Posted by cwatbay on August 03, 2000 at 17:27:38:
In Reply to: PLEASE HELP posted by Dumpster on August 03, 2000 at 13:32:35:
Ryan,
Welcome to the forum. Let me help you adopt a philosophy that will help you out a lot in the future and help you avoid trouble.
The first thing you need to know is that iguanas ( like other lizards ) are not little people. That is to say, they don't think or behave like us. Their thinking, feeling, perception of the world, etc. is completely different from yours/ours. You will cause more harm to your pets and more trouble for yourself if you think that yours pet understand and comprehend things the way you do.
The technical term is : anthromophism - I suggest that you look it up in the dictionary.
Many a pet has been injured or killed because the owner thought that all of their pets were little buddies that all got along just great. It isn't true. Some pets tolerate each other, some pets behave themselves only when you are around. But if you are not around, you just are not going to know when your ig is going to seriously bite one of your other lizards or vice-sa-versa(sic).
Humans have this tendency to believe that all animals think like humans. They see all behavior as human behavior or just like it. There are some basic behaviors that are universal: like fear, hunger, curiosity, sadness, excitement, etc. But, we really don't know complex animal behavior and we don't know what is the trigger or cause of many basic behaviors in animals. WE have barely figured it out in humans - an example is that psychiatrists/psychologists have never cured anyone of anything - they just help people deal with the problem via drugs or therapy.
So you need to quickly get off the bandwagon of thinking your ig or anoles or any other pet is just a little person dressed up in a lizard suit. It didn't have parents that raised it from a little baby, changed its diapers, had dinner together, sent it to school, etc.
You need to appreciate your ig as an ig. You can learn a lot by going through this forum and seeing the responses and comments that people have. Now, there are some people here that treat their igs like little kids and comment on how they think their ig thinks. Just remember that your ig will always be a lizard, no matter what. Good luck. CW