help my beardies gone rouge

!!!!HELP MY BEARDIES GONE ROUGE!!!!


hi guys,

so i brought a dragon a few months ago friendly as anything, wasnt really handled as previous owners had a cat that didnt like him so he was only handled when the cat was our, he has just started going threw his second shedding in the past 4 months (which i do find strange) we may have got him towards the last of his first shedding. myself and my partner believe he is about a year and a half to two years old but we are unsure as he is a big boy (hes a leatherback common), over the period of 2 weeks we have been unable to handle him as he keep freaking out and getting black beard, two days ago we let him have free run around out room, we thought he was okay because he was acting like himself again as we sat next to him slowly he puffed himself out and went black beard and mouth open, i have read it is to show he wants to be alpha, he does tail whip when he is picked up but as soon as he gets placed on my hair he calms down and goes to sleep, but lately he wont even let myself and my partner near him which is very upsetting to me more so than my partner as i suffer with mental health and find animals soothing (i bond very quick with animals). if someone could maybe help in anyways possible that would be brilliant as i dont want my dragon to become an in cage pet as i do like to have cuddles with him XD

thanks in advance

Hi!
Congrats on your new little guy! I'm sorry he's being a little aggressive lately. Sometimes this can be caused by something being off in his husbandry and causing him stress or discomfort, and then he takes it out on his owners.
So, maybe could we have pictures of him and his tank?
Also, could you let us know what kind of UVB light you're using; whether it's a tube, if it's 10% or 12%, and what brand it is? What are the temperatures at the basking spot and on the cool end of the tank? Is he being kept on a sand substrate or another loose substrate? Is he feeding and pooping regularly, and what's his regular diet like? Do you own any other pets that he can see from his tank?

Hello,

That can be very frustrating!
You can also try getting a shirt of yours to wrap him up in at night when you hold him to go to sleep. Just burrito him in it & he should feel pretty snug & secure in there. Plus, he will really get used to
your scent also.

Tracie