Having a hard time taming down a traumatized dragon

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williamk34

Hatchling Member
So this post is about my baby bearded dragon Coral I rescued her from a Petco that was treating her extremely badly her enclosure had a life that was basically strobe lighting her she was the only one there so I have no idea how long she was actually there her temperatures were not correct usual BS at pet stores do but this was one of the worst. Just a little bit of background on her she's only about 12-13 in Long everything else is fairly normal she will let me mess with her and hold her for a little bit but most of the time she's usually trying to bite and escaped even if I am just doing routine cage maintenance. Just want to know if anybody has some advice and some techniques right now I have been using my techniques that I used to tame down my monitor lizards and it seems to be working. Some examples are putting my hand in the enclosure near her hoping she doesn't bite leaving it there for a little while not moving letting her get used to the scent letting her calm down before trying to actually move her whenever I'm holding her these things seem to be doing good. I have even tried old fashioned bribery lol any suggestions would be helpful I think she will be okay she's nowhere near as bad as she was just looking for anything that I could have possibly overlooked.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Place a blanket piece of clothing or fleece in her hide w/ your smell on it - she needs to learn to trust this is the biggest thing if she was treated badly -- its going to take time and patience but it sounds like your on the right track --- hand feed her every morning when putting her food in her tank- BSFL or super worms maybe some greens -- gonna haft to be patient w/ her -- talk to her
Karrie
 

ComicBookMama

Sub-Adult Member
You didn't mention when you got her... if she's relatively new to you and your home, she's going through relocation stress, and that would exacerbate any behaviors you're seeing. I agree with Karrie's advice, though - put something into the tank that will help her get used to your scent, talk to her (they will know us primarily through voice and scent - we're so big to them!), hand feed her... you did a good thing getting her out of a substandard Petco (you should also write the company and report what you told us... might not do any good, but it's better than nothing).
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Also be sure you approach her from the front or the side and not from above or behind like a predator would, and like everyone else has said, be patient because it will take some time, especially if she wasn't treated well before you got her.
 

williamk34

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I've had it for about a month like I said she is claiming down I have two adults besides her you can look at some of my other post if you want more information or just to see them. She's about 12 inches so far she's only really warmed up to me but to everybody else hasn't really warmed up I know reptiles in general can kind of be sticky sometimes. Mention some stuff that I'm already doing but like I said I just wanted to see if there was anything else I wasn't really looking at I know I didn't really go into details. I'm used to this kind of behavior from monitor lizards just haven't really experienced it from bearded dragons until I got her.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Don't underestimate bribery :lol: She may just be a bit skittish naturally. Since everything else in her environment is good and she is well cared for I think it's just a matter of giving her more time to develop. She may not ever wind up being cuddly like some of them but that is OK and normal for her. She is likely to stop being very defensive around you after a while though.
 
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