major bonding problems!

hello all
ok long story short, my boy, mischief is 10 1/2 months old, when i first got him at 4 months old for the first month he didnt wanna be handled at all, hissed at me, reared up at me, ran from me the whole time black bearding. after about a month he got better, allowed me to handle him more, even though hes been good as gold since then he still wont allow me to handle him for long, maybe 20 mins max.
anyway the past few weeks or so hes not been well, been diagnosed with severe coccidia, worm eggs and pinworms, so pinworms were treated, his appetites off, lethargic, not basking just hiding in the corner then with his second dose of meds for the coccidia some went into his lung so further treatment has been delayed, anyway since all this has happened he wont let me touch or handle him at all, i bath him still even though the whole time hes beardie death glaring me. if i just stroke his head he runs off and hides, if i try to handle him he tries to run like mad and scratches me up so i have to put him back, he wont take food from my hands anymore even though thats the only way he would eat in the past, ive noticed that when im in the room with him hes constantly trying to escape it seems, trying to jump up at the glass trying to jump up at his uv scratching at the corners the whole time black beard, stress lines, and yet when my sister or when i just walk past the room hes calm with no black beard or stress lines basking away happily?

im real worried he hates me, because our bond was never really that strong im worried its completely ruined, ive tried handling him little amounts throughout the day to get used to the fact that i dont always get him out to put meds down him or bath him or blatantly just pissing him off, i swear he looked at me the other day whilst he was in the bath with eyes that just said "why are you doing this to me?" its soo sad to see him like this, i swear he seems to be scared for his life and yet i want him to trust me, how do i get that back? how do i stop him from being scared cos he has been poked about a lot lately from me to check hes still slive cos there was a time he didnt move for hours and i couldnt see him breathing and he has been to the vet quite a lot lately too and the vet proper pulls him about too.
any suggestions at all or just hope that when all this dies down he'll be back to his normal bold self?

keep at it. try letting him run around the room and keep trying to hand feed him. so maybe he will start see you as a friend again. mine got mad at me when she was on meds too so don't feel bad.

I'm feeling the same way with mine......Since the meds I think he sees me as "the enemy"
You are not alone.

Good luck

I agree with the others. Just keep at it, every little bit of non-treatment handling will help. Then when' he's feeling better he'll start to come around. Just don't stop trying, especially once he's better. Maybe you can find a special treat for him, some type of fruit that he really enjoys and give him a small amount each time you have non-treatment contact... that might help him realize you're the good guy. :wink:

Christine

It's just like a little kid. They don't like mediine at all. Or baths. Or doing things on command. Haha. I'm sure he will come around. Beardies do. And if you want to be a good pal try putting his meds in whole wheat bread every once in a while. The whole wheat is okay as an every once in a while treat and this way he will think of you as someone with tasty snacks, and who doesn't love tasty snacks? :wink:

Could you hace someone else give him the meds? That would help.
Also you should try the beardie burrito. (it's great with ketch up) Sorry, couldn't resist. Serriously, about 5-10 mins after you turn off his light, when he is cooled off and drowsey, scoop him up, wrap him in a soft "blankie" and hold him on your chest till he falls asleep. He will soon connect your smell/touch with warmth and comfort. It may take awhile, but it usually works.
You could take him for rides when you are not going to the vet. Otherwise he will connect the car with the vet. That would be sad since most beardies love to go for rides.
Good luck and keep us posted.

Sandy H

thanx all for your replies
i feel better now.
i wont be giving him his last dose the vet will on the 28th oct cos we had an incident with the 2nd dose so am no longer gonna do it.
have been holding him loads and putting a line of wax worms on the landing and he loves to run along it eating them all.
oh and no more baths for him just yet, not till hes completely better.
i have to wait til hes completely alseep before i can even touch him otherwise he straight away wakes up fully and runs from me.