Latest Posts by ketusbetus - Page 4
mugwomps
replied to your photo
“Sometimes when I’m working, Kaiju will violently shove the laptop away…”
I’ve never kept reptiles other than catch-examine-release…does your Very Large lizard actually want cuddles from you? Is she, um, bright enough to know you from other humans? Sorry, I am as ignorant as I am curious!
That is actually an EXTREMELY GOOD QUESTION and something I’ve been working on defining for as long as I’ve known Kaiju! It’s hard to describe affection without being anthropomorphic, so I usually approach this question by looking at what I know about reptile behavior and then trying to figure out what specific behavioral sets mean. This is gonna be a long post- it’s something I REALLY LOVE talking about.
Reptiles socialize in ways that are very different from mammals, and this can be really confusing- especially when one of the big things they tolerate humans for is our body heat. Research into reptile behavior suggests that lizards can definitely distinguish between people by scent alone, as well as by sound. It’s not uncommon for captive lizards to recognize their primary keeper- who’s feeding them, who’s interacting with them. Kaiju can actually differentiate between my clothes and other peoples’ clothes (she’s a horrible laundry thief). The people don’t even need to be in them. But beyond that, the most interesting things (in my opinion) happen in larger lizards- things that are big enough not to be everybody’s prey species, things that are able to be a little more confident and less reliant on hiding or running away.
The benchmarks for attention-seeking behavior and and curiosity/interest in humans that isn’t food-driven have been best studied in Komodo dragons due to interest in the zoo industry because encouraging these behaviors has become a key part of Komodo dragon management. These criteria include interacting with human keepers in a non-food context, expressing heightened interest in items that smell like a specific human, and non-predatory non-regulatory behavior- i.e. play. Trooper Walsh, who’s the guy at the National Zoo who got Komodo dragons to breed in captivity and Gordon Burghardt from UT, as well as a bunch of other herpetologists lay it all out in a chapter of Komodo Dragons: Biology and Conservation, which is one of the best books about big reptiles I’ve ever read. An example of both play and preference is seen here- Kraken, the dragon in question, has no reason to want that handkerchief. It’s not food, it doesn’t smell like food, and it doesn’t look like food. And it’s not feeding time! But she’s gonna take it regardless. Kraken was also notorious for stealing shoes and sticking her face in them, which is something Kaiju does as well. (I think that’s Walsh in the video with her.)
Now, Kaiju is a tegu, not a monitor lizard. But a lot of this still applies- tegus are extremely curious. There’s actually an evolutionary advantage to that- they’re scavengers with extremely broad diets, and investigating novel things can have great rewards. Being able to solve problems and work through natural puzzles is beneficial- there’s definitely incentive to be curious and to get highly comfortable with the environment.
There’s also a lot of anecdotal evidence that just… suggests that they like being around people, that they’re interested in what people are doing.
This is one of my favorite videos because it’s really cool visual evidence that these tegus… well, want attention. The human offers food and they’re all far more interested in contact and attention. And I don’t think it’s just these tegus- I think it’s any tegu that’s learned that humans can be trusted. I’ve met a whole bunch of really well-socialized tegus, and they definitely have their people- they’re happy to accept pats and scratches, but at the end of the day, their human is their constant. They’re built for different worlds that the one we live in, and while they are highly adaptable and curious, having something they know is safe to return to is probably very comforting.
So how does this look for my very large lizard in particular? I represent a constant- I’m something that she associates with pleasant things, comfort, and food. But I also represent a continual source of entertainment- I do new, strange things and make odd noises and sometimes dispense food. I pet her- if I don’t, she shoves her face into my hands until I do. Anecdotes aren’t data, and it’s not a rigorous study or anything, but time and again I see her making decisions that put her in proximity to me. I see her scratching at the cage door when I come home. I see her climbing into my bag in the mornings before I go to work, even when she’s got a million other places she could hide. I see her having all this space to move around and regularly choosing to be near me- even when it has nothing to do with thermoregulating or food. When I came in to pick her up from boarding, she fought the lady bringing her out to me and then wouldn’t let me put her down for hours after I got home. It was a struggle to get her in the pet carrier. I see this wild animal falling asleep on my lap, and I have to wonder- this isn’t a dog. This isn’t a cat. She’s not domesticated, and she wasn’t even raised by humans- she’s a feral animal from the swamp in Florida. And yet she feels safe enough to fall asleep on me. I think that means something.
Caught pepper trying to attack my cursor on my laptop, absolute proof mantises are just tiny cats 🐈🐜 (pepper is my pet spiny flower mantis, I fed her afterwards for her great efforts don’t worry)
Planet Weird presents HELLIER, a five-part, cinematic documentary series following an investigation into unsolved mysteries, impossible synchronicities, and a web of high strangeness which stretches from the heart of Appalachian coal country. Driven by a plea for help from a man under supernatural assault, a small crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences leads them to a decades-old mystery with far-reaching implications. HELLIER premieres all episodes on Friday, January 18th at 12:01 AM ET on multiple streaming platforms
For more: www.hellier.tv
unmute this now
Hallow’s Eve Hooligans
DISGUSTED by obscene disrespectful artwork I have repeatedly seen with my own two eyes of Oogie Boogie with a humanlike dicko or vaginia despite the fucking fact we DANG DAMNED KNOW, BEYOND ANY CONCEIVABLE GODFUCKED DOUBT, CARL!!! that his junk would be a snake or a caterpillar or a couple of snails stuck together!!!!!!!!
i will no longer be using this blog because she died
bug love dirt
I’m not saying James Gunn shouldn’t have been fired. I’m neutral on that subject. He’s a grown man who said some awful shit, and while it was many years ago and he has somewhat apologized for it, I can’t fault people for being uncomfortable.
But I have to question very, very aggressively anything that seeks to get progressives to amplify the reach of a white supremacist who is trying make people believe in child molestation cults that secretly rule the would, and thinks that most rape is imaginary.
The fact that this is getting people to support megaconglomerates as moral authorities and encouraging people to treat clearly fraudulent accusations of child molestation more severely than genuine rape cases is also… Concerning.
Like, if it came out 6 months from now that this was an orchestrated campaign of propaganda, I cannot say I would be surprised.
Okay so I followed this video about foreshortening and…
Sycra. I love you so much for making this video.
it’s friday! post horse mouth bird
Never forget! #july31984 #returnofthelivingdead #uneedamedicalsupply #zombies #horror #morebrains #nightofthelivingdead
strange omens gather at the end of the street
I’m really high right now and I couldn’t find my phone so I was like “Alexaaaaaaaaaaaaa find phone” and she called my phone for me she’s like a wife I’m gonna marry Alexa because she knows where my phone is,,,,, I love technology
Yamask’s Revenge
Twitter | Patreon Relevant dex entries:
Previously: Sad Litwick & Phantump comic
YOU GUYS WANTED MORE SO HERE YOU GO
wow it really is fascinating and tragic to condense all this down in one video
When SpongeBob turns 20 he will turn into a real boy and you will all have to watch Human Bob and enjoy it. He turned 18 today, so you have 2 more years to sort out your feelings.
ペッタラペッタラ手を上げながら歩くボス
me when that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome kicks in
i’m not strong enough for this i’m about to die RIGHT here
I wonder what the cosmic horror equivalent would be of some doofus throwing an uncut plastic can-ring in the woods.
I guess you’d be minding your own business going about your day when suddenly you feel your body get all tangled up in something like a big web or giant flypaper. You can never see it but it feels from then on like you’re dragging a bunch of tree branches everywhere you go, small objects end up hovering around you as they get caught up in it, you see in more colors than a human is supposed to and you get some really weird rashes that look almost like writing. Maybe you die because it slowly turns your brain tissue into quartz or something.
All because a poorly educated Ghuerj spore was too lazy to throw its kxzyjtrrt rind down the proper void funnel
I gotta get lost. I feel like getting lost would be a new adventure. Of course it's just a little voice in my head wishing for more in life. Never being satisfied with what I have, I'll probably lose a lot someday and realize what was lost. I'll realize what is to come is just a new shedding of the old. I'm starting to find that it's an old plot that needs tending to.
Need. To. Buy. Coloring. Book.
A randomly selected page from the 150 page horror coloring book I illustrated, which you can buy here.
