My Baby Beardie is Scared of Me :(

Hi guys! I just got my first bearded dragon this past sunday at the Reptile Pomona Super show. He is about 2 months old, and such a cutie .I think he has adapted to his new home very well, he is eating regularly, and loves chilling on his little pillow I got him. The only problem is I feel like he is getting more and more scared of me. When I first got him he would let me pick him up with ease, then a couple days ago he started running away from me, and now every time I even go near his enclosure he hides. He also always seems to have stress marks on his belly and chin. I want him to get used to me, but I also don't want to stress him out too much. I have only held him for a few minutes about twice a day before I feed him, and then once to give him a bath. Should I hold him more or less? And is this normal behavior for babies? Any advice would be a great help. Thanks!

That sounds pretty normal. Don't worry about the dark marks as those are very common with young dragons. Since he's hiding from you I'd give him some space. Go near his tank and get him used to you cleaning it and refreshing food but if he hides don't approach him for a bit. Just give him a week or two to settle in and get used to you being around. You could try gaining trust by hand feeding him some black soldier fly larvae (phoenix worms) which are a good treat that he'll probably enjoy. Be patient with him and he will eventually become comfortable around you. Don't push too hard at first though as not to cause unnecessary stress.

Okay thank you! I have been taking him out for a bit when I feed him insects because I like to take everything out of his cage and monitor his eating. Should I not do this and just leave some roaches in there during the day? I kind of like to count how many he eats during each feeding though.
Thanks for the response

I usually offer bugs in the main tank. I found that dusting them in a cup (I use a yogurt cup, anything similar will work too) just a few at a time and offering them in small batches helps to be able to track them around the tank. I just keep offering small batches for about 10 min or until interest is lost. That makes it easy to scoop up any leftover bugs so they don't hide in the tank.

Okay I will try that next time thanks!

So I have been giving my baby some space, but I am having trouble feeding him. He will not eat if I am by the tank. He just runs away and hides. Anyone have any advice on how I can monitor his feeding if he won't eat in front of me? He used to slowly come up to the front of the tank when I would feed him and wait for more roaches, but now he just hides and won't move. I try to get him to eat while I'm there, but usually just end up putting the bugs in the tank since he won't move. I don't want to have to keep leaving bugs in there and hope he finds them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!