Target training is an important way to keep the iguana mentally stimulated and encourage natural foraging behaviors. It also comes in handy when needing them to cooperate for a medical exam.
00:00Today at the San Diego Zoo, we are working on some basic target training with one of our critically endangered lizards, Anagata Rock Iguana.
00:14Target training is very important for a couple of main reasons. One is enrichment. This is very mentally stimulating for the animal. It's encouraging natural behaviors like foraging, climbing on the rocks. It's a very good exercise.
00:25It also makes it ease of management for the animal as well too, whether you know we're doing a veterinary procedure or shifting the animal. He's doing this on his own free will, completely stress-free.
00:36Target.
00:37For the target, we'll typically use a brightly colored object. These guys in the wild typically eat fruits and flowers, and that's almost kind of like candy to them.
00:44So they're going to be attracted to that. So that's why for our target, we're going to use a red object.
00:49This is kind of going to get him excited and think he's getting a flower. And as soon as he touches that target, I'm going to give him a reward, like a sweet potato or maybe a grape.
01:00Good boy.
01:02When you're first target training an animal and you finally see him starting to learn the behavior, it's super rewarding and it's amazing.
01:07You can see him actually connecting with you and actually learning the behavior. So it's really exciting.
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