My Bearded Dragon Won't Stop Trying to Bite Me!

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SMSYoshi

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My bearded dragon, Alex, has been with me for months now. Lately hes been acting strange, everytime I put my hand in the tank, he opens his mouth and gets ready to attack. Also when I get near him, he runs away, hes been like this for 2 weeks now. I don't understand! He was fine last month! I took him out to play, the temperature is good, and I feed him everyday. I really miss playing with him, but now he won't even let me touch him. Can anyone please help?
 

NegativeCreep

Sub-Adult Member
Is Alex still a baby?
My little girl started acting this way, too. A few weeks of extra work, and she is getting better.
My SO swears she actually tried to bite him, but she never actually lunged at me. I don't believe him btw.

The best thing is that you work with him/her often. Don't give into bad tempers. Show her that you are not out to hurt her, and try to approach her from in front of her, rather than above (which is typically predator-like behavior). Pick her up as often as you can. She will eventually learn you are not out to get her.

One of the things that seems to be working best with me: I let her run free-kind of. I sit with her on the twin-sized bed in our 'herp room'. I also feed her phoenix worms during this time.. but I let her sit on the bed and move around a bit. She has gotten so that she even runs up my leg or my belly now. Ok.. now I'm gushing!
But watch out! Today I almost got pooped on. That stuff STINKS when its fresh!! :puke:
 

Ethelia

Extreme Poster
Hi there,
I adopted an adult beardie who'd been attacked by others and had never been handled. Dex never blackbearded me or puffed, but she would go to bite me (and managed a fair few times!) and OMGPANICCCCCCCCC if i tried to hold her.
I used the following tricks that helped her settle down:

- put your hand in her tank, flat, but dont touch her. she'll see your not there to grab her. do this every now and then for a day or so.
- once youve done for a while start only hand feeding her (wriggley mealworms work best) if she goes to bite you. be brave and try not to flinch. just raise your hand up and remove the food. she'll soon learn biting isnt a good idea.
- then go for handling her again but do it an hour or so after lights out when she'll be sleepy and bored of fighting. at this time you can try the 'beardie burrito'. this involves wrapping your beardie in a blanket/towel like a newborn baby and laying them on your chest. if she doesnt like the beardie burito try wearing a dressing gown, alot of beardies enjoy softness. Dexter loves mine.
- when handling in this taming period make sure your not wearing any strong aftershave and that you dont smell like food.
It can also help to find an old item of clothing of yours (or cut a chunk out of it) and leave it in the tank. She will become used to your smell.

and repeat!

Although you might end up getting a few scratches as she squirms to run away it is VERY important not to just put her down if she struggles. She will learn that fighting gets her her own way and will make the process longer and harder.

I promise its possible, Dex is currently asleep cuddled into my jumper, so just be patient and do keep us updated!

Holly
 

SMSYoshi

New member
Original Poster
Discovery!

It seems as though the tank is the problem. I managed to take him out and put him on my bed, I played with him for a bit and put him in a beardie burrito. He seemed to like it, he was so calm and started to lick me again like he used to. So after I finished playing with him some more I put him back in the tank, I put my fingers in there to see his reaction and he tried to bite me again! It seems as though the problem is the tank, I'll keep you guys updated if anything happens.
 

beardie parents

BD.org Sicko
Ok, that last post tells me to ask a couple of questions. I read a thread a while ago about a sweet beardie that turned "postal". Upon further questions, it turned out that the tank was to hot.

The questions I want to ask:
1) What are the temps in his tank?
2) What do you take them with?
If you use a stick on, the temps could be 20 degrees to hot.
The temps should be between 95 and 110, closer to 110 since he's still a baby.
 
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