I've had my baby beardie for about 3 weeks now. She's only 5-6 weeks old and she's still very tiny. We haven't tried to handle her much to avoid unnecessary stress. She seems settled in now and seems like she's eating enough, so I'm wondering when and how often we should try to hold her? She definitely runs and tries to escape when we try to hold her and seems quite scared. We have only had her sit on our hand inside the viv for a few minutes and only once or twice. I don't want to stress her out if she's too young, but I also want to get her used to being handled and bond with her. I'm just not sure where the balance lies. Any advice would be great!
Holding Baby Bearded Dragon Advice
- Thread starter KLB85
- Start date
- Status
kingofnobbys
BD.org Sicko
I start off with very short sessions to start and only necessary handling to start, I had a bonding ritual where I'd handfeed the first few crickets to them each day .
Slowly built up over time.
Slowly built up over time.
In addition to what Kingofnobbys said, be sure to support both hands and feet securely while holding her. They don't like to feel off balance at all and will panic/flail if they aren't stable. Raising and lowering them slowly seems to be preferable as well.
Thanks for the advice, it's good to hear that I should be starting slow and steady and it takes time to build their trust. Sometimes it's confusing because I see a lot of people holding tiny babies and it makes me wonder if that's normal or not and why I can't hold mine. I read a good article about getting your reptile to trust you and that it could take quite some time to hold them without forcing it. They suggested to go very slow, have your hands involved in feeding and just doing things in the viv in general to get them used to your hands. To slowly move your hands closer to them and just keep them there for a few minutes, until after a few weeks you may be able to touch them and have them crawl on your hand. I think it's good advice and sounds like a low stress way to approach the situation. Just a lot of patience 
! Here's a pic of her eyeing me up :lol:
! Here's a pic of her eyeing me up :lol:
Reptilelady
Sub-Adult Member
Ill give you some advice. Do not take your beardie outside. I made the mistake of taking him outside as he was calm on me so i thought hey what about some nice natural outdoor sun... he saw something that got him spooked took off and i freaked out because at this point i thought i lost him or went into the neighbors yard. Sooo horrifying. If you must or want to take your beardie make sure he is enclosed safely. My mistake was he already was okay with me, which he was fine basking on my hand out in the sun but these little guys ooooo they run so fast.
Two months ago he was only 6 inches including head to tail.. now hes 12.5 inches he has doubled just in two months... insane.
Best thing is to build your trust with your beardie.. hand feed him, talk to him, keep putting your hand out, i usually have a light sweater i wear for when its "holding" time so when he sees my hand he will jump in it and then up my sweater, he will just chill on my shoulder and when he is getting sleepy he will sleep on my chest, super cute and adorable
Best thing is to build your trust with your beardie.. hand feed him, talk to him, keep putting your hand out, i usually have a light sweater i wear for when its "holding" time so when he sees my hand he will jump in it and then up my sweater, he will just chill on my shoulder and when he is getting sleepy he will sleep on my chest, super cute and adorable
Reptilelady
Sub-Adult Member
KLB85":29jpne3s said:Thanks for the advice, it's good to hear that I should be starting slow and steady and it takes time to build their trust. Sometimes it's confusing because I see a lot of people holding tiny babies and it makes me wonder if that's normal or not and why I can't hold mine. I read a good article about getting your reptile to trust you and that it could take quite some time to hold them without forcing it. They suggested to go very slow, have your hands involved in feeding and just doing things in the viv in general to get them used to your hands. To slowly move your hands closer to them and just keep them there for a few minutes, until after a few weeks you may be able to touch them and have them crawl on your hand. I think it's good advice and sounds like a low stress way to approach the situation. Just a lot of patience
You have such a cute beardie
Thanks for the advice Reptilelady, your beardie is so cute too! He looks close to the size of mine in your picture. Were you able to hold him at that age? Mine will let my hang come near her, but if I try to touch her, she jumps and runs away. Is this normal? I'm not sure I should pursue her after she's scared. Some people say that if you back away that they will keep running away from you because they know it works, but then I've also heard that pursuing them when they're scared can be too forceful of a taming method. What do you think? Was your beardie jumpy and scared too at first?
Reptilelady
Sub-Adult Member
KLB85":3kwjove7 said:Thanks for the advice Reptilelady, your beardie is so cute too! Awe thank you
Your welcome. He wasnt really scared he was more like squirmish. He couldnt sit 2 seconds without trying to explore or run off somewhere. I think the best way is try to pet your beardie each day, the more your beardie sees you and observes you better bonding. Every beardie will be different. I got mine at petsmart so constantly seeing people each day was normal for my beardie but now that he is not around that environment, he will get freaked out if its someone else other than me goes into the room so i think if you were to pet your beardie, talk to i know may sound silly but i always say my beardie and say hi handsome, etc eventually they will know your tone of voice and will know. Just keep trying eventually will come around. Also, can try hand feeding best way to gain trust. Try off some veggies, greens, fruit. If your beardie doesnt take dont worry keep trying each day. I am sure will come around
ImJoeWheeler
New member
When Obi was little I used to be very weary of trying to pick him up, In addition to what everyone said I personally found gently pushing one finger under his chin and stomach and then supporting his legs if needed with the other hand was the easiest way, he would then kind of crawl up and sit on my hand, I still use this method but with two fingers under his stomach and now as soon as I start to do this he just jumps onto me anyway He also loves being stroked under the chin, I don't know why, but I found it a good way to get him comfortable with me
I hope you manage to hold her, the more time you spend with her the more she will trust and like you
He also loves being stroked under the chin, I don't know why, but I found it a good way to get him comfortable with me I hope you manage to hold her, the more time you spend with her the more she will trust and like you
Thanks for the advice, I saw this method of picking them up on youtube and have tried it. She just backs up instead! lol! Unfortunately I have her in a tank that i access from the top, so I don't think she likes me coming in from above. We will be building her a custom wood vivarium that we can access from the front, but that won't be done for a few months. How old was Obi when you started to handle him regularly? Did he try to run away at first? What did you do in that situation? Leave him alone or continue to try to handle him?
ImJoeWheeler
New member
Oh yeah, that makes things difficult, they tend to hate being picked up from above, I'd always try and go from below so they don't think you're a predator or something.KLB85":2d7mwopm said:
I don't exactly know how old Obi was when I got him, but he was roughly about 3-4 weeks old when we got him, and we let him get used to things in his vivarium for at least 1 and a half weeks before attempting to pick him up, but once we picked him up the first time, we had no difficulty picking him up again, he now comes out at least once (often many more times) a day.
I wouldn't say he tried to run away, but he did (and still does) move very quickly when he is scared or agitated, and seems to think he can fly too.. especially when high up over a wooden floor... (not good)
so I recommend keeping low down so she doesn't manage to hurt herself, although i've been told its less likely when they are young because they bounce.. but not sure how true that is!
luckily Obi has never really ran off before, the furthest he ever has got is my sisters room next door, I just scooped him up and put him back in his viv
He seems to move less the faster you move him, whereas if you try and walk really slowly with him on your hand for example, he will try and jump, but I imagine thats not the same for all dragons.. I always treat my guy similar to a dog I don't know too well. talk to him before picking him up, let him see my hand and come in slow. Also with my kids around I always make them be calm and quiet, no fast movements. get in front of him so he sees you coming and make sure it isn't a surprise.
Also if he's squirmy, do the hand ladder and let him climb up. If you can get a room that is "baby proofed" set him down, take a few steps back and let him just sit there until he's comfortable, he'll start to move around after a few minutes. Sit or lay on the floor to be at his level. And remember his behavior will change with age. My guy used to be very reserved, but now he's always standing by the door asking to come out and play, this really just picked up recently when we got him into his new bigger viv. I don't think you can over handle them too much, just watch for signs that they want to go back into enclosure and keep the time out to 10-15 minutes a pop in the beginning.
Also if he's squirmy, do the hand ladder and let him climb up. If you can get a room that is "baby proofed" set him down, take a few steps back and let him just sit there until he's comfortable, he'll start to move around after a few minutes. Sit or lay on the floor to be at his level. And remember his behavior will change with age. My guy used to be very reserved, but now he's always standing by the door asking to come out and play, this really just picked up recently when we got him into his new bigger viv. I don't think you can over handle them too much, just watch for signs that they want to go back into enclosure and keep the time out to 10-15 minutes a pop in the beginning.
ImJoeWheeler":31wsgkxx said:Oh yeah, that makes things difficult, they tend to hate being picked up from above, I'd always try and go from below so they don't think you're a predator or something.KLB85":31wsgkxx said:
I don't exactly know how old Obi was when I got him, but he was roughly about 3-4 weeks old when we got him, and we let him get used to things in his vivarium for at least 1 and a half weeks before attempting to pick him up, but once we picked him up the first time, we had no difficulty picking him up again, he now comes out at least once (often many more times) a day.
I wouldn't say he tried to run away, but he did (and still does) move very quickly when he is scared or agitated, and seems to think he can fly too.. especially when high up over a wooden floor... (not good)
so I recommend keeping low down so she doesn't manage to hurt herself, although i've been told its less likely when they are young because they bounce.. but not sure how true that is!
luckily Obi has never really ran off before, the furthest he ever has got is my sisters room next door, I just scooped him up and put him back in his viv
LOL...our beardie Boomer, loves to jump off the couch, often performing a backflip on his way down...thank god he's got plush carpet to land on!!
Thanks for all the advice! That's another question I had, was how to start bringing them out of thier habitat safely. So far, I've just been bringing her out for baths and then putting her back in. I'm really nervous to bring her out and let her run around, as I don't want to loose her or for her to hurt herself. I was thinking of starting on my bed, but she could still jump off or something. Then I thought of the bathroom, but I'd be worried about her getting behind the toilet or somewhere dirty that I can't see and getting sick. Lol I envision barricading the bed with pillows, but I'm not sure that would work. Any advice?
- Status
Latest resources
-
General Care Practical tips: A healthy brumating bearded dragonPractical tips to help keep your bearded dragon healthy during brumation
- Shinryu
- Updated:
-
-
Lighting Beginner Guide to Bearded Dragon LightingA basic lighting setup for any bearded dragon.
- Shinryu
- Updated:
-
Lighting Introduction to UV LightingMake a more educated purchase on your next UVB light.
- Shinryu
- Updated:
-
General Care Bearded Dragons - Care SheetAn all-in-one guide to caring for your bearded dragons.
- Shinryu
- Updated:
Latest profile posts
I just walked into my room and instead of looking at me, Swordtail's eyes darted directly to the ice cream drumstick I'm holding