not cut out for this?

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Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

It takes time! How long have you had Blade for?
How are you going about trying to pick him up, from underneath or overhead?
Some dragons take a little longer to bond than others do.
Be patient & keep working with him. Try putting your hand & arm in his tank
to let him get used to it slowly. You may just need to go ahead & pick him up
anyway, just to get him more used to being handled.
Have you found a favorite food or treat that he likes that you could use to bribe
him with? LOL

Tracie
 

Dezzylove50

Member
Original Poster
Drache613":1r1n0h4a said:
Hello,

It takes time! How long have you had Blade for?
How are you going about trying to pick him up, from underneath or overhead?
Some dragons take a little longer to bond than others do.
Be patient & keep working with him. Try putting your hand & arm in his tank
to let him get used to it slowly. You may just need to go ahead & pick him up
anyway, just to get him more used to being handled.
Have you found a favorite food or treat that he likes that you could use to bribe
him with? LOL

Tracie

I’ve had him for about a month now, which would be better overhead or underneath? He opens his mouth when I get to close I don’t want him to bite me when I take him out I usually just let him stay on his log so I’m not touching him but I’m still kinda of picking him up he mostly just eat super worms and crickets I think he likes the crickets more
 
Dar was the same way when she was little. She'd run away and hiss, but I continued socializing with her every day until she learned to trust my hands. My advice is to keep at it. I'd shoot for scooping Blade up from underneath so you don't scare him from above (third eye vision). When he's out, I recommend letting him rest in your lap or on your legs, so he can relax on a stable surface, and still be making contact. Talk to him, get him used to your voice, and gently stroke his back. If he hisses, I would try to ignore it. If you get scared and back off, he'll learn that he can escape by being aggressive, and you don't want that. It takes time. Just letting him rest on your body will help, and try to hold him every day, sometimes even multiple times a day so he is socialized well. Don't give up :D That's my advice. My girl was pretty hard to handle at first, but I figured out a certain position to hold her in, where she can perch and feel secure, and she rarely squirms in that position. I'd find something like that for Blade, a way for you to hold him where he's comfortable. Whenever Dar gets squirmy and grouchy, I just "baby hold her", because it was the position she was comfortable in when she was little, and she relaxes every time.
 

Dezzylove50

Member
Original Poster
Darthedraggo":1l7qmrg4 said:
Dar was the same way when she was little. She'd run away and hiss, but I continued socializing with her every day until she learned to trust my hands. My advice is to keep at it. I'd shoot for scooping Blade up from underneath so you don't scare him from above (third eye vision). When he's out, I recommend letting him rest in your lap or on your legs, so he can relax on a stable surface, and still be making contact. Talk to him, get him used to your voice, and gently stroke his back. If he hisses, I would try to ignore it. If you get scared and back off, he'll learn that he can escape by being aggressive, and you don't want that. It takes time. Just letting him rest on your body will help, and try to hold him every day, sometimes even multiple times a day so he is socialized well. Don't give up :D That's my advice. My girl was pretty hard to handle at first, but I figured out a certain position to hold her in, where she can perch and feel secure, and she rarely squirms in that position. I'd find something like that for Blade, a way for you to hold him where he's comfortable. Whenever Dar gets squirmy and grouchy, I just "baby hold her", because it was the position she was comfortable in when she was little, and she relaxes every time.

I wont give up :) thank you for your advise
 

Terry15

Sub-Adult Member
You could wait until after dinner before he's ready to sleep. Some use a small piece of blanket to wrap them like a burrito. Mine is not a snuggler, he just likes to roam around the house & hide.
 

Dezzylove50

Member
Original Poster
Terry15":16aguq1b said:
You could wait until after dinner before he's ready to sleep. Some use a small piece of blanket to wrap them like a burrito. Mine is not a snuggler, he just likes to roam around the house & hide.
ok thank you :)
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Definitely don't give up! He will eventually come around, sometimes it just takes a little bit
of time. :D
Good luck & have fun with him.

Tracie
 

PodunkKhaleesi

Hatchling Member
One of my bearded dragons just turned seven months old and people are amazed that the little Tasmanian devil I brought home at two and a half months old is the same lizard that runs across a room when her name is called and when sleepy, climbs my body until she’s made herself comfortable on my shoulder, nuzzling my neck as she drifts off to sleep. As a baby, she was exhaustingly hyper and skittish. The behavior that scared everyone else was how she earned her name (Tweak). She’d had no handling prior to me, and attempting to hold her was like trying to hold a coked up marmoset. This was the reason others rejected her as a pet—but it’s also the reason our current dynamic is so rewarding. People are now so amazed by how loving and friendly she is that my vet’s assistant actually tried to get me to sell her my dragon! But she didn’t go from a gaping Speedy Gonzalez to a lap dog with scales overnight. I know it’s hard to keep this in perspective when you want to fast forward to the sweet adult beardie that loves cuddling with you to an episode of Stranger Things, but I promise what you’re experiencing isn’t unusual. You’re definitely not failing, but it can take time for a wary baby to blossom into a trusting adult. In the meantime I hope some of these tips can help:
1. Handfeeding is a great way to bond with your little guy. If handling your beardie is a complete no go then handfeeding can bridge the gap. Eventually his comfort with your hand in the cage to give him treats will translate to comfort with your hand in the cage to pick him up.
2. Talk frequently to him.
3. Some people on the site have reported success after leaving a lightly worn shirt in the beardie’s enclosure to get the baby used to/familiar with their scent.
4. Gently placing him in your hand for short periods inside his enclosure is a good way to make him feel secure/not too overwhelmed. If he gets skittish simply allow him to leave your hand and try again when he’s calmer. Eventually he will go from “a monster’s trying to grab me” to “yay! The thing that brings me hornworms and takes me on exploring adventures is here! Huzzah!”
5. Try holding him an hour after his lights go off when he’s sleepy and less on guard. Sleepy nighttime snuggles will eventually transfer to daytime trust (no drowsiness required).
So many people on this forum have been in your position. My lizard was a tiny terror and now she’ll climb immediately into my hand whenever I open her cage. Earning a prehistoric creature’s trust is hard and can take a lot of persistence, but that’s exactly what makes the end result so fulfilling.
 

Dezzylove50

Member
Original Poster
PodunkKhaleesi":2183so25 said:
One of my bearded dragons just turned seven months old and people are amazed that the little Tasmanian devil I brought home at two and a half months old is the same lizard that runs across a room when her name is called and when sleepy, climbs my body until she’s made herself comfortable on my shoulder, nuzzling my neck as she drifts off to sleep. As a baby, she was exhaustingly hyper and skittish. The behavior that scared everyone else was how she earned her name (Tweak). She’d had no handling prior to me, and attempting to hold her was like trying to hold a coked up marmoset. This was the reason others rejected her as a pet—but it’s also the reason our current dynamic is so rewarding. People are now so amazed by how loving and friendly she is that my vet’s assistant actually tried to get me to sell her my dragon! But she didn’t go from a gaping Speedy Gonzalez to a lap dog with scales overnight. I know it’s hard to keep this in perspective when you want to fast forward to the sweet adult beardie that loves cuddling with you to an episode of Stranger Things, but I promise what you’re experiencing isn’t unusual. You’re definitely not failing, but it can take time for a wary baby to blossom into a trusting adult. In the meantime I hope some of these tips can help:
1. Handfeeding is a great way to bond with your little guy. If handling your beardie is a complete no go then handfeeding can bridge the gap. Eventually his comfort with your hand in the cage to give him treats will translate to comfort with your hand in the cage to pick him up.
2. Talk frequently to him.
3. Some people on the site have reported success after leaving a lightly worn shirt in the beardie’s enclosure to get the baby used to/familiar with their scent.
4. Gently placing him in your hand for short periods inside his enclosure is a good way to make him feel secure/not too overwhelmed. If he gets skittish simply allow him to leave your hand and try again when he’s calmer. Eventually he will go from “a monster’s trying to grab me” to “yay! The thing that brings me hornworms and takes me on exploring adventures is here! Huzzah!”
5. Try holding him an hour after his lights go off when he’s sleepy and less on guard. Sleepy nighttime snuggles will eventually transfer to daytime trust (no drowsiness required).
So many people on this forum have been in your position. My lizard was a tiny terror and now she’ll climb immediately into my hand whenever I open her cage. Earning a prehistoric creature’s trust is hard and can take a lot of persistence, but that’s exactly what makes the end result so fulfilling.
Thank you so much for your amazing story and great tips I won’t give up on my baby we’ll get there eventually I’m glad I have people here like u to help me when I don’t have the answers
 

PodunkKhaleesi

Hatchling Member
You’re welcome—hope that helped! If I knew how I would have posted a before and after video of Tweak—people still don’t believe me when I tell them it’s the same dragon. ☺️ There are a lot of really knowledgeable dragon owners/breeders on this site that can give you guidance when issues like this crop up. There are so many threads that begin with “scared of my baby beardie” and “does my baby dragon hate me?” so it’s a very common issue. But a year later many of the same members that were in a state of hopelessness because they were worried they weren’t ever going to bond with their dragon are now posting pictures of their best buddy cuddling with them or perched happily on their chest. Good luck!
 

JazzTaina

Member
Dezzylove50":njc8de6j said:
blade still wont allow me to pick him up :( I guess I really suck at this whole bonding thing

I'm new to this and I thought the same thing. I've had Kopi for about 5 months now. It took 2 months for her to get used to me and not run away in pure terror. Now she hangs out on my shoulder and likes to cuddle with me and fall asleep. And needs attention, lol. I go to feed her and she will jump on my arm and try to climb up. On the days that I can't take her out in the morning because of early work meetings, she gets upset at me and I come back to a fresh pile of poop in her food dish.

She hasn't bonded with my boyfriend, but tolerates him. It will get better.

I did a lot of the tips mentioned above. I tried hand feeding her. She refused the food the first 100 times I did it. Then one day she gave up and ate. I talked to her. I took her out later in the day at first so she was too sleepy to be scared. At first for only a few mins at a time. And I built up the time slowly. Now, it's difficult to get her back in her cage.

Stay the course. Your beardie will come around.
 
I had the same worry. When Spike was small, if I held him during the day, he was all over the place. My daughter held him at night and I think that’s how he got used to us. Now he snuggles anywhere he can find a small crevice in the couch. He hissed at me and I got “bearded” quite a few times at first, but keep trying, youre beardie will come around. Hold him for about an hour a day at least. That helps too.
 
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