My Beardie Had a Panic Attack?

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eileenibanez

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!!!!!SOS I NEED HELP WITH MY BEARDIE!!!!!
Hey guys! I'm a first-time bearded dragon owner and I'm a little concerned for my beardie, Pedro. He's around 7months old and so far he's never puffed his beard at me or ever even been scared of me, but today I think I might have induced a little panic attack :(

Pedro sleeps in the open drawer of my nightstand and that's never been a problem... except for today. I came home a little late with a friend and I turned on the lights in my room which woke him up and scared him. This caused him to run and fall out of the drawer; it's not high enough for him to have gotten hurt but he was seriously shaken up and he got darker and puffed. When I tried to pick him up he hissed and even tried to bite me which he has NEVER done. I gave him some space to calm down then gradually approached him so he'd be a little more relaxed. It worked pretty well but then a car alarm outside started blasting, and he re-puffed and ran into a small crevice in between my desk and my wall. I was too scared to approach him after that so I just let him go to sleep there.

It's been three hours since the incident and he's currently sleeping in the crevice. I'm really concerned about him because this has never happened before and I think I might have made him scared of me or caused some serious psychological damage. I might be overreacting but he's my baby and I'm worried. I could REALLY use some advice here!
 

VenusAndSaturn

Sub-Adult Member
Well for starters keep him in his actual home during the night, his enclosure is where he should be sleeping not some drawer where he could easily be hurt. Also why would you leave a beardie out of its enclosure with no one to watch over it even if its asleep?


These are quite foolish actions and if you keep doing this your going to end up with a dead or very injured beardie.
 

eileenibanez

New member
Original Poster
Hey VenusandSaturn,

Pedro doesn't like to sleep in his enclosure; it gives him anxiety and he begins to glass surf until he tires himself out. I tried a few things to get him to adjust to his enclosure early on, and I learned that he felt best falling asleep on or near me. I did some research to see if this was okay, turns out quite a few people let their beardies sleep outside of their enclosures, without consequence.

Discovering this, I beardie proofed my room and apartment. Then, I made him a bed in the drawer of my nightstand, which isn't more than a foot and a half in height. He's slept there happily and comfortably for about six months or so. This has been the first and only issue I've ever had doing this. Even so, I don't quite think his sleeping arrangement was the problem here so much as the fact that I startled him with a bright light and the unfamiliar face of my friend.

The advice I'm looking for has more to do with how to make sure Pedro doesn't start to fear me or how to calm him down when he panics like that since it's never happened before. Not so much passive aggressive judgment or implications that I'd intentionally put my beardie in a situation where he'd end up "dead or very injured." I thought the point of this forum was to help and educate other beardie owners and I've got to say as one of my first interactions on here, this was quite the letdown.
 
How is he doing now? I would suggest keeping a close eye on him for a few days, if you notice him black bearding a lot or showing any other signs that aren't normal for his behavior then a vet check might be needed. But if he appears otherwise fine and no obvious sign of injury he could just have had a bit of a shock.

With regards to your viv, does he glass surf whenever he goes in the viv? Do you have a lamp or heating on at night or anything? Sounds like you've beardie proofed your room which is good and not easy. My izzy is quite the Houdini lol.
 

CliffsMom

Member
You can try leaving some treats near him when He's freaked out. Maybe not live ones though, could scare him? Letting him "sleep it out" was a really good idea; it's also always a good idea if they're a bit stuck - once mine decided to climb down the back of my night stand drawer and ended up underneath. He wasn't in any danger or anything, he just didn't know where he was. He got all puffy and wouldn't put his head down for me to pull the drawer out. An hour later I pulled it out and he was fast asleep and yellow. Just make sure he wakes gently. My boy Clifford has nightmares - he scratches the ground and gets a dark beard in his sleep! Maybe Pedro was dreaming :) Don't worry too much about the tumble - beardies are very hardy tumblers because they're so light; they just don't hit the ground very hard.
 
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