Iguana Intelligence

Iguana Recognition

 

Apart from people recognition, Forest also recognize the difference between Sky and River my bearded dragons, it sometimes happen that they encounter each other in the garden or anywhere in the house. Sky is an easy going boy and nothing bothers him, when Sky and Forest meet they simply walk past each other without any problems. River on the other hand is the most courages being I have ever seen and he thinks he can catch Forest and heaven knows what he plans to do after that! So when ever Forest see River he does one of two things, he either turns around and go another way or he charges River and I have to jump in between.

Iguana Awareness

Forest is aware of consequences, he knows right from wrong and he hides when he knows he will get punished. (His punishment is no going outside and no tv.)

I have a 275w infra-red light that stays on during winter nights to keep his room warm. I sometimes stand by his door and watch him sleeping, if I stand for too long he wakes up and looks at me.

Iguana Trainability

An iguana can be trained to do things that you want, for instance pooping before coming inside the house. You can also train him not to clime on your head, furniture, curtains etc. You can even train him to come out of his enclosure so that you dont have to stand on a chair to reach him. I trained mine to sit for a piece of garlic bread, he will do ANYTHING for garlic bread.
It is an old photo, sorry.

1. It took a long time for me to train Forest that he is not allowed to go into the back garden, which is right next to the pool. I did this with repetition and consequences. After a month of him making no attempt to go in the garden I allowed him free without any leash. Of course he still tried his luck on occasion and I immediately rectified his behaviour by picking him up and putting him in the lounge, his most hated area of the house. (Never punish by putting them back in the habitat.) He now knows right from wrong and knows the punishment. He does not step off the bricks next to the pool any more and is allowed to go into the garden while we are at work and only the maid is home.

2. This is a long story that I am going to cut short. Believe it or not, his most loved area is on our bed with the tv on (my iguana is not the only one who loves fast moving pictures). Forest had a bad habit of pooping on our bed and therefore was not allowed in our room any more. I corrected his behaviour by repeating the word poop over and over again just before he does it, while he does and while cleaning up and he quickly associated the sound with the action. (Remember he refuses to poop in his own room or outdoor cage.) While roaming outside he used to do his business on the grass and usually in the same area. After he pooped I allowed him in our room. On the days that he did not poop I took him to the area and repeatedly said poop, sometimes he just did not go and I refused entry into our room. He had to enter the house by going through his outdoor cage, tunnel etc. Within a week he learned that even if he did not really wanted to go he HAD to and he did it every single time on my command and refusal of entry. Same goes in winter, the bedroom door staid closed until he pooped next to the toilet.

Today the bedroom door is open at all times and he either goes outside by himself and poop or he poops next to our toilet - there is no more accidents. Therefore he knows he is not allowed to poop on the bed and he knows the consequences are that the wont be allowed in the room if he had to have another accident.

Example from The Green Iguana - The Ultimate Owner's Manuel

He knows that he is not allowed to wander out of the kitchen or go into the living room, although he tests his parameters from time to time. The main thing that irritates me about him is a few times he has gone into the living room when I was not home and knocked over all my potted plants in an effort to be in there. I know this because the times when I have arrived home and "caught" him in the act, "he has tried to hide under the couch or behind the curtain to keep from being seen. -1-704, Marily, 41 yrs., Maryland

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: If the iguana is consciously hiding to avoid verbal punishments, it mean the iguana can remember past punishment and has some awareness of the consequences of its actions.]

Playfulness / Mischievousness Page 95, The Ultimate Iguana Manual

Sometimes I think iguanas are much smarter than we give them credit for. Like crows and ravens, they can be mischievous. I have seen and heard of iguanas doing perverse things. For instance, one iguana had free run of a pet store that sold exotic birds. The lizard had its own place to defecate, near its habitat, but it preferred to climb on top of specific bird cages and defecate directly on their heads. The store owner thought it was pretty funny.

Lynn, 21 yrs., Canada
I believe that iguanas do get bored, and outings or interesting items to play with are important. Often I have seen my iguana climb up a chair, snake through the rungs of it and jump down, only to climb back up again, jump down. ... I have also seen him chase moths (a truly back comedic, and invariable unsuccessful, endeavor). If he is bored he will come to see what I am doing and get in the way.

Irene, 34 yrs., Texas
His biggest kick is stealing from the dog food bowl, which is located in the bedroom so our potbelly pig doesn't find it. Our iguana knows that I wont let him have any, so he waits until I am not looking and makes a mad dash to grab a few bites before it is taken away. If he is already sunning in his room, I will check up on him to see if or when he is making his way to the bowl. He wont move while I am watching. He waits until I leave and then, bamm - there he is - smaking his lips on that dog food! He tries to be very nonchalant to say the least, and this in itself can be quite comical.

I notice Forest playing very often. He loves squeezing into places where he does not really belong and will go over and through it over and over again. He loves playing in my clothing cupboard especially.

Forest loves laying next to the pool and watch the silkies and birds feeding right next to him. The one day there was a fight among the silkies (to many roosters) and Forest did not like them disturbing the peace, he walked straight to their food bowl, tipped it over and went to lay next to the pool again.

This link contains videos of how my iguana was trained: http://reptile-parrots.com/forums/showthread.php?133-Iguana-Intelligence