HELP Handling my new beardie

Hello all. I have had my bud for 8 days now and have tried to leave him alone for the most part of this time. In the beginning he would flinch when my hand entered the viv and/or stare at it to make sure it didnt move at him. As of late, he has been eating out of my hand no problem, but still doesnt seem happy to be touched, and runs away when i try to pick him up. Every night i have been holding him while he sleeps and i even put on a sweatshirt that smells like me (i promise thats not a bad thing lol) to get him used to my scent. Im not sure what else to try. I once forced him to let me hold him and he was PISSED, but nontheless allowed it. Any advice as to how to go about training him to love me would be great!

P.S- He is about 8.5 inch tip to tip and i would guess to be about 2.5-3 months old

Hello,

It sounds like you are doing everything correctly.
Sometimes it just takes awhile for them to warm up to you, being new with you.
When does he run from you, only sometimes?
How old is he, did you get him from a pet store or breeder?
Keep trying with him & if he is eating out of your hand is a great start though!

Tracie

Thank you for the response, Tracie! Yes, when he knows that I am reaching in to pick him up, he runs away very quickly. When i have managed to get him in the past, i felt horrible because he seemed freaked out. He is 8.5 inches, which i have been told means he is around 3 months. I got him from Petsmart which i hope isnt a bad thing. He was the alpha in his tank and i knew i had to have him

He is a very healthy beardie with everything he needs and more (including a beardie hammock that i sewed a camo pattern onto for his enjoyment, lol). But yes he does like to eat out of my hand when it is feeding time and has even taken a liking to apples and carrots. I have thought that maybe trying to pick him up right before lights out might be best. But im not sure! He has no objection to me holding him during the night. Sorry, im rambling. Any advice is appreciated.

-Dylan

If he came from Petsmart, he may not have been handled as often as a small-time breeder would handle babies, but that doesn't mean he won't warm up to you. My beardie originally came from a chain pet store and then he lived with a family member of mine for about a month and wasn't handled often or properly, but in the two months that I have owned him, he's warmed up to me a lot.

Some suggestions:

- Instead of reaching to grab him, start slow: Put you hand in the viv on the opposite side of your beardie, leave it there, then take it out and leave him alone for a while. Rinse and repeat. Over a series of days, you can shorten the distance between your hand and your beardie until your hand is right next to the beardie. Don't pick him up, but keep demonstrating that your hand isn't a threat and isn't just going to swoop in and take him out like a big bad predator. Then you can move up to petting him, touching him, etc, and then finally, picking him up.

- Continue to hand feed him. Eventually move up to putting a worm or other slow-moving yummy treat in the palm of your hand and opening it for your beardie to choose to step into your hand to take it. This may take time but be patient and even if he doesn't take it at first, keep trying. There's a lot of power in independent choice — rewarding your beardie for choosing to step into your hand will leave a much stronger impression on him than rewarding him after you grab him or make him get into your hand because YOU choose.

- Definitely continue to take him out around lights out. They're docile when they're sleepy so it's a lot easier to build positive associations with being held. By another forum member's advice, I wrapped my beardie in a hand towel or blanket while he was sleepy and then hold him on my chest. Now if I take him out after lights out and put him on my chest, he'll climb to my neck and snuggle in to sleep.

The key is short positive experiences!

Thank you so much! I have read that many people go out and buy baby blankets for them (oh how we spoil our beardies). Maybe i will try that. The last three nights he has snuggled into my chest while i am on here! I will definitely start doing more short experiences rather than jump right into grabbing him. What sort of worm would you suggest? I have read that mealworms are not good for them. How about superworms as a treat maybe once or twice a day?

onceblue":1plb4r79 said:

If he came from Petsmart, he may not have been handled as often as a small-time breeder would handle babies, but that doesn't mean he won't warm up to you. My beardie originally came from a chain pet store and then he lived with a family member of mine for about a month and wasn't handled often or properly, but in the two months that I have owned him, he's warmed up to me a lot.

Some suggestions:

- Instead of reaching to grab him, start slow: Put you hand in the viv on the opposite side of your beardie, leave it there, then take it out and leave him alone for a while. Rinse and repeat. Over a series of days, you can shorten the distance between your hand and your beardie until your hand is right next to the beardie. Don't pick him up, but keep demonstrating that your hand isn't a threat and isn't just going to swoop in and take him out like a big bad predator. Then you can move up to petting him, touching him, etc, and then finally, picking him up.

- Continue to hand feed him. Eventually move up to putting a worm or other slow-moving yummy treat in the palm of your hand and opening it for your beardie to choose to step into your hand to take it. This may take time but be patient and even if he doesn't take it at first, keep trying. There's a lot of power in independent choice — rewarding your beardie for choosing to step into your hand will leave a much stronger impression on him than rewarding him after you grab him or make him get into your hand because YOU choose.

- Definitely continue to take him out around lights out. They're docile when they're sleepy so it's a lot easier to build positive associations with being held. By another forum member's advice, I wrapped my beardie in a hand towel or blanket while he was sleepy and then hold him on my chest. Now if I take him out after lights out and put him on my chest, he'll climb to my neck and snuggle in to sleep.

The key is short positive experiences!

Click to expand...

Sorry, meant to quote this the first time. New to this website lol. Right now i am sitting just outside his viv with him just inside the glass and basking. This seems like it builds trust to me at least! I have another comment below but i wasnt sure you would get a notification that i responded

No problem! You don't have to worry about quoting the text - I do still get the notifications

It's great that he's been snuggling into you! That shows that some trust is definitely growing.

As far as worms for treats go, I would stay away from mealworms for sure and I would also avoid superworms until your beardie is 16" or so because of the risk of impaction. Soft-bodied worms are better and you can feed them even if they are bigger than the space between your beardies eyes (as long as they aren't too large because you don't want your beardie to choke). I order small hornworms from Rainbow Mealworms for treats, these are great for hydration (they're mostly water) and really tasty, but they don't offer much nutrition so you'd want to only offer them sparingly. In my experience they are very filling, too, so don't feed more than one or two or it might spoil your beardie's meals. If you buy them, get the smallest number possible (I think that would be 12) and the smallest size possible because hornworms grow very quickly and you'll have huge worms that are too big to feed to your beardie before you know it (although they are mostly water so there's a little more leeway in how big they can be when you feed them, you still don't want to feed them if they are huge or can't fit into your beardie's mouth). If you order from Rainbow Mealworms, try using the coupon code Facebook20 and you'll get 20% off if it still works.

I also use butterworms as treats. I get those from Mulberry farms. My beardie loves them and I like offering them more than waxworms because while they are fattening, they aren't as fattening as waxworms. You wouldn't want to use them as a staple, though. Waxworms are another good treat, but like I said - they're fattening and you want to feed them only sparingly because some beardies get addicted to them. I have some and only give one or two once every few days or so.

Phoenix worms may also work and you can actually use them as a staple, unlike the others, if you wanted. But phoenix worms aren't as big as the others I listed so they may not be as exciting as far as treats go. My beardie eats them but he isn't motivated by them like he is with the others.

Also, another tip that you could try, something I do is only offer the hornworms/waxworms/butterworms from my hand. I never give them with my beardie's meals or just set them down for him to eat himself — that way he always associates the best treats with me and handfeeding.

I have baby blankets for my beardie and I also have a custom-made beardie bed because my beardie is super spoiled, haha. I got my custom bed from Cherie's Beardie Blankets on Facebook if you want to take a look — they're really cute.

Here's mine:



If he falls asleep on my chest and I then tuck him in, he'll sleep there through the night. I never bother him if he's already fallen asleep in his viv before I have a chance to take him out, though, because they can get spooked if moved suddenly when they are in a deep sleep.

You are incredibly helpful. No one else has taken the time to give me such detailed responses! Im glad i have someone i can ask questions to now! I have been ordering my crickets from Flukers Farms for about a week now, and might check out their hornworms if they sell them. When my guy sleeps he is practically in a coma, lol. He falls asleep in the weirdest places, and if i am not home when its lights out i take him out and he wakes up for a couple seconds, sees me, and then just goes back to sleep. He'll even squirm some to get closer to me. If onyl he would do that during the day! I know im throwing a lot at you but i want to make sure im doing everything the best way i can! Where do you get your insects from? Petsmart is easiest but at 13 cents a pop, heck no. I want to have a reliable company that doesnt charge an arm and a leg for shipping. Also im worried about winter months because i really dont want a box of dead crickets.
-Dylan

I'm glad to help! I love talking about this stuff, and I never really get a chance to in my every day life. I'm not as knowledgeable as some of the others around here but I do know a few things!

It's great that your beardie isn't easily spooked when he's sleeping. Dragon cuddles are the absolute best There's no better feeling than a beardie trusting you enough to snuggle into you for sleep.

But definitely ask as many questions as you'd like! I know it's very helpful to have some guidance. I'll answer whatever I can and if there's something I can't answer someone else around here will most likely be able to, we have some really knowledgeable members here.

Unfortunately I don't have a good site for crickets because I hate crickets and don't buy them, but I use the following sites to order insects on a regular basis:

Rainbow Mealworms - Usually has a coupon you can use, right now it's Facebook20
Mulberry Farms
DubiDeli

That last one is for dubia roaches...if you're looking for a different stable feeder other than crickets, dubia are great. The nymphs (babies) look more like pill bugs than roaches, and dubia in general can't jump like crickets, can't climb very well, and don't smell like crickets do. Plus they're quiet. They can also take a lot more abuse than crickets, sometimes I squeeze my dubia fairly hard when I'm catching an escapee and removing it from the viv and they aren't even fazed. Crickets die easily in my experience. A lot of people start colonies and raise their own dubia to save money. They're pretty easy to breed. I have a colony and I haven't followed a lot of the breeding tips out there but mine are still breeding like crazy.

There are other dubia sites out there but I personally like DubiDeli best because they are really, really good at sizing their nymphs. I've bought from two other places and I always get some big ones in the mix which is annoying when I'm trying to feed a young beardie and size is a concern.

I've also seen Linda's Gone Buggy recommended but haven't personally tried them.

Awesome. I am definitely going to start looking into dubias. The spoiled parent in me ran to the store tonight and bought Reptar two fleece baby blankets. I wrapped him up as soon as i got home and he slept on me for about 1.5 hours! I didnt wrap him too tight, it was just big enough to have multiple bottom layers and a layer to lay over top of him as a loose blanket. I decided that it would be best to remove his basking rock at night and to put him in his blankie there until morning

That great! I bet he loves the blankets! Mine can't get enough of his, sometimes he even burrows all the way into them in the morning before he goes to warm up.

. So its cool if if he stays in his blanket for about an hour in the morning? His lights come on at 7 and im going to be up at 8. Im assuming if he gets too hot he'll crawl out

It should be fine if he stays in his blanket in the morning and he should move once he's ready to get out or if he gets too hot, but just to be safe you can move it to the side instead of directly under the basking light, that way he'll warm up a little more gradually. If you're going to feed him at 8 or shortly thereafter, though, you may want to put his basking rock back in and move something else for his blanket, because you'll want to make sure he can get to the height that will put him at the right temps and get him completely warmed up before you feed him, otherwise he may not eat. My beardie won't eat unless he's had a good amount of time to bask (like an hour - hour and a half).

I take his good size water bowl out at night so i put him in that spot and put his rock back in. Thanks so much for all your help this evening. I will be in touch im sure in the future with more questions. Have a good one and happy bearding!