How to Bond

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Matang613

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There seem to be two opposite schools of thought on this. Most people suggest that you start by just being present for your beardie so it gets to used to you being around. Eventually start placing your hand in its enclosure without touching it until it either comes to you or shows little to no signs of stress. Then progress to gently stroking its back, then try to scoop your hand under to let it just sit on your hand (even if it runs off after 30 seconds, that is progress). Eventually it'll become comfortable with being on your hand and you can gently try to lift it up to hold it. Go very slow with this step to not drop your beardie though. It'll probably take a few tries to get it to let you pick it up. Bear in mind that this can take anywhere from days to months, by the way. Some bearded dragons never really like physical contact (most seem to though, so that'd be unusual). Just let your beardie set the pace. They tend to get a lot less skittish as they age anyway.

The other school of thought deals more with aggression though. Basically, if your beardie gets defensive from your hand and is puffing up/hissing it is best to remain firm, but gentle and not show them any fear. If you shy away from interacting when they get aggressive, then they will learn that being aggressive works. I went through this with my own bearded dragon. He used to get instantly defensive when I got close to his tank and would hiss/lunge at my hand. I made him deal with it though, and after several weeks he become a lot nicer. Now he walks to my hand to come out of his enclosure, and he snuggles up with me at bedtime and falls asleep on me. Just be patient and persistent and he'll more than likely come around.
 
I've only had my first bearded dragon for 7 months, but what worked for me is to hold him and cuddle him just after lights out when he doesn't have the energy to resist. This will take time and he/she probably won't let you hold him during the day for a while. But over a few weeks for me, we got completely bonded. Now mine never wants to leave me when I pick him up lol. Warning: this could create a habit of your beardie depending on you to put him/her to bed.
This is only from my experience of my one and only dragon.
 
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