Aggressive baby beardie

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peteythedragon

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I'm new to the reptile world but have always wanted a bearded dragon. with that said the one i purchased (Petey) is very aggressive and has bitten me once granted it did not hurt i would like to find out what else i can do to show him that i mean him no harm. temps are 100 degrees F with 45% humidity on hot side during the day 80 on cool side and and 70 at night. eats good and poops normal. once he is out he seems ok but timid still. he will eat from my hand but thats as close as he wants me to get. i have not removed him from the tank in about a day trying to give him space however i dont want him to think he won the war. any advice is welcomed and appreciated thanks in advance
 

MissCutiePatootie

Hatchling Member
When my boy was really little he was pretty defensive towards me too when it was time for any kind of interaction. He even nipped me a couple times. It was sort of cute lol. Such big attitudes in tiny packages!

If he's new to your home I'd suggest giving him a couple weeks with little handling to really settle in and keep any noise level down to minimize any stress he might be experiencing.



These are other methods I used on my boy as well...

Put a worn t-shirt in his tank for him to acquaint himself with your scent as you are both new to each other.

Practice laying your hand on the floor of his enclosure from opposite ends of where he is and slowly inch your way to him so that your hand is less threatening to scoop him up. This may take some time for the little one to not perceive you as a threat regardless. It did for my dude lol. This does help though because he/she may feel threatened if you reach down to grab them from above.

When my boy was really aggro and gaping at me, I would slip a little piece of greens in his mouth and just kept feeding him bite sized pieces until he'd calm down or go to hide under his hide. I let him be if he was hiding. I wanted him to feel safe in his enclosure so I never picked his hide up when he was in it.

Spend time around his tank. I would do research in the same room as my dragons tank and read out loud for him to get used to my voice from a distance. It was quite funny cuz he'd come to the very front of his tank and stare at me for minutes at a time. He was so small all I could see was his tiny head above the trim of the tank checking me out while I was reading. :lol:



I did these things for up to 2 months before my boy settled down and accepted me. Hard to remember because it's been so long now. He's 4 years old now and very friendly. My previous dragon was a sweetheart from the get go. The time it takes will vary. Just stay patient with your little one and they will come around. =]
 

peteythedragon

New member
Original Poster
I have done all these things so far he is about 5 weeks old. the last few days I have been keeping my distance. I will pet him a second anytime I open just to say "hey it's cool not gonna hurt you" and then I go about what I was doing and leave him be afterwords. The noise thing is kinda hard as I have 2 kids but we try to keep them at a distance, they make to many sudden movements. I'm just gonna keep on and hope he's eventually comes around. Thanks for responding
 

MissCutiePatootie

Hatchling Member
Sounds like a good idea. He is super super young so everything is new to him. Everything is a threat. If you think the kids movements will stress your little guy out, you could cover the front of his tank so he can't see the kids mostly until he's more settled in and/or larger. They grow pretty fast the first year. Or maybe even move him into another more quiet room. Limiting any kind of interactions with the kids will help since he's so little still. And it will give you and him a chance to bond in more quiet surroundings where he won't feel overly stimulated from other things. This will groom him into thinking humans aren't so bad after all if he only has to interact with one for a while. He has to learn to trust humans still. Try not to think of it as a war. Just remember he's an itty bitty baby and everything is new to him. Everything wants to kill him. It's survival. Just have to earn his trust!

I'm glad you found yourself to this forum being new to reptile keeping! It is abundant with information! :study: What brand of UVB lighting are you using for your guy? What have you been feeding him? We're more than happy to help with anything and encourage beardie owners! Thanks for posting! =]
 
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