The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They are a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the NBA. The team was founded in 1989 and has since become a prominent figure in the NBA. Over the years, the Orlando Magic has had its fair share of ups and downs. They have been home to several talented players including Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady, and Dwight Howard. These players have helped the team achieve success and make it to the playoffs multiple times.

Reptile Emotions

When thinking of reptiles, the image that comes to the minds of most people can vary from a garter snake slithering through the grass to lizards of Jurassic proportions roaming the earth. The idea of bonding with such creatures may seem creepy, or even impossible, yet some people insist that their reptiles know them and enjoy being with them. Can reptiles feel or portray emotions?

Generally, reptiles do demonstrate basic emotions. According to Dr. Sharman Hoppes, clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, the main two are fear and aggression, but they may also demonstrate pleasure when stroked or when offered food.

“A snake that is feeling aggressive may warn you with a hiss,” states Dr. Hoppes. “This can occur when you are forcing your attention on the snake, and if you persist, they may strike out. Typically snakes hiss or coil when they are feeling hostile, but most pet snakes are not aggressive animals unless threatened.”

A reptile that is feeling fear may simply try to get away, but it can also exhibit actions similar to aggression. For this reason, it is a good idea to keep handling sessions with a new reptile to a minimum until it gets used to you. Otherwise, you may scare it into striking at you, a perceived threat. It is better to have a good session without upsetting the animal that lasts two minutes than a longer session trying to force a reptile to accept you.

A more controversial emotion in reptiles is the concept of pleasure, or even love. Many feel that they have not developed this emotion, as it does not naturally benefit them. However, most reptiles do seem to recognize people who frequently handle and feed them.

“I don’t know if it is love,” says Dr. Hoppes, “but lizards and tortoises appear to like some people more than others. They also seem to show the most emotions, as many lizards do appear to show pleasure when being stroked.”

Another interesting fact is that while many reptiles lay their eggs and then leave their young to fend for themselves, some, such as prehensile-tailed skinks, form family groups and protect their young. Female alligators also stay with their young and will guard them for up to six months, teaching them survival skills and vocalizing with them through a series of grunts. Whether this is due to a survival instinct or concern for their individual offspring is unknown.

When it comes to interactions with humans, some reptiles do seem to enjoy their company. A tortoise that enjoys being petted might stick its neck out or close it eyes and become still and calm during the interaction. The same is true of lizards.

“Some reptiles do appear to enjoy human contact,” adds Dr. Hoppes, “especially when food is offered. Many will respond to feeding times, coming to certain people they associate with food. And certainly most iguanas prefer certain people over others.”

Iguanas have individual personalities that can vary from tranquil and laid-back to aggressive and dominating. The latter can be very difficult to live with and care for. The more calm iguanas, however, tend to bond with their person but may only endure handling by that individual. It is the rare iguana who is social with strangers.

Many reptile owners believe that their personal reptiles do recognize the good intentions they have towards them. Others deem that their cold-blooded dependents only tolerate them when they have to and would prefer to be left alone. By careful observation and handling of your reptiles, you can determine which are more social and which may not be quite so impressed with having a human as a best friend.

Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories can be viewed on the Web at vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk. Suggestions for future topics may be directed to [email protected].

Magical Geckos

Terms of service: IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO READ BEFORE EVERY PURCHASE. TERMS OF SERVICE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANYTIME.

-Refusal: Magical Geckos reserves the right to refuse sale at any point to any person.

-Sexing: If any gecko is not listed as VISUAL male or female or is not an adult at least 30 grams in weight, the sex of the animal is not guaranteed. Geckos are temperature sexed at 90 and 82 degrees. So while the TSF/TSM (Temperature Sexed Male/Female) is accurate to some extent there is always a chance that it may change. Magical Geckos is not responsible for geckos sold as Temp sexed if they end up being the wrong sex. It is the risk you take when purchasing a young animal. We will do our best to give you the best educated guess though.

-Deposits: Are NON-refundable.

-Holding geckos: If requested and practical, Magical Geckos will hold geckos before shipping for up to 14 days (contact for special cases). Please make sure you want the gecko before purchasing. If we have not shipped yet, you have 7 days to change your mind. After holding a gecko (that has been paid for) for more than 7 days, you may ONLY receive credit towards other purchases. A cash refund will no longer be possible.

-ENIGMAS: Enigmas live with Enigma syndrome: A neurological disorder that can cause circling, head tilts, wobbly head, feeding issues, among other things. Geckos with Enigma syndrome will be rated at current status. SHIPPING often increases the symptoms. Please be aware and ask questions regarding this before purchase. It is highly recommended that enigmas with mild or greater enigma syndrome are not bred.

We have adapted a great scale for measuring our Enigma's "Enigma syndrome". Enigma Syndrome (ES) Is what is thought to be a Neurological disorder. Effects are NONE to SEVERE.
symptoms include but are not limited to: Circling, head tilt, star gazing, rolling. There is a chance that any enigma can quickly escalate from little to no syndrome to severe. We love them here and they are fantastic animals we just ask you make sure you do research and are 100% sure an enigma is correct for you.

All geckos will be labeled ES of 0-4

0-The gecko NEVER shows enigma syndrome.
1- The gecko RARELY shows enigma syndrome.
2- The gecko SOMETIMES shows enigma syndrome.
3- The gecko OFTEN shows enigma syndrome.
4- The gecko ALWAYS shows enigma syndrome.

We HIGHLY recommend not breeding any enigma rated at 2,3 or 4.

-Health guarantee- We offer a 7 to 30 day health guarantee depending on species. A replacement will be issued as long as proper husbandry has been proven. We MAY or may not require a necropsy if one is needed and it is not the buyers fault for death, the price of the necropsy will be reimbursed. If the animal is not signed for on the first delivery attempt it voids the live arrival guarantee.

-Eating: babies are being fed crickets and/or mealworms. IF YOUR GECKO IS NOT eating please message a.s.a.p. and try offering crickets. It is unacceptable to message me saying “my gecko has not eaten for weeks”. If your gecko goes more than 5 days without eating, we expect a message.

-Shipping: We ship Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday with 100% live arrival guarantee, *shipping Thursday is possible, Friday is very discouraged. Guarantee of live arrival is void for Friday shipments.

-Magic Bucks: Magic bucks are to be used as a “gift card” there is NO cash value and may NOT be used towards shipping. They are NOT to be combined for a single gecko. If you are purchasing more than one gecko you can use more than one issuance of Magic Bucks. If you have won Magic Bucks, it is your responsibility to take a screen shot of the winning contest or issuance for proof.

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CELESTIAL GECKOS

The named gecks with pictures are all of my leopard geckos who have either been under my care for a long period of time, will be staying here for the rest of their long geck lives, or are my current breeders. This list is in the order from longest to shortest time under my care. Click on the “more pictures of ___” to see all tagged pictures of the said gecko.

Alien ♂ (W&Y Tremper Albino het Eclipse) More pictures of Alien

Purchased from: Safari Geckos

Lineage: Geckos on Fire

Description: Alien is a rather calm gecko so far. I will update more when he settles in!

Aries ♀ (W&Y Mack Snow Red Stripe Bell Albino ph Eclipse) More pictures of Aries

Purchased from: SC Reptiles

Lineage: Geckoboa Reptiles and Razorsharp Reptiles

Pairing: W&Y Mack Snow Stripe Bell Albino x Red Stripe Bell Albino

Description: (Will update when I get to know this girl better!)

Leona ♀ (Blood ph bell albino) More pictures of Leona

Purchased from: Magical Geckos

Lineage: This girl is from JMG’s blood line

Description: This is a giant girl who is yet to refuse food. She’ll eat anything from roaches to mealworms to grub pie and shows no obvious preferences. She is very calm and has two paradox spots on one side of her body. She likes to watch everyone and is a very observant gecko who will tolerate head pats.

Purchased from: TJR Herps

Lineage: Octavia was produced by Lone Star and their original W&Y stock came from Don Hamilton, and his Bell Sunglows came from Bright Albino, so Octavia is likely a mix of these and some other outcrossing.

Description: This girl is so beautiful in person and in pictures. She’s dulling a tiny bit with age, but still has some incredible red/orange in her. She’s incredibly calm and loves to eat everything as long as it puts up a fight. She also just loves chasing her food and mealtime is definitely a game with her.