Can you train a lizard?

This is definitely a " they can open doors?" Moment

Then this happened: Recently I have noticed Alex going over my taxes. I have decided to encourage this behavior by...

how to train your dragon

So Alex raises his hand, and you immediately let him out... Who trained who?

How to train your discount dragon

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.

Meanwhile, my bearded dragon: white noise

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".

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.

In the Lizards mind he thinks finally now I have trained my human to let me out when I want to...

"I didnt want them scratching the glass" trains them to scratch the air instead

can I just say I almost thought this was a professional nature documentary because of your voice :)) your narration really stands out for me

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 💕

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.

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

Just caught myself saying "Now that's a good boy" when he raised his arm as a response to your beckoning

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.

Wow, that's amazing

You literally trained him to wave when he wants out. And how gorgeous they are!

Can they be trained. Mmmm.. I suppose Is he a good boi? Yes, for certain.