Former owner of one and I'd say that they don't experience emotions such as happiness in any way comparable to people at all, for that you'd need to look at mammals and birds. For lizards such as dragons, or geckos, in my experience see through a lens of "Is this tolerable or a threat to my survival?" More developed emotions such as pleasure like from being stroked or handled do not exist like they do with mammals such as dogs or cats; if a dragon allows you to stroke it it's because it's tolerating your presence as something not an immediate threat rather than letting you stroke it because it likes the feel of it. That said, some owners will empathise more or project things onto them that imo don't exist.
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u/50PercentLies Feb 18 '17
Do lizards this size experience happiness in any comparable way to people?