Dealing with a stressed/skittish sub-adult beardie

I have had Pooka since August 2017. She is about 9 months old. I have picked up her pretty regularly, but unfortunately I fear this has done more to convince her that I am a scary UFO monster than anything else.


Some background: My boyfriend and I recently moved to a new place. In the process, one of the sliding glass doors to Pooka's tank was shattered (while she was in it, poor thing!). Up until a week ago the tank was jury-rigged with a piece of slate covering the entrance, and I was manually changing out her regular heat light and a black ceramic bulb - it got too cold at night otherwise. The new apartment also has lots of new sounds for her to get used to.

Even before this, she was inclined to spend all of her time hiding in her log or under her branch. Once I actually got her out of the tank, she wasn't fussy. I worry that I misinterpreted her being quiet for being calm, and that I was actually conditioning her to be scared of me.

But now she will literally hide all day long in her log.



Yes, this image is adorable, but I worry she's not getting enough UVB because she will literally spend all day in her log hide. If I take out the log hide, she'll find a way to hide under the branch. She won't immediately run away when she sees me, but if I turn away she'll find some corner to hide in.

In short: What can I do to make her more comfortable, both in general and with handling? She's hiding so much that I worry she's not getting enough UVB. For now, I have ceased picking her up. I try to sit for about an hour a day near her tank with my hand inside. I also have been hand-feeding her greens and dubias.

Other relevant info:
-Pooka's basking area is about 100 (goes up to 125 directly underneath the light), and the cool side is around 85. Not that she's been using the basking area :roll:
-She was seen by the vet about six weeks ago, and was treated for mild coccidia. Vet thought she looked otherwise healthy, but wanted to treat it since it was a positive.
-She uses a Reptisun 10.0 bulb, which was recently replaced. Her tank is 60 gallons.

I know there are a lot of threads like this one, but any input would be greatly appreciated. I worry that despite my best intentions, we got off to a bad start. I do want her to be comfortable around me as an adult.

What were you using to find out the temperatures? Also, what is the distance between the light setup and her(if she were to come out)?

KeyBlu422":kwwrto7r said:

What were you using to find out the temperatures? Also, what is the distance between the light setup and her(if she were to come out)?

Click to expand...

I'm measuring the temperatures with a temperature gun.

Pictures of her setup are below, if it helps to visualize. Lights went out about an hour ago.


Poor thing has wedged herself in a really uncomfortable position in an attempt to hide. If I take out the log altogether, I think she'll just wedge herself underneath the basking branch. I also worry that every time I move something in the tank, it just causes her more stress.

Well, there is one thing that I think you could try. Besides feeding, cover the sliding doors with something like a shirt where she can't see you for the day. Leave the hide in or out, your choice. Maybe do the first and if that doesn't work, go with the latter. See how she does and check on her when lights are out. If she's out before you lifted the shirt you'll know she's terrified of you. Another possibility could be the sound. If she is scared of you, consider leaving her be for a week or so as she may be adjusting. And, another sign that she may be scared of you is a minor-major black beard when you're visible to her. If you suspect she's scared, maybe try the method listed above.

KeyBlu422":1mvycagf said:

Well, there is one thing that I think you could try. Besides feeding, cover the sliding doors with something like a shirt where she can't see you for the day. Leave the hide in or out, your choice. Maybe do the first and if that doesn't work, go with the latter. See how she does and check on her when lights are out. If she's out before you lifted the shirt you'll know she's terrified of you. Another possibility could be the sound. If she is scared of you, consider leaving her be for a week or so as she may be adjusting. And, another sign that she may be scared of you is a minor-major black beard when you're visible to her. If you suspect she's scared, maybe try the method listed above.

Click to expand...

If it helps at all, Pooka was hiding in the log this morning. When I came home from work, she was in the same position :shock: So I don't know if it's me per se. However, she was doing this even before I moved, so I'm not sure.

Tonight I was able to tempt her out with a wax worm, and eventually some dubias and greens. She wandered back to her hiding spot when I wasn't looking.

She seems to constantly have some kind of coloring on her chin - I can't tell if it's black beard. The vet thought that some of it could be her normal coloration. In the third picture in my original post, you can see what it typically looks like - would you consider that black beard?

Kitsune":1q10fojj said:

KeyBlu422":1q10fojj said:

Well, there is one thing that I think you could try. Besides feeding, cover the sliding doors with something like a shirt where she can't see you for the day. Leave the hide in or out, your choice. Maybe do the first and if that doesn't work, go with the latter. See how she does and check on her when lights are out. If she's out before you lifted the shirt you'll know she's terrified of you. Another possibility could be the sound. If she is scared of you, consider leaving her be for a week or so as she may be adjusting. And, another sign that she may be scared of you is a minor-major black beard when you're visible to her. If you suspect she's scared, maybe try the method listed above.

Click to expand...

If it helps at all, Pooka was hiding in the log this morning. When I came home from work, she was in the same position :shock: So I don't know if it's me per se. However, she was doing this even before I moved, so I'm not sure.

Tonight I was able to tempt her out with a wax worm, and eventually some dubias and greens. She wandered back to her hiding spot when I wasn't looking.

She seems to constantly have some kind of coloring on her chin - I can't tell if it's black beard. The vet thought that some of it could be her normal coloration. In the third picture in my original post, you can see what it typically looks like - would you consider that black beard?

Click to expand...

Hmmm... it's good that you tempted her out, I guess she's not scared enough to resist food. As for the black beard, pretty much all beardies beards are slightly black, your beardy's beard looks prettt normal to me. There are many forums that can provide advice if you simply look up "how to tame a skittish bearded dragon", i think those forums would be a great place to look if this doesn't help http://www.bio.miami.edu/tosney/file/TameBaby.pdf