Handling my beardie Gretchen...

Hello everyone.

So I've had Gretchen for 3 months now. She'll be 6 months on August 21st. I got her from a breeder in Toronto (I'm from Montreal Canada). I know that most hatchlings and juvies can be harder to handle than adults as they are squirmy and FAST. Gretchen for the most part is ok with me handling her. Let's me hand feed her and pick her up to hang out on the couch an for her baths. She will not however let me dry her after her bath so I usually just let her run around the couch to dry off. When she's getting ready to shed other than baths I try and leave her alone because she's just not having it lol and sometimes just on regular days I know when to try and handle her and when not to. So my questions is, will me not handling her everyday make it harder to "tame" her when she's older?? I don't want to force her to be on me or out of her viv when she doesn't want too. I also am petrified that as she gets older she'll hate me lol (I'm a HUGE worrier with all my animals) We do get our quality time together but she just loves to run around and I have so many hiding spots around my house especially that she's still pretty small and I'd never want to run after her to catch her and scare her. So when I see that she's getting a little spunky I put her back. Is this bad.... please help us!!!! Lol thanks in advance, you guys are all awesome xo

Some of the best advice I was given when joining here regarding handling and bonding was to get the dragon out late in the evening around half an hour before lights out, when they are a lot more settled but not yet asleep.

You should be able to just sit her on your chest and maybe throw a light blanket over her and sit and watch some tv whilst she falls asleep on you. Iv done this almost every night for the past ten months and possibly my favorite part of the day!

Just be aware if she's like my boy they really don't want to be put back in the viv when it's bedtime

Stres":2tem60lu said:

Some of the best advice I was given when joining here regarding handling and bonding was to get the dragon out late in the evening around half an hour before lights out, when they are a lot more settled but not yet asleep.

You should be able to just sit her on your chest and maybe throw a light blanket over her and sit and watch some tv whilst she falls asleep on you. Iv done this almost every night for the past ten months and possibly my favorite part of the day!

Just be aware if she's like my boy they really don't want to be put back in the viv when it's bedtime

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Oh man that's some great advice. I usually take her out when I get home around 530 for her bathtime. Guess she's still rambunctious then. Her lights go out at 730 so I'll try taking her out later on like around 7 and see how that goes. Thanks ?

Stres":3umey6wn said:

Some of the best advice I was given when joining here regarding handling and bonding was to get the dragon out late in the evening around half an hour before lights out, when they are a lot more settled but not yet asleep.

You should be able to just sit her on your chest and maybe throw a light blanket over her and sit and watch some tv whilst she falls asleep on you. Iv done this almost every night for the past ten months and possibly my favorite part of the day!

Just be aware if she's like my boy they really don't want to be put back in the viv when it's bedtime

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WELL so far this has NOT worked lol Gretchen gets excited to be out and as soon as i sit down, she runs onto the top of the couch pillows and just hangs out there lol (not sure if its excitement on her part or if shes trying to get away from mew i've also tried walking around with her a bit as shes usually crawls up onto my chest as soon as i take her out, but then she makes her way up to my shoulder and or top of my head lol sooo any other tips would be great haha

Aww, sorry that didn't help much. Hopefully someone else can give you some advice that might work.

Other than that i'm sure time will help as iv read multiple times how they generally get lazier with age

Stres":2g8636te said:

Aww, sorry that didn't help much. Hopefully someone else can give you some advice that might work.

Other than that i'm sure time will help as iv read multiple times how they generally get lazier with age

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Haha yah I've read that too. I've also been told females are a bit more excited than males which seems to be Gretchen lol I just don't want her to "forget who I am" or "not be sociable/friendly" because she's not being handled alot. She really picks and chooses her days to be nice lol tonight waa not one of them. So a 5 minute head petting happened in her tank and that's was enough for her lol. Thanks for the suggestions tho. Hopefully when she's older and lazy lol I'll be able to watch tv with her ????????

I'm no expert, but I can pass on some advice that was given to me.

Instead of taking her out right before lights out, trying taking her out shortly AFTER lights out. If you let her settle down in her viv and even start sleeping FIRST, you may be able to take her out for TV watching snuggles without her losing her chill. I do this with my baby dragon who is eleven weeks old, and it works well. I'll usually wait 15-30 minutes after his lights go off. He always wakes up when I pick him up out of his viv, but he quickly goes back to sleep when we settle in on the couch.

I also use a washcloth. I usually put it on my chest, put him on it, and then fold the washcloth over him to block out the light. Even if he is still antsy when I take him out of his viv, being covered like this usually calms him down and makes him sleepy. In general, the longer past lights out it is when I take him out of his viv, the faster he conks back out and the less likely he is to try exploring the couch instead.

Good luck!

emisapisou":an6h75j4 said:

I'm no expert, but I can pass on some advice that was given to me.

Instead of taking her out right before lights out, trying taking her out shortly AFTER lights out. If you let her settle down in her viv and even start sleeping FIRST, you may be able to take her out for TV watching snuggles without her losing her chill. I do this with my baby dragon who is eleven weeks old, and it works well. I'll usually wait 15-30 minutes after his lights go off. He always wakes up when I pick him up out of his viv, but he quickly goes back to sleep when we settle in on the couch.

I also use a washcloth. I usually put it on my chest, put him on it, and then fold the washcloth over him to block out the light. Even if he is still antsy when I take him out of his viv, being covered like this usually calms him down and makes him sleepy. In general, the longer past lights out it is when I take him out of his viv, the faster he conks back out and the less likely he is to try exploring the couch instead.

Good luck!

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That sounds like a great idea. Only thing is id be afraid to make her mad going in after lights out lol ill give it a try this weekend and see how it works !!! thank you

I was going to post similar myself. I've had my little beardie about 2.5 months and she's about 7 months old now but I still can't get her to settle with me. If I stroke her back she runs away, if I stroke her neck/chest she backs off. The only time she'll come to me is when I'm feeding her calci worms. She'll happily just sit on my hand but as soon as I try to stroke her or anything off she runs. Even when I get her out after dark she'll only sit still with me for 2-3 mins before running off down my leg to sleep in a dark corner of the room. She doesn't black beard or anything she just goes and without grabbing her and not letting go there's not much I can do about it. Just hoping she settles eventually.

Steve1878":10ejdwzt said:

I was going to post similar myself. I've had my little beardie about 2.5 months and she's about 7 months old now but I still can't get her to settle with me. If I stroke her back she runs away, if I stroke her neck/chest she backs off. The only time she'll come to me is when I'm feeding her calci worms. She'll happily just sit on my hand but as soon as I try to stroke her or anything off she runs. Even when I get her out after dark she'll only sit still with me for 2-3 mins before running off down my leg to sleep in a dark corner of the room. She doesn't black beard or anything she just goes and without grabbing her and not letting go there's not much I can do about it. Just hoping she settles eventually.

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Oh good to know I'm not alone with this situation. As frustrating as it if for me I guess I understand their nature too. Everything is just so much bigger than them no wonder they are so squirmy lol. Here's hoping they settle down eventually. Old and lazy as someone told me once haha. Good luck to you and lets keep each other posted in tricks!!!

Routine , that's the trick .

Pet lizards (doesn't matter what their species is) all like a predictable routine from their human slaves.

Snuggles at the same time everyday, maybe right after a feed, and wee Gretchen will soon be looking forward to her mommy snuggles and she'll know it's coming.

If she's squirmy when on your lap or tummy or chest , have a t-towel handy or simply lift the bottom of the shirt and cover her , she'll feel safe and secure and very warm , and if it's dark under there , will soon settle.

When you get her out, make sure her entire body is supported and her feet and hands are supported , again a security thing.

kingofnobbys":7vg0629f said:

Routine , that's the trick .

Pet lizards (doesn't matter what their species is) all like a predictable routine from their human slaves.

Snuggles at the same time everyday, maybe right after a feed, and wee Gretchen will soon be looking forward to her mommy snuggles and she'll know it's coming.

If she's squirmy when on your lap or tummy or chest , have a t-towel handy or simply lift the bottom of the shirt and cover her , she'll feel safe and secure and very warm , and if it's dark under there , will soon settle.

When you get her out, make sure her entire body is supported and her feet and hands are supported , again a security thing.

Click to expand...

Trust me I've tried time and time again just after or before lights out she sits 3-4 minutes then jumps off in a sudden rush even if wrapped up in her t shirt. Thing is if she keeps jumping off my sofa she's going to damage herself eventually and I hate seeing her squirming to get away

Steve1878":3236so0x said:

kingofnobbys":3236so0x said:

Routine , that's the trick .

Pet lizards (doesn't matter what their species is) all like a predictable routine from their human slaves.

Snuggles at the same time everyday, maybe right after a feed, and wee Gretchen will soon be looking forward to her mommy snuggles and she'll know it's coming.

If she's squirmy when on your lap or tummy or chest , have a t-towel handy or simply lift the bottom of the shirt and cover her , she'll feel safe and secure and very warm , and if it's dark under there , will soon settle.

When you get her out, make sure her entire body is supported and her feet and hands are supported , again a security thing.

Click to expand...

Trust me I've tried time and time again just after or before lights out she sits 3-4 minutes then jumps off in a sudden rush even if wrapped up in her t shirt. Thing is if she keeps jumping off my sofa she's going to damage herself eventually and I hate seeing her squirming to get away

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Hallelujah !!!!! After a few days of routine bathing and handling right before bed time Gretchen calmed down today and fell asleep on me while I watched some tv. It wasn't easy putting her back in her home on both parts. Thank you ALL for all the advice. Man this forum is AMAZING!!!!!!

Yes! So happy for you! It's such a great feeling!

emisapisou":2o2mw1v4 said:

Yes! So happy for you! It's such a great feeling!

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Thank you ❤ it really is. I won't lie I was getting pretty discouraged. But TADA!! She decided to be nice on her 6th month birthday!!!