Aggressive eater, drew blood

[fallfromatree]

It doesn't seem to matter what I feed him, Dax always very aggressively eats his food, be it live feeders or veggies. I've tried hand-feeding, putting it in a dish, dropping it in the tank, and using feeder tongs. The other day I was lowering a dish of fresh greens into his tank and he lunged for it, biting into my thumb and drawing blood. That's the first and only time in my 3 years of owning him that he's done that, and I'm not mad at him for it - I know he didn't do it to hurt me - but it makes feeding time tough.

General info about him is in my introduction post, and I'd welcome any suggestions!

 

[Rachella]

I had a beardie once, Jumper, who was an all around meanie! He bit me only once, but was always very unfriendly. I believe to this day it was because I made the mistake of housing him in the same room with my other male. He never wanted to be held and would puff and hiss all the time.

However, after a week or so of hard work and dedication, I got him to warm up to me.

The first thing I'd recommend is refusing to feed him if he lunges or otherwise acts aggressive to you during feeding. When you offer him the food, if he lunges or acts mean, calmly withdraw your hand and the food and leave for about five minutes. Return and try again. He may act even more irritated at you and if he turns black or gets really aggressive, leave him alone for a good thirty minutes to calm down. Cover his tank if you have to.

Try again. Eventually he'll calm down and when his behaviour improves you can leave the food in there for him. Do this for a few days at a time and if you feel brave enough, try offering him a piece of veggie on your finger. Repeat the above process until he's willing to eat from your finger without biting you.

It took about a week of this for Jumper to get used to me, and even though he was still jumpy he stopped hissing and puffing up at me.

Try it and see if it works for you.

 

[dragons1222]

if that doesnt work you should just use a barrier of sorts

trap him on one side of his viv and put his food in then remove the divider and let him to the food

that way your hands stay safe lol

or remove him from the tank put his food in and then put him back

i am assuming you are, but do you feed him enough food often enough? sometimes people dont realize how much they can really eat. how old is he?


oops nevermind, i just looked at your intro post and obviously you feed him plenty lol

 

[fallfromatree]

I had a beardie once, Jumper, who was an all around meanie! He bit me only once, but was always very unfriendly. I believe to this day it was because I made the mistake of housing him in the same room with my other male. He never wanted to be held and would puff and hiss all the time.

However, after a week or so of hard work and dedication, I got him to warm up to me.

The first thing I'd recommend is refusing to feed him if he lunges or otherwise acts aggressive to you during feeding. When you offer him the food, if he lunges or acts mean, calmly withdraw your hand and the food and leave for about five minutes. Return and try again. He may act even more irritated at you and if he turns black or gets really aggressive, leave him alone for a good thirty minutes to calm down. Cover his tank if you have to.

Try again. Eventually he'll calm down and when his behaviour improves you can leave the food in there for him. Do this for a few days at a time and if you feel brave enough, try offering him a piece of veggie on your finger. Repeat the above process until he's willing to eat from your finger without biting you.

It took about a week of this for Jumper to get used to me, and even though he was still jumpy he stopped hissing and puffing up at me.

Try it and see if it works for you.

What (I find) curious is that he's aggressive even if it's just him and the food. I sliced up some green grapes and dropped them in the tank for him, and, even with his back turned and me standing off to the side, he'd lunge after each one like it was capable of getting up and running away from him.

With trying to hand feed him, I switched to tongs to avoid being bit, but he's so forceful even with those that he bites down hard onto the tongs and I'm afraid he's going to hurt mouth by chomping on the metal. I'm sure that doesn't feel or taste good, so maybe he'd learn to be more gentle that way, but I'd hate to see him hurt himself in the process.

I'll see if incorporating your suggestions will help stem his aggression; I sure hope so. Thank you!

 

[fallfromatree]

if that doesnt work you should just use a barrier of sorts

trap him on one side of his viv and put his food in then remove the divider and let him to the food

that way your hands stay safe lol

or remove him from the tank put his food in and then put him back

i am assuming you are, but do you feed him enough food often enough? sometimes people dont realize how much they can really eat. how old is he?


oops nevermind, i just looked at your intro post and obviously you feed him plenty lol

Thanks dragons1222. A few times, when I've been uncertain of his behavior, I've dropped a piece of food on one side of the tank, then lowered the dish on the other while he was distracted. It's definitely less than ideal - I'd like for him to calm down while eating - but it's a safe way to avoid being bit.

Regarding feeding him, sometimes I don't think any amount of food is enough for him! I know two others with adult beardies, and theirs only eat 5-10 crickets per day, supplemented with veggies of course. They can't believe Dax can easily put away 50 or more in a sitting. My fear is that perhaps I didn't feed him enough in the past, and as a result he's aggressive because he doesn't think he'll get enough if he takes his time. Regardless, I hope he can overcome it now. Thanks again!

 

[dragons1222]

that is definatly possible


how long have you had him? since he was a baby right?

that would make me think that he should have gotten over it by now
lol

as an adult he should only be fed 30-50 feeders per week

too much protien is bad for them and can cause fatty liver disease and kidney problems

at his age he should be eating mostly greens especially since he isnt under weight

 

[fallfromatree]

Yeah, I've had him since he was a baby. He actually is on the recommended number of live feeders per week, with veggies being his main food. I'm just saying he can easily put away a surprising amount. :lol:

 

[dragons1222]

ah ok just wanted to make sure you werent feeding him 50 a day lol

 

[smurfthebeardie]

Smurf's bit me when he thought my finger was a worm... but blood? Seems a bit much.

 

[glitch_in_the_system]

I was feeding Obie a some boiled chicken and after a few pieces she lunged for my finger and bit it smelling the chicken on my hand or thinking it was chicken. Only other times she has bit anyone was she grabbed my girlfriends toe once when she was laying on the ground wiggling her toes.

 

[JeffSimpson]

Wow...it's really strange to hear about BDs being agressive like this. I've read so much about how tame they are, good with children, etc. Is this just a few isolated eating incidents, or is typical?

 

[fallfromatree]

Wow...it's really strange to hear about BDs being agressive like this. I've read so much about how tame they are, good with children, etc. Is this just a few isolated eating incidents, or is typical?

I'm sure many can be finicky while they're getting used to you, but "long-term" aggression is more isolated I'd say. That's not to say they can't get cranky one in a while, but our neighbor has one about the same age as Dax (between 3-4 years old) and he's more docile than a sack of potatoes sitting on your counter. Another friend's is equally pleasant. I'm not sure if Dax is just angry at the world or what, but from what I've seen he's more the exception - granted he's my first bearded dragon. But hey, compared to my neighbor's green python, Dax is nothing but rainbows and lollipops.