I'm not sure what to do...

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Hey everyone...
I have a little problem, and I'm not sure how to address it. My beardie, Ozzi, is awesome and I love them so so much. But recently he's been a little snappy... He hasn't bitten me, but he flinches when I open the tank or put water/greens in and runs away if I try to move close to him. After awhile of this, I voiced my concerns to my mom, who offered to trade him in. This is my first beardie, and I wasn't really expecting the hissing and running away from me. I know that there's a rough spot in every relationship, but it makes me really sad and not as excited to see him. I feel like trading him in for a slightly older beardie is disloyal, and my heart tells me I should NOT NOT NOT. But this morning he puffed up when I walked past his tank and stayed that way until I left the room. I just feel awful, like he should have a better life somewhere else, where he feels comfortable. I want to keep him, but I'm not sure how much longer I can stand it, with other stressful things going on in my life. Would I be an awful human being if I traded him? No, probably not. But would it haunt me? Yeah, maybe. I just don't know what to do...
Any advice helps. And also, I don't mind people giving it to me straight. Go ahead and tell me what you honestly think, please. Thank you.
 

Aaradimian

Juvie Member
Hi,

I'm sorry to hear that you and your dragon aren't getting along well. How old is Ozzi and how long have you had him? Do you have viv with an open top or doors on the side? When you pick him up, is it from underneath, or from above like a claw?

Remember that we're so much larger than they are, and it's completely unnatural for them to be in captivity with these large, ugly, non-beardies always fussing with them, so patience is a virtue! You can gain their trust by hand feeding them and also by leaving something like a t-shirt with your scent on it for him to sleep in. When you pick him up, if he lets you, make sure it's from underneath and not above like predators would, and support him properly so he doesn't feel like he needs to flail around. When he's on you, don't jostle him around or make a lot of sudden moves and just let him learn that it's okay to chill out on you. You might be able to get him used to you by picking him up right around his bedtime or in the morning when he's still cold & lethargic. I know my dragon Otto likes warming up against me in the morning now that it's turning colder here in Colorado.

If he bites, you might try the food thing with work or leather gloves on so that he realizes that a) hand=food, and b) biting hand has no effect. Eventually, he will probably give up & roll with it. A last item would be to look through other threads here to make sure his environment isn't stressing him out to the point where he's on edge to begin with.

In the worst case, there is a forum here for people who need to re-home their dragons, and I'm sure someone would love to give Ozzi a home. But I'd leave that for last resort. Sometimes pets can be a challenge, but they're worth investing the time in. I'd say keep treating him well, and if he's still young, let him get over his rebellious 'kid/teen' phase, and you'll probably be rewarded with beardie snuggles and all the other funny stuff they do to keep us slaves addicted to them!

Good luck, and don't give up! Your dragon needs you!!!
 

OhMyNord

Member
Is he a young beardie? They do tend to get like that sometimes. I bought a baby who was labelled as vicious and was a lower price because he used to his and black beard, flatten out, the lot :lol: I just used to pick him up any way!

This is him now
101618-2001015735.jpg
101618-6456418368.jpg

Not so vicious now huh :) :lol:

Do you spend a lot of time with him?
Do you hand feed him?
Can he see you often from his tank?

Some beardies can have a bad temperament I suppose but I've never known it last. It just takes time for them to get used to you, if you haven't been spending a lot of time with him that could be why! We'd all really like to try and help you get your beardie back to his former self so that you can keep him :)
 

YesIJustGotADragon

Member
Original Poster
Sorry for the late response; I've had a lot on my plate recently. Thank you for responding.
Pretty much, I'm going to give him a few more months regardless of what I decide, but as I said I have a long list of things I need to figure out and this dilemma kept pushing its way to the top and so I felt I needed some outside opinions. To answer your questions, I've had him for about 2 months now (I know, not a lot. Patience is NOT my strong suit, and I realize this). His viv is in my room, and it's one that opens from the top. He sees me as much as I'm in my room (which is often), unless he's under the blanket I've put in there. I hand feed him crickets and greens whenever he's willing, and have taken to dropping tiny bits of water on his nose so I know he drinks. I try to hang out with him as much as I can, but it's probably less than every other day.
Also, the picking up... Any suggestions on how to do so? I TRY to pick him up from underneath, but I'm worried I'm hurting him. I don't go in like a claw but sometimes I put my thumb over to either steady my fingers or pick him up easier. My fingers are shaky more often than not and it can be extremely hard to pick him up.
Thanks again. Now I'll go do those two essays and algebra homework I've been procrastinating ;-;
Also, your beardie is adorable, and most certainly not vicious anymore, :lol:
 

OhMyNord

Member
I know life can get really stressful sometimes, but your beardie will love you no matter what! I went through a time where I couldn't get my boy out everyday and he still loves me :)

I have sliding door vivs, as it's less scary for them as I'm not coming from above like a predator; I'd suggest putting your hand the other side of the viv and moving closer to him that way, so it's less like you're a bird coming to carry him away :lol:

My baby doesn't hand feed, he doesn't seem to understand what I'm doing with worms in my hands :roll:

Just keep persisting, I'm sure you guys will be fine together :) Don't put too much pressure on yourself!
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
OhMyNord":2kdz46wi said:
I know life can get really stressful sometimes, but your beardie will love you no matter what! I went through a time where I couldn't get my boy out everyday and he still loves me :)

I have sliding door vivs, as it's less scary for them as I'm not coming from above like a predator; I'd suggest putting your hand the other side of the viv and moving closer to him that way, so it's less like you're a bird coming to carry him away :lol:

My baby doesn't hand feed, he doesn't seem to understand what I'm doing with worms in my hands :roll: <<<< more likely you are a bit too fearful of being accidently bitten (my wife is like that , so she lets me handle the handfeeding and the occasional accidential finger tip nip).

They do work out the lurk of being hand fed by their tame pet Hooman slave.

Things you can do to improve your success at handfeeding are :
>> persist
>> gently pull down on the lower lip to open the mouth enough to get the food item in
>> if dragon is stubborn - a plastic coated playing card can be used as lever to open the mouth
* take card fold in half longwise
* cut a food item sized hole in middle of fold
* is now ready to use

>> procedure
* fold card
* slip inbetween upper and lower lips and jaws (and upper and low teeth) far enough depress the tongue a bit
* with card in mouth - beardie will give it a chew most likely - separate the upper and lower jaws by opening the folded card enough to slip a food item into the hole
* remove card let dragon eat food item
* repeat procedure


Just keep persisting, I'm sure you guys will be fine together :) Don't put too much pressure on yourself!
 
Just wondering, if you haven’t traded him in how your beardie is doing? Is he still mean and puff up?
I got a baby of about 3 weeks old 2 months ago, he is JUST now getting to the point to where he is comfortable with me handling him. He was EXTREMELY vicious and for the first two weeks he would attack me every time I went in his cage, but I continued everyday to put my hand in the cage and just leave it there for a few minutes, then pick him up and hold him regardless of how much he hated it. But he now is starting to love the attention.
Have you made any progress with yours?
 

YesIJustGotADragon

Member
Original Poster
Yes, actually. Thanks for asking.
He doesn't normally appreciate my handling but whenever I do hold him I give him a cricket. He bit me again a few days ago but it was while I was feeding him so I don't think it was an aggressive gesture. He's sometimes okay sitting on my arm by my elbow or on my chest. I think I've made a lot of improvement but it'll still take a long time before we can both trust each other (for me, not running away and not biting, for him being picked up and handled).
 
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