what are signs of trust/appreciation in my beardie?

so i’ve recently gotten a beardie named beetlejuice. he’s a little over a month old and has an amputated front paw (don’t worry he’s normal other than that )
anyway, i’ve been looking up signs of trust or appreciation. i take him out of his tank every few hours to hold him for about 15-30 minutes. he’s very docile and never hisses, bites, puffs his beard, or anything else i’ve read to be signs of anger or annoyance. he just gets a little skittish when i pick him up. i know that sudden movements in shadows dan scare them, so i try to lift from the bottom and not the top. since i only got him a few days ago, could he possibly be just getting used to his environment? he eats sometimes, like if i put a bug in there he’ll ignore it but within a couple hours it’ll be gone so i’m assuming he ate it. i just started feeding him veggies so i’m guessing he might start eating those (not sure if his previous owner fed him veggies or just bugs and pellets). currently i have broccoli and carrots. also, do i need to put vegetables in the calcium powder? he doesn’t try to jump off of me after the chaoticness of me picking him up is over, and he seems to just lay on my stomach while i lay down and press himself against me. i think that means he likes my body heat? while i have seen some websites saying that their belly being pressed flat is a bad sign, others say that means they like you. i really don’t know. when he finds folds in my clothing or if i’m wearing long sleeves, he likes crawling in there. can anyone tell me some good and bad signs that might not be obvious? and yes, i do pet him.
sorry that there’s so many questions! i promise i’m doing research, there’s just some things that change in between sources.

Hi there, so is Beetle just a baby ? Since you've just gotten him it is very common for them to be stressed so don't handle him TOO much. Pressing flat against you is usually a sign of fear or just caution, they are flattening themselves to become inconspicuous. As for veggies, skip those and get greens like kale, mustard, turnip, collard, endive, dandelion. Please post some pics of him and also his entire set up including lights to see if anything needs adjusted . Here's how to post pics :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

AHBD":qaq6328i said:

Hi there, so is Beetle just a baby ? Since you've just gotten him it is very common for them to be stressed so don't handle him TOO much. Pressing flat against you is usually a sign of fear or just caution, they are flattening themselves to become inconspicuous. As for veggies, skip those and get greens like kale, mustard, turnip, collard, endive, dandelion. Please post some pics of him and also his entire set up including lights to see if anything needs adjusted . Here's how to post pics :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

Click to expand...

he is using a zoo med lamp. we have a basking light but due to unfortunate placing, we need an extension cord, which my mother will buy once she goes to pick up my brother from preschool in an hour or so. we also do have a heat lamp but it doesn’t get under 65 in my room too often
he’s standing on the thermometer right now. i read in some places you should get two for the cool and hot ends? it’s a petco thermometer which might not be the best
he does like to go in my sleeves and in folds of my clothing. also, due to one of the windows being on the right of the tank, he will climb on his hide and press himself against the glass at a diagonal angle. he does that kinda often
also i did mist him since i’ve never really seen him go in his bowl
as for the vegetables, i will bring that up.

Cute little bugger as they all are, even with his battle wound. Is it totally healed ? So you did a nice job on the decor , you do need a different uvb ASAP. You'll need a long tube uvb like a Reptisun 10.0 t5, the cheap uvb that goes in the double dome fixtures are very weak and will not benefit your dragon at that distance at all, no doubt about it. Him snuggling in your clothes is just hiding, he's scared and unsure but will get over it quickly since he's docile. Only take him out once a day for now, he's too small for too much stress. You'll need a stronger heat bulb too, the basking temp. needs to be about 105. At night you need a ceramic heat emitter since it gets to 65 at night sand he's a baby recovering from an injury. Try for 75 at night.

AHBD":22u0a2a0 said:

Cute little bugger as they all are, even with his battle wound. Is it totally healed ? So you did a nice job on the decor , you do need a different uvb ASAP. You'll need a long tube uvb like a Reptisun 10.0 t5, the cheap uvb that goes in the double dome fixtures are very weak and will not benefit your dragon at that distance at all, no doubt about it. Him snuggling in your clothes is just hiding, he's scared and unsure but will get over it quickly since he's docile. Only take him out once a day for now, he's too small for too much stress. You'll need a stronger heat bulb too, the basking temp. needs to be about 105. At night you need a ceramic heat emitter since it gets to 65 at night sand he's a baby recovering from an injury. Try for 75 at night.

Click to expand...

i actually wasn’t the one who got the doctor, but his previous owner haha! the vet she used is on the other side of the state, but if there’s like an emergency we will probably take him there. his wound is completely healed i believe, in fact the stitch fell off today. we got the lamp set up, and my mom replaced one of the bulbs (they looked burned out, like they had ash in them. yikes!) and she said she’ll buy a long one later as she just got back from a trip to buy what you said to get. i put some kale in his bowl along with a worm from this blend of stuff that she bought. we also got a new thermometer. i could provide an image of his new setup and the bulbs in the two lamps.
https://www.chewy.com/exo-terra-desert-uvb-150-reptile-lamp/dp/124014
that’s the main bulb we used, and the one that seemed...ashed, haha.
being a newbie owner is chaotic and i’m glad i found this website
anyway, i checked the temp. the basking spot is 90. we already have the right fixture, we just need to replace that bulb. again, i can provide images if necessary

I would recommend getting rid of the 26 watt coil---- they are inadequate and the one you have is even worse - if your going to stay w/ a coil please get the Reptisun 26 watt and even then I would not use that either - the best ones on the market at this time are the long tube fixture like this
https://www.reptilesupplyco.com/wholesale-reptile-hoods-domes-fixtures/1884-reptisun-terrarium-hood-t5-24-zoo-med.html this comes w/ a 5.0 bulb hang onto it - it can be used as a back up but distance and placement would be different from this bulb
https://www.reptilesupplyco.com/t5-uvb-bulbs/1878-reptisun-100-uvb-t5-ho-fluorescent-bulb-22-zoo-med.html
All my other go to places are out of stock - this place is out of CA I would call before ordering to see how fast they are shipping 916-226-4089
It is up to you but I have no faith in the coils -- if your going to use the coil it needs to be unobstructed and in a reflective dome w/ a distance of 6-8 inches from basking decor- and that is for the Reptisun coil
Karrie