Advice please.....

Lolly · Oct 23, 2008

Hi all,

So things are going really well with Scooby, he's a cranky little pup but we all love him and he gets more attention then anyone else in the house. He's even been put pride of place in the sitting room making us move all the furniture just to accomidate him, When we got him he was pretty small but is now nearly 10" which is amazing.

He's gettin a pot belly and he's eating greens everyday ( when we got him he wouldnt eat any) He loves worms and Crix and eats loads everyday. Temps are always perfect he gets fresh water and greens constantly. We've gotten him more leaves and shrubery for his tank which has become his favourite spot to sleep.

Sooooooo............. here's the problem, we try to hold him a couple of times a day but he always bites and sratches us at first, then he calms down for max 10 mins, but then he goes mental again trying to escape. He's very active a fast in his tank and even allows us to rub his head while his in the tank but take him out and he goes bananas. :banghead:

I've tried the beardie buritto, he hates it along with baths and he gets very stressed so I dont like to force him, tried a few times but gave up.

We've done everything right in his tank :study: , temps, U.V food, vitamins but he still doesnt like us very much. Can anyone help????

zimbabwepegasus · Oct 23, 2008

When Sinclair was little, he didn't like being contained.
I used to hang out in the bathroom or on top of my bed with him. I'd let him run around until he exhausted himself and then cuddle with him.
It worked well to give him a small space, so I didn't lose him, but a big enough space that he didn't feel controlled.

fresnowitte · Oct 23, 2008

Sounds like Scooby is becoming a teenager(juvie beardie) with attitude. :lol:

How old is Scooby?

Seems a lot of the time beardies that are around 3 to 6 months old will act this way.
Kind of like they would act when they are shedding.......... except all of the time. :roll:
Blaze is the same way. He will flair up and sometimes bite at me but once I have him in my hands he is just fine, ready to snuggle. Makes me think I have a beardie with dual personalities. :lol:

zimbabwepegasus · Oct 23, 2008

I have generally heard of beardie puberty being more of a 6-9 month occurrence. And so many beardies never experience it... neither of mine did.
And granted, all beardies have different personalities- but regular, calm handling seems to resolve any tendencies toward aggression or being easily startled.

Most reptiles respond with aggressive behaviors when they feel threatened. They don't have "bad moods" in the same sense as people. This is something I notice more with my other reptiles, or perhaps even in the contrast btwn beardies and other reptiles. I believe it is extremely important to give a reptile the sense of personal safety they need and slowly work your way to a more trusting relationship with the reptile.

I would try giving him a small space to explore in which he's relatively free. Just be present. Try and handle him some within that environment and let him run when he wants, in a small space, you can always catch him.

It could be that it's a tempermental phase he's going through, but if it's not- if it's more from a lack of handling at the pet store, etc, you'd much rather be correcting it now while bites don't really hurt.

Lolly · Oct 24, 2008

He's very cranky but I still hold him everyday, we allow him out of the tank for a half an hour during the evening after we've fed him ( he wont eat until then, he's very fussy) and he loves exploring but trying to get him back to the tank can be trouble.

He has good days and bad days, or should I say we have good or bad days, but when he's calm he's totally relaxed and doesnt mind us but when he's upset he just wiggles about and opens his mouth, not hissing but in a threatening way.

I've noticed too the last few days that when we switch on the lights in the morning he tends to stay asleep for about another hour after this, we have a regular routine with him for on/off lights so I'm wondering do I change to a later time for lights on because his sleeping or do I leave him have the extra hour with the lights off?

He also has shed twice in the last 3 weeks because in the last month he has grown 2" in a very short space of time.

Barbara, as for how old he is i'll check out the date of the receipt cause when we bought him we were told he was only a few weeks old but then when we got him sexed the guy said he was more but he was small for his age. It confuses me but I'm no good with dates or birthdays anyways, so when I go home from work I'll check it out.

Here I am supposed to be working and I'm on here. Addicted or what??? :blob5:

Ethelia · Oct 24, 2008

Lolly":f80aa said:
He's very cranky but I still hold him everyday, we allow him out of the tank for a half an hour during the evening after we've fed him ( he wont eat until then, he's very fussy) and he loves exploring but trying to get him back to the tank can be trouble.

He has good days and bad days, or should I say we have good or bad days, but when he's calm he's totally relaxed and doesnt mind us but when he's upset he just wiggles about and opens his mouth, not hissing but in a threatening way.

I've noticed too the last few days that when we switch on the lights in the morning he tends to stay asleep for about another hour after this, we have a regular routine with him for on/off lights so I'm wondering do I change to a later time for lights on because his sleeping or do I leave him have the extra hour with the lights off?

He also has shed twice in the last 3 weeks because in the last month he has grown 2" in a very short space of time.

Barbara, as for how old he is i'll check out the date of the receipt cause when we bought him we were told he was only a few weeks old but then when we got him sexed the guy said he was more but he was small for his age. It confuses me but I'm no good with dates or birthdays anyways, so when I go home from work I'll check it out.

Here I am supposed to be working and I'm on here. Addicted or what???

Hi, just a thought about getting him back into the tank.
We had this issue with our little one (rescue and had to be tamed). She would just scurry away.
Since then Ive discovered its about how I approached her.
If you come from above/behind/the side they recognise this as predatory behaviour and will wriggle and scurry away as fast as possible.

The only way Dex will 'go quietly' after an explore is if i sit down in front of her and flatten my hand out on the carpet. Leave it for a few seconds so she sees your not going to grab her. Then slide it underneath your beardie. Once youve picked her up this way you can arrange her in your hand/arm to support her better, but for Dex at least this is the only way she will get picked up when she's been exploring.

Another tip i used when i was taming her was to handle her an hour or two after lights out. She would be too warm and sleepy to struggle and she would just accept the handling. Id advice wearing something soft and keeping your hand under her belly to keep her warm so she's likely to stay in her sleepy state.
This is what I did the first time Dex fell asleep on me. :love5: :love5: :love5:

Good luck!

zimbabwepegasus · Oct 24, 2008

You can adjust the lights or keep them as is. It doesn't make a significant difference as long as he's getting a minimum of 8 hours UVB.

Pele tends to get up before her light and goes to sleep before her light this time of year. I'm probably going to adjust her lights after daylight savings kicks in. If your little guy is getting 8-10 hours of solid sleep, he's doing just fine.

Advice please.....

Lolly

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