Thoughts??????

[Cold blooded but prime]

I wonder if and at what point reptiles will become domesticated pets like cats and dogs I recon snakes like burms and lizards like beardies will be domesticated first and many others to follow. I mean cats and dogs have been kept for a longggggg time in compare I dont know how long reptiles have been kept or if reptiles will ever be domesticated to the same level but you could say some cats and dogs are still wild or maybe they are more feral infact! Anyway I would say my burm is more domesticated than my horribale cat! lol

Domestication (from Latin domesticus) or taming refers to the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. The most common form of domestication is artificial selection by humans. ...

That is taken from wikipedia but I wouldnt say a cat is controled to the same level a dog is yet its domesticated, and I would say that since some reptiles are accustome to control and provision can they be termd domesticated? look at beardies for example with handling,walking, feeding etc human interaction!

Wat we think?

[buddah]

could this be possible considering that reptiles have very primitive brains.

[Jade01]

Its gonna take a fair few hundred years at least, waayyyy after we've all gone!

[Cold blooded but prime]

hmmm could we say at present tho a beardie is a domesticated animal?

[Gileadites]

Wikipedia sadly not the font of all knowledge but, as to domestication of reptiles I would say it is never likely to happen for a whole host of reasons including the evolution of a species.

Take humans for example we have stopped evolving and started creating not the same thing but then conversly it could be argued that because someone is able to invent they have evolved because of it.

[alan1]

Originally Posted by buddah

could this be possible considering that reptiles have very primitive brains.

agreed...
reptiles in general dont have the 'capability' to be domesticated

[Cold blooded but prime]

sorry, correct me if im wrong but doesnt primitive mean not as superior or sophisticated to something else? If we applied this to say; a snake isnt as sophistacted as a cat and there for can never be capable of domestication would that be a fair comment?

many posts have been put on rfuk with regards to beardies , burms etc being able to reconise or distinguish certain people/their owner is this not the same as a cat? I mean I know cats and dogs seek companionship but I strongly believe my iguana does too.... I mean she sulks and doesnt eat for days when I go on holiday, she reguarly comes to the viv when im home and sits on me in front of the tv being scratched etc but I suppose this is lizards not snakes?

Originally Posted by alan1

agreed...
reptiles in general dont have the 'capability' to be domesticated

[buddah]

it is tough, but i know what you mean when you say you think the reptile may regonise its owner, i think that i see this in my geckos they come to the doors of the viv when im in the room and jump on my hand when i open it.
but i do not think this is anything more than an object being me or you being associated to food to the reptile.

i think reptiles are smarter than most people give them credit for but as for demestication i dont think it is possible, as there nervous system and brain are very simple.

but im not a scientist and i dont know what part of the brain is needed to become domesticated.

[Athravan]

If you take 100 cats, or 100 dogs, and let them loose from their homes, I think a question is how many of them want to return, and will choose to return (jf they can find their way) to their owners. I think the answer is in the majority, most, if they can find their way home, will return home (assuming they've been well treated of course). They choose to live with us. Cats go out every day, some are shut out all night, and the vast majority return to their home the next day, perhaps for food, perhaps for warmth, perhaps they like the companionship, but they recognise humans as providing those things and are not afraid of us, so they come back.

Let a snake out of it's viv and you will never see it again, unless it's by accident and it didn't intend to be seen

That's one of the primary differences I see between reptiles and cats/dogs. I do not think a reptile will ever choose to return to it's owner with any actual thought process.

[essexchondro]

I wonder if and at what point reptiles will become domesticated pets like cats and dogs I recon snakes like burms and lizards like beardies will be domesticated first and many others to follow. I mean cats and dogs have been kept for a longggggg time in compare I dont know how long reptiles have been kept or if reptiles will ever be domesticated to the same level but you could say some cats and dogs are still wild or maybe they are more feral infact! Anyway I would say my burm is more domesticated than my horribale cat! lol

Domestication (from Latin domesticus) or taming refers to the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. The most common form of domestication is artificial selection by humans. ...

That is taken from wikipedia but I wouldnt say a cat is controled to the same level a dog is yet its domesticated, and I would say that since some reptiles are accustome to control and provision can they be termd domesticated? look at beardies for example with handling,walking, feeding etc human interaction!

Wat we think?

The (captive bred) production of morphs and hybrids is about as close to domestication as you'll get with reptiles, in my opinion. I'm thinking here more in terms of how the selective breeding associated with domestication can alter the natural appearence of specimens (see dog breeds as a prime example) rather than in terms of the taming process associated with the domestication of cats and dogs.