sheeptramp Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Dear Boards, I'm a beginner to the sport of agility and I have questions. Can I do agility with my lizard? Does Clicker training work best? I tried it on a snake, but had poor results because snakes have no ears. I had to use hand signals and frequently had to roll him (her? Crikey! How can you tell?) on its/ his/her/ their back to show my dominance. Is that cruel? An electronic collar was not an option because it kept sliding off. Oh yeah, back to my lizard. He (she?) is really good at jumping and running through big fabric tubes. (The snake was awesome.... AWESOME in the giant tube, but really sucked at A-Frame, so he/ she/it/ they was re-homed. Oh Yeah. My lizard. So how would you go about training. I mean, I know how to train,I have a lot of books , but I cant really motivate him/ her. How would you motivate a lizard to want to do agility? Do I have to get my lizard registered by AKC, or are there other registries where she / he/ it/ them can be registered on merit? I still have the electric training collar. Does it work on lizards? He/ she/ has been wearing an electric anti-bark collar for a couple of weeks, and I have NO problem with barking. None. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaBluez Tess Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I hear lizard tastes like chicken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I hear lizard tastes like chicken I find it gets to this point quickly with excessive use of the above mentioned electric collar.... As for motivating a lizard, I use a hawk with mine. Great motivator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlasl Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 You HAVE to teach your lizard to tug, you CANNOT have a good agility lizard without a good tug. Try tug with some mouse skin. or stuff crickets in a pouch and try tugging with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheeptramp Posted September 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I'm also planning to breed my lizard...AFTER we have titles, of course , and after I figure out what sex it is. What color do I breed her/him/them to, in order to produce a merle? I'm going to call my kennel ,"Blue Mist Sport Lizards" or, maybe "Dusty Rose Action Lizards" if red merles are produced. Dear Boards, I'm a beginner to the sport of agility and I have questions. Can I do agility with my lizard? Does Clicker training work best? I tried it on a snake, but had poor results because snakes have no ears. I had to use hand signals and frequently had to roll him (her? Crikey! How can you tell?) on its/ his/her/ their back to show my dominance. Is that cruel? An electronic collar was not an option because it kept sliding off. Oh yeah, back to my lizard. He (she?) is really good at jumping and running through big fabric tubes. (The snake was awesome.... AWESOME in the giant tube, but really sucked at A-Frame, so he/ she/it/ they was re-homed. Oh Yeah. My lizard. So how would you go about training. I mean, I know how to train,I have a lot of books , but I cant really motivate him/ her. How would you motivate a lizard to want to do agility? Do I have to get my lizard registered by AKC, or are there other registries where she / he/ it/ them can be registered on merit? I still have the electric training collar. Does it work on lizards? He/ she/ has been wearing an electric anti-bark collar for a couple of weeks, and I have NO problem with barking. None. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgt Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Although I am still a complete novice at agility, one thing I can tell you from my experience ... Don't use the standard Border Collie technique of pulling on their tail to control them. Tails everywhere. WTF? If my advice is too late - see Diane's post, above. charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 You HAVE to teach your lizard to tug, you CANNOT have a good agility lizard without a good tug. Try tug with some mouse skin. or stuff crickets in a pouch and try tugging with that. Remember to get your lizard focusing on your face by keeping crickets or mouse parts in your mouth, and dropping one of those treats out when the lizard makes eye contact. The only lizards I've seen that were good tuggers were Komodo dragons - or are they just reptiles, not lizards at all? Yeah, probably reptiles, so they don't count - and neither do alligators or crocodiles. Shame - that would provide a whole new height/weight class, and I hear they breed pretty well in captivity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclare Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Remember to get your lizard focusing on your face by keeping crickets or mouse parts in your mouth, and dropping one of those treats out when the lizard makes eye contact. The only lizards I've seen that were good tuggers were Komodo dragons - or are they just reptiles, not lizards at all? Yeah, probably reptiles, so they don't count - and neither do alligators or crocodiles. Shame - that would provide a whole new height/weight class, and I hear they breed pretty well in captivity. OK, this is off topic (although this thread is truly helping to get me through an otherwise wretched day) but the other night I had a dream that I was walking a Komodo dragon, I believe trying to get it to a Komodo Dragon rescue org of some sort. During the long walk we kept passing people who had small dogs off-leash, and I kept trying to warn them that they should keep their dogs away from the dragon, because it would try to eat them. Naturally no one listened, and people yelled at me for letting my monster eat their dogs. Now where's Freud when you really need him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthfieldNick Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I'm also planning to breed my lizard...AFTER we have titles, of course , and after I figure out what sex it is.What color do I breed her/him/them to, in order to produce a merle? I'm going to call my kennel ,"Blue Mist Sport Lizards" or, maybe "Dusty Rose Action Lizards" if red merles are produced. Ohh, ohh, I want one! Put me on the list. But only if I can have a double-merle female with full papers and breeding rights. It's okay if it's deaf- my current lizard doesn't respond when I yell at it, anyway. Maybe I'll try the shock collar. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Although I am still a complete novice at agility, one thing I can tell you from my experience ... Don't use the standard Border Collie technique of pulling on their tail to control them. Tails everywhere. WTF? Oh, that's good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclare Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Although I am still a complete novice at agility, one thing I can tell you from my experience ... Don't use the standard Border Collie technique of pulling on their tail to control them. Tails everywhere. WTF? I'd have thought the consequences of trying that with a Border Collie would be worse. You'd end up with a ring full of Aussies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Are these litters going to be awesome at flyball? I need one for a height lizard. These are short lizards, right? I'd like mine in blue please. But nothing near Komodo size, pretty sure NAFA has rules about eating the other team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooky Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Hi all, This is my agility toad, Bufie: Some might think using a toad for agility is stupid, because of their pathetic balloon lungs and primitive 3-chambered heart, but actually, they can jump several times their own length. Well, we have a bit of a problem. He totally lacks drive or work ethic. I try to set him up with the best training facilities: But he gets unmotivated... And then tries to dig into his gravel bed for the rest of the day. For background, I caught him as a wee tadpole and raised him myself. I've done all his prior training, so I think we have a pretty good relationship. He's a western spadefoot. I've tried luring with crickets and tugging with mealworms. Does he need a shock collar? (Ps...NO, its not slow at work today!! Why do you ask??) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Hi all, This is my agility toad, Bufie: And then tries to dig into his gravel bed for the rest of the day. For background, I caught him as a wee tadpole and raised him myself. I've done all his prior training, so I think we have a pretty good relationship. He's a western spadefoot. I've tried luring with crickets and tugging with mealworms. Does he need a shock collar? (Ps...NO, its not slow at work today!! Why do you ask??) Over here in Oz, your Buffer would be a perfect candidate for earth dog competitions - they have to go down holes in the ground . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 And if you wanted something really specky in the way of color, surely an outcross to a chameleon would do the trick . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Hi all, This is my agility toad, Bufie: Some might think using a toad for agility is stupid, because of their pathetic balloon lungs and primitive 3-chambered heart, but actually, they can jump several times their own length. Well, we have a bit of a problem. He totally lacks drive or work ethic. I try to set him up with the best training facilities: But he gets unmotivated... And then tries to dig into his gravel bed for the rest of the day. For background, I caught him as a wee tadpole and raised him myself. I've done all his prior training, so I think we have a pretty good relationship. He's a western spadefoot. I've tried luring with crickets and tugging with mealworms. Does he need a shock collar? (Ps...NO, its not slow at work today!! Why do you ask??) But have you tried CRICKER training? That's clicker training using crickets for the reward. The clicker part might make all the difference. Well, unless he's not from agility lines... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooky Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Sorry to resurrect this silly thread, but I just saw Tassie and Sue's responses - literally was lol at the "cricker" training and earthtoad suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Well, maybe I shouldn't get offended on behalf of insect-working lizards everywhere but I'm getting tired of all this discussion of your performance lizards. Get yourself a new name to differentiate them from my working-bred lizards - something like "Agilizards" would do. Next thing you know, they'll be showing them in conformation and breeding candy colors, and Joe Q Public will think that all lizards are just like the "Looker Lizards" registered with the SSA (Squamata Society of America) they see on TV in the big lizard shows at Madison Square Garden. Geesh, I've loved this topic - all fun and please, no offense meant to anyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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