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Posted by cwatbay on September 02, 2002 at 00:24:48:
In Reply to: Are Iguana\'s Playful? posted by bearded_dragon on September 01, 2002 at 18:25:27:
Play is ritualized behavior that mimics hunting and stalking in mammals and some birds. But not in reptiles. The reptile brain just isn't evolved enough to understand or conceptualize play - to a reptile everything is serious business. For the animals that do play, their brain tends to be more evolved and the aspects of sucessful hunting and stalking are learned behaviors for the most part. If you watch wildlife films, playfulness in animals begins young when they are under the care of one or more parent animals - during this time they are learning those behaviors that will make them more sucessful when they are grown in order to survive.
Reptile don't have parents around to teach them stuff. They pretty much have to go entirely by instinct. That isn't to say that they can't learn certain rituals or behaviors - it just means that the concept of play never really enters the picture.
PS: I did see a picture once of a Savannah Monitor "playing" tug of war with a sock, but I doubt very much that the Savannah thought of it as a play activity (ie: I wouldn't stick my finger near him during this time). It appeared to be a learned behavior based on existing agressive instinctual behavior.
I hope this help. Remember that even the most simple thoughts and behaviors tend to be very complex and are based on numerous factors such as instinct, learned behavior, environment, socialization and experience.
CW
