Do lizards suffer from depression

Answer 1

Pets of all sorts-including reptiles-use body language and behavior to communicate their feelings and needs, and with a little practice, you'll learn to translate these behaviors. You'll know when your reptile is bored or lonely, happy or content. Some of these pet-generated will indicate contentment, such as "basking" in the attentions of his owner, eating well and adjusting to handling. But reptiles may also exhibit changes in appetite or thirst, altered sleeping patterns, subdued or cranky behavior, restlessness, unexplained color changes (primarily a signal in lizards), and aggressive behavior (including the occasional bite). If you think the latter list of behaviors sounds like the definition of human clinical depression, stress, or chronic boredom (or classic executive burn-out), you're right-and most non-humans are no different. They, too, will experience these problems at some time in life. Even reptiles bred in captivity are stressed by the cloistered life. Changes in food or schedule (yes, they do notice!), loss of a companion or mate, or habitat fluctuation may trigger acute depression or stress in your reptile companion.