Rango might be a very chatty Chameleon, but in general reptiles tend to be the strong silent types!!!

A special guest feature by our great friend, and reptile aficionado... John F. Taylor

With the recent release of Rango Johnny Depp’s reptile filled Western starring a Chameleon garnering so much attention it got me thinking. In the movie Rango is a talking Chameleon. Reptiles don’t verbally communicate in a way that we humans can interpret or understand. They don’t even communicate amongst themselves right?

That’s what a lot of people would get wrong. So how do reptiles communicate? Morever, what the heck are they saying to one another? You’ll notice the tagline of my radio show the Reptile Living Room “Reptiles can’t talk…so we do.” Which is actually not completely accurate to be honest because ‘talk’ can be signals or signs it doesn’t have to be vocalization.

Experienced keepers of reptiles are constantly aware of the nonverbal communiqué that reptiles sometimes display. I am not aware of any documentation that explains all of the nonverbal signals of reptiles. Nonverbal communication in the reptile world comes primarily in two forms physical and visual.

Physical nonverbal communication:

Swelling or inflation of the body is primarily used by lizards but a few snakes will inflate themselves as well. This is used to make the animal appear bigger than it really is and can be used to either avoid becoming a meal for a predator or also for defending the reptiles territory from interlopers. Other nonverbal shows of force especially in lizards are head bobbing, throat inflation, and push ups. I had a Bearded Dragon Pogona sp. at one time that we affectionately referred to as the low rider. When another animal was seen he would immediately begin head bobbing and the jerking of his head would be so hard that his front legs would come of the ground. It was a very comical sight to the say the least.

I have also observed Bearded Dragons Pogona sp. head bob during courtship seeming to try and impress a female. The female response if she is willing to accept the male is one that I have never seen any other lizards do and that is arm waving. She will literally pick up a forelimb and move it in a circular motion towards the male. Males of the Bearded Dragon Pogona sp. will also inflate their beards which is where they get the name Bearded Dragon Pogona sp. They also change the color of their beard to a black color when defending their territory.


Visual nonverbal communication:

Color change is another form of communication but it’s actually not as wide spread as are the others. It would appear as if lizards are the only ones capable of rapid color change.These changes coincide with some stimulus such as an intruder into a territory or a female entering a male’s range that might be ready to breed. The rapid color changes are achieved by the movement of cells called chromatophores within the skin.

The most familiar color changing lizards are of course the Chameleon sp and according to interviews which I have done they are most brilliant when in breeding cycles. The Chameleon sp. use color to communicate a variety of ‘emotional’ states. Combat brings about a very different color scheme as would say a male trying to impress a female. Other lizards such as Anoles Anolis sp. are known to change color from lighter to darker in order to absorb more of the suns radiation and are often referred to as the American Chameleon.

More recently of course if you’re in the social networks I am sure you have heard or have even seen the recently captured Bronx Zoo Cobra which had escaped and opened a Twitter account and spoke wittily of its adventures throughout the New York cityscape from its iPhone. Which it swallowed before being returned to its enclosure, most thought that the return to ‘incarceration’ would stop the communication. As of this writing the Egyptian Cobra is still Tweeting from its enclosure and has either brokered a deal or is reportedly in talks with some television companies.

While some people talk to their pets it’s always a good idea to listen as well. Better yet, in the case of reptiles watch for the nonverbal cues. They’re telling you something and recognizing those signs may lead to you becoming the Reptile Whisperer.

To learn more about reptiles visit John, at Reptile Apartment, it's full of HAUTE information!!!

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