The topic of leopard geckos’ intelligence can be pretty fascinating. As an exotic pet owner, you would like to know how wise your little scaly friend is and the different things it can do.
Although leopard geckos have essential intelligence, these reptiles can be considered intuitive, given their ability to survive and procreate. Leopard geckos intelligence refers to “the ability to learn, understand, or deal with new situations.”
Leopard geckos stand true for almost all living species as they are all instinctive. However, intelligence is highly diverse and speculative across different species. But when it comes to other lizards, where do leopard geckos stand? Let us know.
How Smart Are Leopard Geckos?
Leopard geckos are smart enough to survive on their own and stay safe from predators. In captivity, leopard geckos can recognize and bond with the owner.
If you have given them a name, leopard geckos will also recognize their name over time.
And if you are still looking for the perfect name for your scaly friend, here are some of the best names for leopard geckos that you can consider. Other than this, leopard geckos exhibit territoriality and specific other characteristics. These reptiles can identify the gender of other species by smelling pheromones on their body.
As you may know, two male leopard geckos do not co-exist when they feel the need to exhibit territoriality and are usually done by displaying aggression towards other male species. Alternatively, male leopard geckos are smart enough to show courtship behavior near female leopard geckos.
And while all these statements stand true for wild geckos, generations of captive breeding have led to various changes to the leopard gecko, making them a lot more friendly and docile.
Whether captive breeding has changed leopard geckos’ brain function is debatable. However, there is a possibility that this has made them ‘less smart’ as they are not exposed to threats which makes them rely less on their instincts.
What Are Some Smart Things That Leopard Gecko Can Do?
Leopard geckos can convey their thoughts, camouflage, identify different colors, recognize their name and owner, which tells a lot about their smartness. Although there has not been a lot of research on leopard gecko’s intelligence, their behavior is one of the biggest testaments of their level of intelligence.
Your Exotic Pets also carried out an exclusive survey with leopard gecko owners, and the majority of the respondents stated that leopard geckos are ‘pretty smart.’
Talking about surveys, a scientific study carried out by University of Guelph researchers indicates that gecko brains are constantly renewing brain cells that other species, even humans, cannot do.
Following are quite a few things that leopard geckos can do that will help you get a better idea of their capabilities:
Communication to other leopard gecko
Like various other species, leopard geckos can also convey their emotions. They usually use a wide range of vocalizations and body language to communicate. They may chirp if they are annoyed or frightened produce a clicking sound to converse with fellow geckos. They may even bark if they are feeling hungry.
Leopard geckos also use their tails to communicate. If they slowly move their tails, they let other geckos know they noticed.
Whereas, quick movement of the tail usually means that a male gecko has noticed a female gecko. However, if its tail starts to shake, the gecko is on a hunt.
Catching their prey
While in captivity, leopard gecko can easily feed various insects like crickets, woodies, silkworms, and mealworms. They need to catch their prey in the wild, and they use their keen senses of hearing and sight to come across prey and then grab them with the sticky end of the tongue.
Leopard geckos are swift with movement, making almost every attack a sure win.
However, geckos do not always rely on their tongues to catch prey, and they may sometimes merely snap their mouth at the victim and grab it in their jaw.
Identify different colours
Leopard geckos have a relatively short focal length, but they can quickly identify many colors, incredibly dark because they have a well-adapted vision for dim light.
Because of a unique ability that lets leopard geckos use moonlight reflections in the dark, which helps them identify various objects. Leopard geckos are crepuscular animals that are primarily active during dawn and dusk.
And while many people believe that leopard geckos are nocturnal, they are generally active during dusk, which goes on slightly to the nighttime.
Camouflage
Leopard geckos need to watch out for predators like snakes, foxes, and other more enormous reptiles in the wild. While they can avoid threats with the help of their senses of hearing and sight, their camouflage technique also helps them significantly escape danger.
Besides this, leopard geckos also burrow holes during the daytime that not only helps them stay cool but also avoids predators also tells us a lot about how smart they can be.
FAQs about Leopard Geckos
Conclusion On Are Leopard Geckos Smart For Lizards?
Leopard geckos are fascinating little creatures, so they are some of the most sought-after exotic pets. In captivity, geckos do not have to rely on instinctive behavior as all the requirements are met, and their owner looks after them, which is why wild geckos tend to be a little smarter than those in captivity.
Still, these reptiles know how to behave and respond in certain situations and surroundings. And this is all the intelligence they need to survive and procreate.
And while there are a bunch of more intelligent species and even more intelligent lizards, leopard geckos are pretty entertaining and adorable, which makes them a great pet. We hope this information will help you better understand leopard geckos and their intelligence level.
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