New beardie owner, stressed out, need guidance!

Status
Not open for further replies.

Blitzie

Member
Original Poster
Okay, I really need someone to step in here and help me out because I'm panicking.

Literally the entire day today, she has been completely on edge. Every time someone walked by the room, into the room, walked around upstairs, made any noise at all, she would panic and run or hide. Not even near her enclosure, just in general.

She ate one single cricket at breakfast and spent a lot of time hidden. When she finally came out to bask, I reached in to get the extra crickets out and decided to scratch her chin. She was very open to it and seemed to enjoy it so I pushed my luck and tried to hold her. Bad idea. She immediately black-bearded and squirmed to get away. I put her down right away.

I went out for about an hour and came back into the room and saw she was basking. I walked out of the room for three seconds and turned around and she was hidden again. I wasn't within 15 feet of the tank.

Later in the day, I dropped some crickets in and she FINALLY ate. I left about a dozen in there for an hour and she got about 10 of them. I was thrilled. Finally eating.

I let her bask for hours and didn't move a muscle off the couch next to the tank. When my fiancé came home, I told her to walk in slowly and carefully. We sat on the couch for a while and as soon as she got up, the dragon panicked and made a run for her hide. All she did was stand up!

I decided it was bedtime and cleaned out her tank of the veggies she didn't touch and her poop. My fiancé talked me into trying to give her water via syringe drips on the nose even though I KNEW she was stressed. I did it anyway and she black-bearded and got very defensive in posture. I shut off the lights and got in bed.

WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?! Her temps are perfect, she's finally eating and she's so on edge it's unbelievable. We have a loud house, she HAS to get used to it. I'm not walking on eggshells around my house because of this behavior. I am not enjoying my first four days of dragon ownership at all.

The only thing I can think of is getting her tank off the floor. Maybe if she was elevated she wouldn't always be looking up at us and assuming we're threats?

Does anyone have any advice? I'm having serious doubts about this whole thing.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
If she ate 10 crickets that is really good progress. :) Just give her some time, she will settle in. Like a child going to their first day of school [ or week, month ] some blend right in, others are nervous + take a while to feel secure. It may be better to have the tank up higher, she won't feel every single vibration like she does now on the floor. Remember, she is scared, so although you want to live a normal life, se is not acting this way to annoy you....she's just scared. If you can put her tank on a stand [ look for a second hand one , even an old piece of furniture of some type ] and maybe covering a side of her tank with a towel for a while. But just give it time, you have to be patient.

And eating 10 crickets is a real plus, some won't eat that much for a week or two. :)
 

Blitzie

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":29xm08s3 said:
If she ate 10 crickets that is really good progress. :) Just give her some time, she will settle in. Like a child going to their first day of school [ or week, month ] some blend right in, others are nervous + take a while to feel secure. It may be better to have the tank up higher, she won't feel every single vibration like she does now on the floor. Remember, she is scared, so although you want to live a normal life, se is not acting this way to annoy you....she's just scared. If you can put her tank on a stand [ look for a second hand one , even an old piece of furniture of some type ] and maybe covering a side of her tank with a towel for a while. But just give it time, you have to be patient.

And eating 10 crickets is a real plus, some won't eat that much for a week or two. :)

Should we be acting as normal around her to get her used to us and our routines?

Today i got my Dubia roaches in and she LOVES them! She ate 50 in one sitting! She ate them out of a little cup and she ate several off my fingers. I feel like that was real progress. Time to order more Dubias!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Wow, that's a ton of grub ! She's not too nervous to gobble up this new delicacy. :)

Just be careful to not feed her too much at once, at times they will gorge + then vomit. Best to offer up two smaller meals a day.

But it's good to hear that she loves the dubia and has such an appetite.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
AHBD":29pza9za said:
Wow, that's a ton of grub ! She's not too nervous to gobble up this new delicacy. :)

Just be careful to not feed her too much at once, at times they will gorge + then vomit. Best to offer up two smaller meals a day.

But it's good to hear that she loves the dubia and has such an appetite.

Yep if she's eating that well, and from your fingers, you're doing great .... she trusts you if she is eating from your fingers ....

Regarding household routines, I'd suggest go about life as usual, she'll soon adjust.

Noisey boisterous children .... keep them away ....
 

Blitzie

Member
Original Poster
Hey guys, just checking in.

My fiancé snapped these pictures of our dragon today because she's concerned about her beard always being black. I notice also that she seems to have markings on her belly. Should we beconcerned? It seems like her beard is always like that.

https://ibb.co/cLJfkQ
https://ibb.co/gu2jC5

(we've been to nervous to upset her to get rid of that cardboard around her tank)
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
No , he's fine. They're commonly called "stress marks" but they often show them when very curious and even when having a ball when out exploring on the floor.
I interpret that look as " please get me out " or " please give me a snuggle " or " what cha doing ? " depending on the context of the situation .



The picture of him standing up against the glass side , he's enjoying the coolness of the glass on his tummy.
 

Blitzie

Member
Original Poster
kingofnobbys":3dn2bcxq said:
They're commonly called "stress marks" but they often show them when very curious and even when having a ball when out exploring on the floor.

No , he's fine.

The picture of him standing up against the glass side , he's enjoying the coolness of the glass on his tummy.

You're the best, thanks for all your input. You really put my mind at ease.

She ate 15 Dubias from my fingers tonight :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: so pleased!
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Blitzie":3o608s0b said:
kingofnobbys":3o608s0b said:
They're commonly called "stress marks" but they often show them when very curious and even when having a ball when out exploring on the floor.

No , he's fine.

The picture of him standing up against the glass side , he's enjoying the coolness of the glass on his tummy.

You're the best, thanks for all your input. You really put my mind at ease.

She ate 15 Dubias from my fingers tonight :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: so pleased!

Sound's like he's training you well ....
 

Blitzie

Member
Original Poster
Hey guys, quick update.

Things are inconsistent with Quinn. She is very, very skittish and will often cower or run for her hide when we get off the couch or walk around the room.

She's been using her hide a lot more often and basking a little less. Her appetite is hit or miss, she refuses food on occasion but other times will eat voraciously. She hasn't eaten nearly as many bugs in one sitting as she did a few days ago, she will eat 6-7 good sized Dubia per feeding, when she decides to feed. She will take a few from my hands but will wait for me to put down the insect before eating it.

She hasn't warmed up to us much, doesn't want to be held or enjoying our presence at all.

Her temps are perfect. 108F basking, 78F cool side.

Her poops are HUGE and smelly! I saw on Google that it could be possible that she would have parasites but I am unsure.

What can we do to get her to warm up to us and engage with us? I know she's only been home 8 days but things haven't been going as we hoped...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank
Taking my beardie for a walk

Forum statistics

Threads
155,854
Messages
1,255,181
Members
75,936
Latest member
KarmaChild99
Top Bottom