Herp Megathread 3: No one will come to my house

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Pet Island > Herp Megathread 3: No one will come to my house

supermikhail: Nov 17, 2012; "It's video games, Scully."
Video games?"
"He enlists the help of strangers to make his perfect video game. When he gets bored of an idea, he murders them and moves on to the next, learning nothing in the process."
"Hmm... interesting."

This thread is raw. I thought I was okay with herps (?)... and I think I still am, but primates are frankly starting to give me the creeps.

Anyway, I'm not an owner or an aspiring owner, but I have some questions, relevant to the following:

OP posted:

Crocodilians: Do I really need to explain this one?

I'm listening to an audiobook by a biologist who has spent a lot of time studying crocodilian behavior. He mentioned at one point that some crocodilians are kept as pets without problems, and this was both surprising and expected to me, because I'd been thinking about intelligence and pets, and while I've heard many a time that crocodilians are untameable, savage beasts, at the same time I know that they are social and hierarchical, which should be a good foundation for domestication.

So, I'm confused. Any help, thoughts, (un)educated opinions?

Also, the same author expressed an opinion that it's not helpful to include crocodilians into the field of herpetology, because herpetologists aren't used to dealing with social animals. And now it turns out that herpetophiles aren't that fond of them either. So I have to ask, are they, in fact, herps?

# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 11:45

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 22:21

supermikhail: Nov 17, 2012; "It's video games, Scully."
Video games?"
"He enlists the help of strangers to make his perfect video game. When he gets bored of an idea, he murders them and moves on to the next, learning nothing in the process."
"Hmm... interesting."

Oooh. You didn't intend it as such, but thank you for that excellent piece of language practice. (So clearly spoken!)

Okay. Well, the guy is actually not a herpetologist, he said he didn't want to specialize too narrowly, so he became an ethologist. He probably missed those. :shrug:

Anyway, why is the OP so dismissive of crocodilians, then?

# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 12:36

supermikhail: Nov 17, 2012; "It's video games, Scully."
Video games?"
"He enlists the help of strangers to make his perfect video game. When he gets bored of an idea, he murders them and moves on to the next, learning nothing in the process."
"Hmm... interesting."

Big Centipede posted:

They are for only the most advanced and wealthy keepers. I've been keeping herps for 20 years and I couldnt properly care for even a west African dwarf. At only 4 - 5 feet, they'd still need a shitload of room to keep them happy. Not to mention cleaning crocodile poo poo out of a large pool of water and feeding the drat things.

If I win the lottery, I'll get some, otherwise I'll stick with more easy to maintain species.

Oh. Apologies. I think I misinterpreted the intent of that list in the OP.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 12:55

supermikhail: Nov 17, 2012; "It's video games, Scully."
Video games?"
"He enlists the help of strangers to make his perfect video game. When he gets bored of an idea, he murders them and moves on to the next, learning nothing in the process."
"Hmm... interesting."

Uh. I really want to tell a dumb story. On the topic of dumb kids. I was a really dumb kid I'd say into my early twenties, at least with respect to animals. But around 10 I had a series of turtles, some kind of Asian land variety (?) which on average lasted for about a month. They were pretty easy to obtain at a local sort of flea market. One of them I even acquired sick and it died about a week later, I think. Another ran away when I let it out for a walk on a beach. I'm pretty sure there was a third but I don't remember what happened to that one. Pets seemed to be passed around quite haphazardly at that time and place so I guess my parents didn't worry that much. And of course the turtles were illegally captured in the wild and trafficked over there.

Anyway, in view of those and other regrettable experiences I've formed a strong opinion that I'm just about fit to care for my one cat... if I don't forget to write myself detailed reminders and occasionally come over to PI to get yelled at as a prophylactic measure.

From Googling they may have been "Indotestudo elongata", but I think the face was darker, although the rest of the appearance checks out as far as I remember.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2015 19:48

supermikhail: Nov 17, 2012; "It's video games, Scully."
Video games?"
"He enlists the help of strangers to make his perfect video game. When he gets bored of an idea, he murders them and moves on to the next, learning nothing in the process."
"Hmm... interesting."

Any recommendations about what I could read, or better watch, about interactions of pet reptiles with their owners? I'm still interested in how domestic they can be, so, you know, I'd appreciate both the "I don't give any fucks whether you exist" and the "woo, yes, belly rubs" (if this exists) perspectives. Or perhaps even only watch, because the selectivity and distortions of books can be very heavy. (While in videos there's at least something beyond the words.)

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 11:02

supermikhail: Nov 17, 2012; "It's video games, Scully."
Video games?"
"He enlists the help of strangers to make his perfect video game. When he gets bored of an idea, he murders them and moves on to the next, learning nothing in the process."
"Hmm... interesting."

While I'm as skeptical as everyone, I can also see some positives. (Oh, also, the guy in the video also probably could test whether they were trying to get out. My bet is, no.) The tegus ignored the food, plus they learned that it's okay to approach and climb a human. Although even ruling out food and heat, I wouldn't go as far as attribute them with affection. Do they have a pack leader in the wild or interact with any large animals? (And in fact, what kind of tegu is that? :confused:

)

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 14:37

supermikhail: Nov 17, 2012; "It's video games, Scully."
Video games?"
"He enlists the help of strangers to make his perfect video game. When he gets bored of an idea, he murders them and moves on to the next, learning nothing in the process."
"Hmm... interesting."

drat, I'm so confused by those that climb up on people. There barely seems to be anything going on in that head, and a snake or lizard should naturally avoid a large animal like a human, but here it is. Makes me want to get into their heads with some heavy machinery, but Google seems to only get studies of the effect of snakes on people's brain function. :sigh:

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 17:20

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 22:21

supermikhail: Nov 17, 2012; "It's video games, Scully."
Video games?"
"He enlists the help of strangers to make his perfect video game. When he gets bored of an idea, he murders them and moves on to the next, learning nothing in the process."
"Hmm... interesting."

timg is your friend, dude.

The author from whose book I've been drawing inspiration for my posts in this thread has just published a new paper about crocodilian behavior: Crocodiles think surfing waves, playing ball and going on piggyback rides are fun, too, according to Prof Vladimir Dinets from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2015 09:00

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