Taming my baby BD

I have a baby beardie. Lizzy is about 4 mo old. I'm trying to get her used to me. I want her to be friendly and tame. She's very skiddish now and runs away. It's hard not to approach her from the top really because my enclosure is a 40gal breeder tank. Any suggestions? I really want her to be tame and enjoy affection.

Hi there, how long have you had Lizzie ? Some beardies take longer to settle down, but some are naturally skittish. If it's only been a week or so, be patient + let her settle in. After 2 weeks start putting your hand in the tank and just let it rest there calmly so she sees it's no threat. If you've already had her 2 weeks then start this right away. You might offer a fave food item at the same time, but not an entire meal....then she would only associate the hand with food and may even begin to nip at your fingers. After ding this for a couple of weeks, work your hand toward her so she can climb on it. Always slowly + calmly. If she attempts to bite [ depending on her size ] you might put a light pair of gloves on. Start picking her up after 3-4 weeks whether she likes it or not, very gently and hold her to your chest. This calms them because they are stable, safe and warm and they see that nothing scary has happened. After a while [ a week or so ] she'll get used to it and you can probably handle her more freely.

I've had her 2-3 weeks now. I'll keep trying and being super consistent. If she won't take food out of my hand initially, how long should I hold my hand there with the food trying to get her to take it?

It's O.K. if she won't take food from your hand but the idea is to keep your hand in the tank every day for 10-15 minutes so he gets used to it.

I'm sorta having the same problem.. my beardie usually tries to run away and wont sit still on my arm. Usually stroking helps, so just stroke him. Another way is (I heard this from Pansy Pan) taking them to the beach on a hot day and they might get scared and see you as a defense. I live in the Northwest where it's cold so I can't do this so I just try to scare my beardie with stuffed animals and he crawls closer to me. I've only had my beardie for like a week and a half so I'm no expert, but hope this helps!

I have the most luck getting my 6mo beardie to settle is taking him out after his light goes out and hes sleepy. It is how I'm getting him used to laying on me. In the daytime he's far too active to settle on me for long although its longer now than when I first got him and he would skamper off immediately.

Good luck.

@melissa I did that too and he would fall asleep on me, it was adorable! When it's in the afternoon or morning he will never stay still.