Mean nasty little lizard

I have a fairly new baby beardies named viper. I got him about 2 months ago, and has never been extremely friendly from the beginning. He was eating good, basking in a temperature of 97+ area, cool side 75-85, 18" uvb bulb, and plenty of room in a 29 gallon terrarium. He gets fed twice daily, dubia roaches, romaine lettuce, dried meal worms, beardies bites, and I was feeding crickets for an evening snack. Upon cleaning his tank, I found at least 15+ crickets hiding beneath his carpet. I tried to feed some of them to him while cleaning, like I do spike, my other dragon. Viper just closed his eyes and turned his head. Since then, I have not fed him any crickets, only insects that go in a bowl and can't escape. He had gone off of salad and wasn't eating like normal. After cricket removal, his feeding has picked up, but he is super aggressive. He lunges at my hands when i try to feed him, runs from me when I try to interact, which is several times a day, won't eat from my hands, and hisses. I am at a loss. I upped the bulb wattage to make it warmer thinking that might help. His uvb bulb is less than 6 months old. He just seems afraid of life and everything. I've been trying for 3 weeks to no avail. Please help. I want to hold my baby and not get bit.

That tank might be a tad small, he probably has a lot of pent up energy and stress. I moved my guy from a 20 g to a 75 g last week (he’s 5 months old, pet store bought, 9” from nose to tail and growing fast!). Before his move, he was so angry. I’ve only had him for less than a month so we are still fairly new to each other but now that he is in a bigger tank his is much happier. He will relax with me because he doesn’t have a ton of energy that he can’t get out. As for feeding, it has always been my philosophy that a healthy animal will eat when they need to. Is his beard black at all? Has he shed? Try to remain patient and consistent! These little guys can take a lot of time. Is he from a breeder or a pet store?

you may want to switch from the lettuce to dandilion or collard greens!