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Smartest Reptiles?

R

Reptiles4TheWin

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What do you guys think are the smartest species of reptiles?
There was a study with Emerald Anoles (Anolis evermanni) where they learned to flip over bottle caps to retrieve mealworms from underneath. They were able to do this after only a few tries and were also able to pick the correct colored cap when shown different colors. They learned how to lift the lid much faster than the birds tested and also had much less experience. There was also a test with bearded dragons which showed that they were able to copy the actions of another.
 
Anyways
My top 10 lizards
1. monitors
2. tegus
3. iguanas
4. frilled dragon
5. bearded dragon
6. lacertas
7. shingleback skink
8. anoles
9. alligator lizards
10. leopard gecko
 
Just for a bit of levity, I was out in my backyard this evening and when I approached the back door to get back inside, there was a little green anole hiding vertically underneath the storm door handle. He/she obviously knew where to put that little body to be "invisible". I thought that was pretty clever :)
 
ive noticed water monitors can be pretty smart. they always observe surroundings and whatnot. bearded dragons can be pretty stupid some times also. as far as snakes, retics seem pretty smart because theyre always moving so id assume that theyre trying to take in their surroundings but i mean you can tell theyre not just like a rat snake that's just trying to get away. its more of a methodical type of movement
 
I don't think you can really just go with "monitors vs tegus" since you would be trying to compare a set of species that has many many separate types with the Tegu. There are many intelligent species of monitors, but also some that aren't quite that intelligent.
I agree that Retics are fairly intelligent, but I have also come across some pretty ignorant ones as well.
 
I agree with redfoots.
I have those and leopard torts (plus my snakes) and it seems my redfoots are smarter than my leos.
Why?, they all get the run of the yard when it is hot, the redfoots and leos go and sit in the shade of whatever object is nearby until it cools off a bit, but the real reason I think they are smarter than the leos is because of what foods they are willing to "taste."
I Have raised gardens to keep them out if the veggies, but sometimes there is low hanging fruit.
They both graze on the leaves of the squash, grass, perslane, etc but the redfoots, while avoiding the tomato plant leaves, got a few of my tomatoes and learned where to find them; one of the leopards, while avoiding the tomatoes altogether (probably a fundamental dietary difference at play), decided it would be a good idea to taste one of the ghost peppers (just bite, did not eat, a beak mark in the pepper, that was all) that was on a low branch... he did not like it so much (yes, he is fine).
The redfoots completely avoid those and eat the grass near them without touching the peppers.
Idk if it shows intelligence of just one being a bit, uh, remedial, or if the redfoots are just less adventurous, but the redfoots seem smarter to me.
 
I watched a documentary about monitors and they seem to be very intelligent. I'd put the smartest reptile as a komodo dragon but as far as pets go, the smartest I have owned is my bearded dragon. He is very observant and really looks back at you and notices things. I guess I don't have a specific example of what makes me think that but the way he reacts with things has given me that impression. I have another beardie who while very sweet just isn't as smart as the other one and doesn't really notice or interact with things as much. I thought it was interesting how the same species seemed to vary in intelligence like that. That's just my observation though.
 
Fascinating Topic

I can only relay my thoughts on species I've actually kept if I'm to make a fair assessment, but I'll agree with many of the posters above and place Monitors at the top of the intelligence scale. Not only are they social creatures capable of forming alliances and cooperative efforts, but studies have shown they possess the ability to count to a small extent. Additionally, they are excellent problem solvers with a tremendous capacity for patience and concentration. They appear to thrive on stimulation and novelty. Observations such as these have led me to develop Varanid-specific enrichment protocols not unlike those used for many mammals at zoological facilities.

Another group of reptiles that appears to consistently display superstandard intelligence and learning capabilities are Elapid snakes - most especially those of the genus Naja.

I'd consider many, if not all, reptiles to be intelligent to some degree (perhaps with their own unique form of "genius" that benefits species survival), though apart from the above the degree of difference, in my experience, variations are less pronounced.

It's been very interesting to view the opinions of others in this thread. I'd personally enjoy hearing from keepers with insight on some of the more obscure species.
 
While in my estimation they can be highly lazy, all my blue tongues (save one, and he pipped way early--he would be the equivalent classic human severe mental retardation case) have proved to be wicked smart. Problem solvers, actively learning from mistakes.


And besides, their poop is no where near as pungent as monitors. :)
 
That's really cool!

Some special I remember watching a few years back about King Cobras claims they are the most intelligent venomous snake and that reticulated pythons are the most intelligent non-venomous snake but I don't recall if they mentioned what the 'testing' criteria was for those claims.
 
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