taming an adult beardie?

I'm not sure that taming is really the right word, but it's the only word I've got right now.

We adopted an adult male beardie on Monday. His first two or so years were in the pet store. His next 2 or so years were with a family. That family was able to hold him and keep him out of the enclosure daily. Their kids held him. Then he went to another family for the last three months. I visited him there. The mom was very comfortable with him. She took him out and let him hang out on the floor where we were all sitting. My daughter held him on her lap for a few minutes. That family was looking for a home for him, and we took him after two visits with him. That family was feeding him salad and super worms. I was hoping we could offer him some live crickets and phoenix worms, but so far, no luck. He turns up his nose and ignores them. As far as I can tell he hasn't touched the daily salads that I have been providing. Tues and Wed he ate two super worms each day for me. And today he didn't eat any.

Monday and tuesday I took him out of the enclosure and let him hang out on the ground with us for a few min. He was head bobbing, but that's it. I held him and he stopped. Then I put him back. When we walk by the tank he gets all head bobby. Wednesday I offered him some phoenix worms in his tank. I used the chop sticks that he is use to seeing the super worms on, and after a couple minutes he showed me his beard. I left him alone at that point.
Today I didn't have time to take him out in the am, and when we got home in the pm it was close to his bedtime, so I didn't try. When I took out his dish and put it back cleaned with new salad this am though he got all head bobby on me again.

So, I'm not sure what to do tomorrow. Do I take him out and see how it goes? Do I give him more time to get use to us before trying to hold him again? I don't want to push myself at him if he's not ready, but I also don't want to not hold him for weeks and then have him be averse to anyone holding him.

Thoughts? I know he's been through a lot and is probably freaked out.
Thanks, Chelsea

He is probably a bit stressed out but head bobbing is normal for a adult male. Just ignore it and continue to hold and feed as you wish. It doesn't sound like he is being defensive or aggressive at all, just a bit unsure of his new home.

Try to find a ceramic pet food dish that has straight sides about 2inches deep. The worms won't be able to escape and you can just leave a dish of them in the cage during the day.

I get ones similar to this at the dollar store
http://catsuppliesreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/275271.jpg

We have made some headway with Calvin today. He was out of his tank for about 20 min this morning. He went straight for the kitchen, and we just let him roam around and watched from a distance. We gave him a phoenix worm and a super worm while he was out, and he seemed happy enough. Then later in the day he seemed to want to come out again, so I took him out and he headed right for the kitchen again. He was out over 30 min that time. He probably would have stayed out longer too, but I didn't want to push it. He ate a few blueberries and another super worm. He ignored the phoenix worms on the floor and the ones in his dish. But at least he is eating something now. We will continue to offer salads and phoenix worms in hopes that he will try them.

Overall, the kids feel more comfortable with him after today. He seems more comfortable with us as well. He may even like us a bit.

Ok, so after a few great days with Calvin, now he's acting all aggressive at me. I took him out on Saturday morning, and he immediately charged me and tried to bite. He ended up biting the towel that I was holding and getting it stuck on his teeth, I think. I put him back and after a few minutes I managed to get the towel off of his mouth very gently. He was totally freaked out. Writhing around in the tank. It took at least twenty minutes for him to calm down. He was pale and looked awful.
Later that day my husband took Calvin out, and he was fine.
Next day I fed him and cleaned up his tank like usual while leaving him in it. He was fine. Later that evening my husband took him out and held him for a few minutes. He was totally chill. I petted him and talked to him, no problem. Then my husband put him down so he could wander around, and he immediately went from calm to charging at me. He bit my foot and his teeth got stuck into sock. So my husband untangled him and put him back. It wasn't easy. He was thrashing. He never got a black bread or puffed up. I am the one who feeds him every day. My husband has only interacted with him these two times and one other time when I took Calvin out and my husband was home. Otherwise my husband isn't home much and doesn't interact with him. We have had Calvin for two weeks.
His enclosure is 50 gal. He came to us with this set up. I changed his UVB light to a Reptisun 10 as recommended here. His basking temp is 95.5. His cool side is 80 or so. He has fresh greens offered daily but has only picked at them. He has eaten a few Phoenix worms and a few super worms since we got him. He was eating mostly super worms at his last home. I tried a cricket the other day and all he did was lick it. I had to empty out his tank to find it after about fifteen min. I offered it to him on chop sticks ( that's how he was fed the super worms at his last home), but he refused. So the poor cricket went back to his own tank! He hasn't been pooping as far as I can tell since he got to us. Just little liquid white stuff, which isn't stool, is that right? But he's also hardly eating.
His nails are so long that he gets caught in the towel or our clothing when we hold him but I can't figure out how I'd cut them when he gets so aggressive at me. I'd love to give him a bath, but I don't want to terrify him.
Any ideas? I did add a cling on background to the tank because he was getting upset by the reflection, I think, and it seems to have helped. He still sometimes gets that way to the other three sides but not the back.
Last night he fell asleep in his water dish. I didn't want to leave him there because I was afraid he'd get too cold. He usually sleeps on his perch. So I turned on his lights so he could wake and then gently put my hand near him so he would move. Once he moved, I let him dry off before turning the lights out again. He seems ok so far this am, but I haven't gone near him yet. Just looked from afar.
I don't really want to get bitten. I fear that cotton gloves will just make it worse since he will get his teeth stuck.
I could really use some suggestions! Thanks.

Sorry you are having trouble with your guy. Since he isn't acting scared but is acting like a bully, its time to put on your big girl pants and teach him who is boss. Get a pair of cotton gloves or very thin, soft leather and start handling him. If you have too, wrap him up like a burrito so you can hold him without him thrashing around.

You need to be gentle but firm and absolutely do not let him get away with being a brat. Right now he knows he can intimidate you and get his way by being aggressive.

With consistent handling, he should eventually realize that biting is ineffective and give up. If he ever bits a towel again, I would just set him on a chair/couch and leave him alone for a minute until he untangles himself then start over.

Leaving him alone will only reenforce his bad behavior, if you want to bath him, then bath him. Since he seems a bit calmer with hubby, have him hold calvin while you trim his nails but only try it when he is being calm.
Another option is to wait until he is asleep then gently remove him from the cage, sit him on the couch next to you and cover him with a towel, he should go right back to sleep. Then you can carefully sneak a foot out and trim away, I find baby nail clippers work really well.

You might try to figure out if there is something about you that might set him off. My dragon hates it when I wear black or bright colored nail polish. Small black objects like cell phone and the temp gun will be attacked if if I get them close to him, he even went ofter the vacuum hose when I was cleaning his tank.
Some dragons don't like certain scents. Do you use perfume or lotion/soap different then your hubby?
Anything about your appearance that is radically different then hubby? Dangly metallic earrings for example.
Were the towel he bit and your socks the same color? Did he charge right at you or display first? Any black beard or going flat, leaning to the side?

Dragons can get addicted to supers and it can be nearly impossible to get them on healthier foods. Since he is new, I would suggest to start feeding him like his last owners did. Right now its better that is is eating something and settling in to his new home, you can worry about adjusting his diet later on.
The white stuff it the urate which is reptile pee. He isn't passing stool because he isn't eating enough.

Something else I just though of. Where do you put him when you take him out? Is he on the floor with you above him? Does hubby do the same thing or does he hold calvin? You might try keeping him level with you for awhile.

I've having a bit of a attitude with my guy when ever I stand up and walk around when he is on the floor. I think he feels really intimidated with a large pink monster stomping around close to him. He black beards, turns sideways and runs away. If I try to pick him up, he will turn and challenge me, he even bit me a couple days ago. I stuffed some greens in his mouth then made him tolerate me touching his face all over.

If I lay on the floor with him, he is fine. He'll even happily run around on me. If we are outside, he'll jump on me to bask or to get a better view of his surroundings.

Gail is absolutely right. I would add that I have had some success by talking to mine face-to-face for a couple minutes a day. Lots of affectionate stuff while I'm holding/petting them, then my stern voice when I need them to comply or calm down, etc. I've had to give lots of meds and syringe feedings over the years and the face-to-face conversations seem to ease the process.

This is all great advice. Thanks! I am having some issues with my Milla and these help!