressive/educational video. Beautiful pair of lace monitors, you have me wanting a monitor now lol
Thank you!
I had a conehead lizard for over 5 years when I was a boy and he knew the sound of my voice. When called, he would quickly climb up near the top of his enclosure waiting for me to hand feed him a cricket/moth. He only responded to my voice. Lizards are the best. Great video and God bless you!
As a psychology student this was extremely interesting to watch. Very informative, and very neat. I'd love to see more videos on how you can condition these lizards to repeat certain behaviors.
I have to be careful about what sort of things I do with them, particularly when it comes to what is being used for a reward. The reason I showed this particular behaviour is because the reward was being let out of the enclosure, rather than food. I could teach them all sorts of things using food as a reward and they would learn them remarkably quickly, but there is a danger in using food as a reward, particularly with the male. He's very food focused and if he associates a series of steps with being fed he soon starts short-cutting the routine and gets twitchy earlier and earlier in the routine, to the point that there's a danger of me getting bitten. They have a spectacular feeding response.
*Clever girl*
hahaha
adi yaf Gahhhh ya had to ruin it? 😂
adi yaf there’s a male and a female he said in the beginning
adi yaf
it's a jurassic park reference and you ruined it
Ha, best comment imo
Cute doggos
Lol
its not a doggy its a bald ferret
Xander Zoolander cold blooded doggo
Xander Zoolander DAT DIGERIDOO IS SO CUUUUTTTEE
David UT its very much a digeridoo
I owned a few small pet lizards when I was a kid and enjoyed finding salamanders out in the wild. These monitor lizards are so beautiful! Excellent narration and Alex is a nice buddy to have to spend time with and amuse you with his actions.
Oh they are so beautiful, I love lizards, these are especially cool though, they are so interesting and intelligent creatures. 😊
i agree screw the a holes that say lizards are dumb
I never considered LIzards dumb, just mysterious, and calculating. I use to have a Bearded Dragon who seemingly stares off into nothingness at times but I always thought she was up to something. And when I'd feed her, she does the same except her eyes/head follow me...MENACINGLY! xD
Soon as I set loose her live crickets or other bugs she liked, and remove my hand she stops holding still and just barrels like for them in jumpscare fashion .
Now how do you boop these snoots
Da Dragon Durp stallllkkkeerrr
No u
?
i didn't actually mean da dragon durp was a stalker i just find them everywhere and then i comment that as a joke you are too sensitive seriously i like their channel too
Just shut up u swine
I already loved monitors and especially lace monitors, but now I love them even more. This is a great video and demonstrates that lizards aren't just dumb machines. Wonderful work with this pair!
Really enjoyable video. Watching this, it made me realize I am probably being a bit too rigid with my own thought process. Not all the actions they do are food driven. Thanks for that!
Thanks! Funnily enough, I had originally planned to include a bit on why I don't ever use food as a reward with them (Alex in particular) but then decided it would have made the video too long. Although food is a great motivator and they learn incredibly quickly, lace monitors are too food focused and Alex in particular quickly short-cuts routines. He'll start off understanding that the routine involves going through steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 before food enters the equation, but before long starts thinking of food at step 1 (anticipating the upcoming sequence) and becomes potentially dangerous. Despite his calm, almost dopey appearance in the video he's a weapon when he gets his food brain on and becomes incredibly quick and agile.
It's the very same short-cutting that lead to him raising his arm before I opened the enclosure, but in that context it is safe and amusing rather than likely to result in a hospital stay. :)
Well done. Now, do you have any suggestions on training my roommate?
All joking aside, operant conditioning works on people as well. Positive reinforcement for the behaviour you want, negative reinforcement for the behaviour you don't want. Just be subtle about it as humans are a bit sharper than lizards. :)
The easiest way is to just kick them out or move out yourself cause humans are harder to train they have their own minds LOL 😁😁😁
Use food for humans, preferably sugary food when they do something good. Use your hand to the back of their head if they do something bad.
CrankyPants, kick 'em in the dick.
CrankyPants A gun.
One less video I have to make, bravo. I’ll be referencing this video on my channel for people to view. Well done and great species to use.. Bravo
Thanks! I had a look at your page when I was checking to make sure this video was coming up in searches on TH-cam. Beautiful ornatus and was impressed that you told people not to handle their monitor when they first get it, but to let it settle in. Nice work. How's that big enclosure you were working on going?
crocdoc2 thanks, ornatus are definitely poorly represented species indeed, Lace are definitely more popular and on the premium. It’s a better flagship species when teaching monitor care, behavior, and behavioral plasticity. Once again bravo
Here’s a link to that enclosure status.
th-cam.com/video/nQYJTNXK68o/w-d-xo.html
Thanks. I'll check out the enclosure video now. Funnily enough, I am just in the middle of watching another of your videos (Why Your Monitor Lizard Might Die). Again, nice work. That's a great one for new keepers to see.
crocdoc thanks It’s those basics that veterans don’t explain that I comprehend when I was exposed to politics. Manners and respect are universal and forgotten when people participate in what they consider a personal pass time or hobby. Problem is this hobby entails living individual beings that require new and old breeders, hobbiest, and biology professional to embrace humility and patience for the sake of the animals we keep.... you know how it goes..lol
You and I are going to get along just fine. :)
This is really amazing, the mutual comprehetion between both is fascinating
this is amazing this has to be the best video ive seen in awhile its just so good
M G
Thanks!
M G in
I knew reptiles were smart and I think only people that have reptiles would know just how smart but now we can show the world just how smart they are with your video.
Thanks! That was indeed the intent behind this video.
monitor lizards are clever animals. they have so many things they have to remember in nature, that I'd hope any captive ones were trained and given mental stimuli like this as a standard. they need to exercise their minds to keep them sharp. also, one reason a lot of reptiles were thought to be dumb originally was because they possess different responses to stimuli that if a mammal exhibited would be considered unusual or lacking a proper one. when exposed to loud noises or bright lights reptiles tend to freeze as a response, so it looks like they aren't responding. it's interesting.
Fascinating!
Thank you for sharing this video.
I have never seen obvious trained behaviour like this in reptiles
Amazing! Great training video. It's so unbelievably cute how he waves you over to let him out. Monitors are so intelligent, and your pair of Lace Monitors are gorgeous.
Thanks!
Its always great to see someone who knows how to treat their reptiles with care and respect. Also, the making of the video itself is very good. Keep it up, you have one more subscriber now
Thank you!
Those are the funniest looking dogs I've ever seen lol. They are beautiful, good video.
Thank you.
You training him, him training you, whatever! This is awesome!!! Bravo 👏🏻 and what a wonderful life they have, seeing them laying on the couch and all! 🛋️ ❤
Monitors and crocodilians are the smartest of all lizards.
This was incredibly informative and professional. I’m genuinely amazed
Ken Marsche Thank you!
Lizards are curious, inquisitive, and rewarding houseguests. I had an iguana for years, and during the winters she mainly stayed indoors with her basking spot in her enclosure. She did her business outside in the summer, but was confined to indoor in the winters, of course. Eventually we were able to get her to do her business in her spot on newspaper, never ever thought a lizard could be paper trained yet she surprised me. She even lived with a cat who slept and ate together with her.
How fun and interesting to watch how you trained these two beautiful creatures. Well done! You can see the anticipation of getting out of their enclosure. Thank you for sharing and teaching the rest of us about their intelligence.
Thank you for watching!
Impressed with their clean, well designed enclosure, that you let them out to roam, that you have two, and that you have taken the time and effort to learn about them! Well done!
Thanks!
"Can you train a lizard?" Well if that one guy from a movie trained a dragon i don't think a lizard would be that hard :3
What a gorgeous, awesome monitor! As a reptile keeper, lover and zookeeper, I just love seeing videos like this! Well done for capturing all of those stages, too! Takes an extra presence of mind.
Thanks!
Your lizards are adorable. And it is heart warming to know the sympathy and kindness can do just about anything.
That looks like a really happy monitor lizard! Your training techniques are so gradual that I doubt it even realizes that you encouraged the behavior.
Incredible video. It really shows the intelligence of monitors. In this case a laced monitor. Glad someone made a video showing this. They truly are amazing lizards.
Thank you!
I watched the video twice... just because that lizard is so cool and he's incredibly smart. Handler deserves credit too.
I've had 3 monitors, savanna, Nile, and blackthroat... the Nile was extremely evil.. I named him Satan!
The black and savanna were absolutely docile which is pretty cool because Ive always heard blackthroats are quite defensive.
Thanks!
Where are your monitors now?
crocdoc2
I still have the Savannah which is full grown at 4 feet
The wife made me give up the blackthroat because he was to big at 6 feet he was like a dog... loved that guy.
Found a reptile shelter who took him in
As for the Nile he got sick and sadly passed
He got parasites, didn't catch it in time.
He was about 4 feet and made it so difficult to take to a reptile vet. He would whip his tail and bite
So I wasn't able to take him in till he became so lethargic but was to late:(
They told me had I taken him in few months prior it would have been really easy to treat.. my fault.
I've had to get stitches twice from the niles bite, 1st one tore ligaments.
I failed to mention, the blackthroat ate her kitten...
That pretty much sealed it...
I presume the kitten accidentally got into the enclosure or was accidentally let into the same room as the monitor?
crocdoc2
He was roaming around, the kitten was supposed to be locked up anytime he was out.
"the next time you see a reptile, watch out for it suddenly cloaking and doing a teleport-crossup combo, those can easily hit you for 40% and feeds him plenty of meter."
Most reptile keepers don't have their animals long enough due to living conditions.
Many reptiles will learn routines, where their enclosure is. They can go out during cleaning, just make sure no predators or open doors/windows are around. Chamaeleons will enjoy climbing wood placed near their enclosure, especially mounted to the ceiling. They will enjoy sitting in plants in the window. Make sure they can go back when they feel cold.
im so happy i watched this
Absolutely awesome! Reminded me of why i freakin' love those animals.
Thanks!
I've never seen this channel. I don't watch a lot of video's on reptile behavioral science. I don't know why this was in my recommended section. But I'm really glad it was. This is a great video. Keep making stuff like this it's great
Thanks! I'm trying to update the old, low quality content on my channel so this is one of two new videos I have done recently.
They are so freaking adorable I almost started crying, they are so intelligent and adorable!!
This is fascinating. They're beautiful creatures.
I never thought reptiles like this were dumb, just not loving but it seems Alex and you have a pretty cool friendship.
3:20 when you grab your ice cream but then the ice cream man grabs back
dwarf gaming lol that's really scary but u made me laugh
Ice scream
Ice cream horro game lol
Brilliant! Watching the two of you together really touched my heart. They’re both incredibly beautiful.
Thanks!
This is such an incredible video. I come back to it periodically and am always blown away. Your enclosure is outstanding. The monitors themselves are extraordinary. Lace monitors are such beautiful and intelligent creatures. One of my favorite reptiles. I wish we could get this species in the US more easily and affordably. Super rare and expensive here.
Damn I’m ashamed of myself, Alex looks more ripped than I do lmao 😂
Your monitor lizards are the coolest lizards ever. I love how you both kinda trained each other with the whole arm raising/waving thing, too.
I have a tegu, her name is stella and she learned this extremely easily. It was just conditioning over time. She makes the same hand signal. We take her out, and immediately she goes potty (she doesnt like stinking up her on enclosure. These types of lizards are much harder to train howerver.
Lizard: Alan!
Lizard: "Wait, that isn't Alan...Steve!"
Lol !
I was referencing the Jurassic Park 3 scene, where the Velociraptor says: Alan to the Paleontologist Alan Grant.
Oh, I thought you were referencing the video of the marmot screaming _"Alan Alan Alan"_ then _"Steve Steve Steve"_
I can't recall the velociraptors talking?
it happens in a dream: th-cam.com/video/6s9sjPzyQjk/w-d-xo.html
But yeah, if someone can teach the lizards to speak it would probably be you. ;)
Thanks for the clip (and the context). I'd completely forgotten about that scene!
This 1 of the best videos showing how monitors are dog smart great work very helpful
Thanks!
This is amazing to see
I feel like you can train anything if you make it beneficial enough for the creature you decide to train
For years i was wondering what was i..
A dog person..
A cat person..
Or a bird person..
Since.. you know.. i love those animals
But i'm coming to the conclusion that i am a lizard person.
This videos are just so facinating and make me want one more and more.
5:47 *In a thick New York-Italian accent*
“AHHH forgeddabout it”
Lol
you got some cute monitors. Great personality and amazing home to live in. Glad this was recommended.
Interesting!
I wanted to say that this type of training also works on smaller lizards like geckos. I have a crested gecko who does almost the same behavior, which is waiting near the door and waiting for me to pick him up. He recently learned to put his left paw on the glass and look directly at me, which means "I want out now". And it seems he's also trained me a bit, since he now changes color to speak to me. He will turn chocolate brown if he's hungry and will turn pink if he's happy to be out. He'll normally turn a chocolate brown with a pink head when I let him out, even though I regularly feed him.
So even if a gecko has a smaller brain, they're still incredibly intelligent! So that most likely means almost all reptiles are incredibly intelligent and can be trained easily. I know most won't take me seriously due to being a simple cosplayer, but reptiles are still one of my experienced fields.
So if anyone here owns a leo or crestie, you can do similar training with your gecko. I've trained both my leos to track a paintbrush with their eyes, even though it was accidental. But now we use it to get their attention toward food, plus it gives them a sense of hunting something other than a cricket when they're done eating and want to play.
Most animals can be conditioned. Cresties and leos are definitely unintelligent, but they can still be exposed to stimuli and be conditioned to do certain behaviors. Your geckos seem really cool, and i definitely believe that some of the behavior with the hand being put on the glass could be the result to conditioning, but i feel like the crestie firing up is more of a coincidence. The change of coloration in crested geckos is usually a response to negative stimulus(like stress or very high humidity for a long time)
Great video. This is why monitors are my favorite group of reptiles.
Thanks!