My beardie keeps trying to bite my hands when i attempt to pick her up

arobinson2005

New member
Original Poster
I’ve tried looking up how to fix this, but i haven’t found any answers and i’m getting really worried. i’ve had my bearded dragon since she was around 3 weeks old and me and her have an amazing bond. she trusts me more than anyone and will tolerate almost anything from me(like cutting her nails, bathing, etc.) but recently my mental health has declined really badly and i’ve gotten really busy with life, im about to graduate and life is becoming a lot more adult like and i haven’t been able to handle her often at all. it was a long time since i handled her and i’ve been trying to handle her more but she won’t let me pick her up. unfortunately i don’t have the money for an actual terrarium that’s 50gal and opens in the front, so she has a 50gal tank that opens from the top, but thats never bothered her, she knows me. i think maybe she’s associating me with food, because that’s one thing that i have kept up with, i always feed my animals. so i tried reading on how to make her stop that, and everyone says to stop hand feeding, to feed with tongs or leave the food in there, but that’s all i do. i don’t hand feed her, i take her food bowl out of her enclosure, put the food in there, and put it back in. so i don’t know how to fix this problem but it really hurts that i can’t hold her because i really am attached to her and i can see that it’s stressing her out never being handled because she has such a strong connection to me but i don’t know how to help her stop associating me with food, i feel even worse because it’s my fault. if anyone can help pls pls do
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I’ve tried looking up how to fix this, but i haven’t found any answers and i’m getting really worried. i’ve had my bearded dragon since she was around 3 weeks old and me and her have an amazing bond. she trusts me more than anyone and will tolerate almost anything from me(like cutting her nails, bathing, etc.) but recently my mental health has declined really badly and i’ve gotten really busy with life, im about to graduate and life is becoming a lot more adult like and i haven’t been able to handle her often at all. it was a long time since i handled her and i’ve been trying to handle her more but she won’t let me pick her up. unfortunately i don’t have the money for an actual terrarium that’s 50gal and opens in the front, so she has a 50gal tank that opens from the top, but thats never bothered her, she knows me. i think maybe she’s associating me with food, because that’s one thing that i have kept up with, i always feed my animals. so i tried reading on how to make her stop that, and everyone says to stop hand feeding, to feed with tongs or leave the food in there, but that’s all i do. i don’t hand feed her, i take her food bowl out of her enclosure, put the food in there, and put it back in. so i don’t know how to fix this problem but it really hurts that i can’t hold her because i really am attached to her and i can see that it’s stressing her out never being handled because she has such a strong connection to me but i don’t know how to help her stop associating me with food, i feel even worse because it’s my fault. if anyone can help pls pls do
How old is she now? We need to go over the husbandry in the tank --- UVB coil or long tube fixture ? Surface basking temps how are you getting them? No stick ons they are inaccurate- you want a digital probe thermometer- we need to fix this if its off -- next you need to start hand taming her it sounds the lack of attention has gotten her skittish - approaching her from the top is not good either -- she thinks your a predator -- you need to be able to approach from the side and slowly -- hand feeding her will have her learn to trust you -- so you need to start there -- getting her some BSFL and some super worms size appropriate since I dont know how big she is or old --
 

arobinson2005

New member
Original Poster
How old is she now? We need to go over the husbandry in the tank --- UVB coil or long tube fixture ? Surface basking temps how are you getting them? No stick ons they are inaccurate- you want a digital probe thermometer- we need to fix this if its off -- next you need to start hand taming her it sounds the lack of attention has gotten her skittish - approaching her from the top is not good either -- she thinks your a predator -- you need to be able to approach from the side and slowly -- hand feeding her will have her learn to trust you -- so you need to start there -- getting her some BSFL and some super worms size appropriate since I dont know how big she is or old --
she
How old is she now? We need to go over the husbandry in the tank --- UVB coil or long tube fixture ? Surface basking temps how are you getting them? No stick ons they are inaccurate- you want a digital probe thermometer- we need to fix this if its off -- next you need to start hand taming her it sounds the lack of attention has gotten her skittish - approaching her from the top is not good either -- she thinks your a predator -- you need to be able to approach from the side and slowly -- hand feeding her will have her learn to trust you -- so you need to start there -- getting her some BSFL and some super worms size appropriate since I dont know how big she is or old --
How old is she now? We need to go over the husbandry in the tank --- UVB coil or long tube fixture ? Surface basking temps how are you getting them? No stick ons they are inaccurate- you want a digital probe thermometer- we need to fix this if its off -- next you need to start hand taming her it sounds the lack of attention has gotten her skittish - approaching her from the top is not good either -- she thinks your a predator -- you need to be able to approach from the side and slowly -- hand feeding her will have her learn to trust you -- so you need to start there -- getting her some BSFL and some super worms size appropriate since I dont know how big she is or old --
she will be 4 on april 17th. i keep her enclosure around 100-110° in her basking area and her cool is usually around 95°, but it has always varied because my ac doesn’t regulate the temperature in my room well so it’s hard regulating the temperature of the enclosures. she seems very healthy, she still moves around, basks, eats well, and poops. she’s around 16in long but she’s a strong dragon and her bites hurt, and so honestly i think her being skiddish paired with me being hesitant because i know she’s gonna bite me intending to bite into food and that’s really not a bite i wanna feel just intensifies the situation and makes it worse for both of us. i’ll do whatever i need to in order to make her comfortable with me again
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
she


she will be 4 on april 17th. i keep her enclosure around 100-110° in her basking area and her cool is usually around 95°, but it has always varied because my ac doesn’t regulate the temperature in my room well so it’s hard regulating the temperature of the enclosures. she seems very healthy, she still moves around, basks, eats well, and poops. she’s around 16in long but she’s a strong dragon and her bites hurt, and so honestly i think her being skiddish paired with me being hesitant because i know she’s gonna bite me intending to bite into food and that’s really not a bite i wanna feel just intensifies the situation and makes it worse for both of us. i’ll do whatever i need to in order to make her comfortable with me again
Temps are too hot --- please get a digital probe thermometer and get surface basking temps 95-100 -- cool side needs to be 80ish -- this could be a good reason for the aggressiveness -- dragons are normally not aggressive unless something is off -- coil UVB's will also make them terribly sick --- they are inadequate for UVB's please tell me what your using --
 

arobinson2005

New member
Original Poster
Temps are too hot --- please get a digital probe thermometer and get surface basking temps 95-100 -- cool side needs to be 80ish -- this could be a good reason for the aggressiveness -- dragons are normally not aggressive unless something is off -- coil UVB's will also make them terribly sick --- they are inadequate for UVB's please tell me what your using --
i use a UVB strip bulb that goes across the top of her tank. can you possibly recommend some good products to use for temperature regulation? like thermometers or even if there is a specific bulb that’s good to use that you know of, i’ll make sure to get them as soon as possible so i can fix whatever problems need to be addressed.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
i use a UVB strip bulb that goes across the top of her tank. can you possibly recommend some good products to use for temperature regulation? like thermometers or even if there is a specific bulb that’s good to use that you know of, i’ll make sure to get them as soon as possible so i can fix whatever problems need to be addressed.
Digital probe thermometers 2 of them
How old is the UVB bulb? And strip what brand and bulb T 5 or a T 8 please -- they have certain distance and placement for these UVB's -- it will depend on the screen on the tank
 

arobinson2005

New member
Original Poster
Digital probe thermometers 2 of them
How old is the UVB bulb? And strip what brand and bulb T 5 or a T 8 please -- they have certain distance and placement for these UVB's -- it will depend on the screen on the tank
to be completely honest, i don’t think i can accurately answer these questions, im sorry. im really gonna have to just order her new stuff and replace all her bulbs and stuff. she has a 50gal terrarium and she’s always reacted best to 75watt basking bulbs and i can’t recall how many watts her UVB bulb is, but that may be the wrong size basking bulb. anytime i go hotter though she won’t go near it, and when i go smaller she gets super duper close to it like she’s cold
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
to be completely honest, i don’t think i can accurately answer these questions, im sorry. im really gonna have to just order her new stuff and replace all her bulbs and stuff. she has a 50gal terrarium and she’s always reacted best to 75watt basking bulbs and i can’t recall how many watts her UVB bulb is, but that may be the wrong size basking bulb. anytime i go hotter though she won’t go near it, and when i go smaller she gets super duper close to it like she’s cold
Those digital probe thermometers are going to tell you what you need for a basking bulb as far as wattage --- please look on the UVB fixture tell me the brand and look on the bulb its going to say T 5 or T 8 on the bottom
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Work with Karrieree on your lighting,she can help fix any issues there, as far as your dragon 🐉 patience is going to be the key, spend time with your hand just being in her habitat let her remember you aren't going to hurt her. If she is trying to bite you, be prepared. Cut some greens before hand, cut them a little on the big side and when she gapes at you pop a piece of greens in her mouth. I know it sounds silly, but fairly quickly she will realize if she gapes she is just going to get greens popped in her mouth. It may help. I hand feed all my dragons, i agree the bite can hurt, you have to learn how your dragon responds, all of mine except one is gentle when they take their food from me, Sinatra on the other hand goes crazy for food. He thinks his 3 inch tongue is a foot long and starts trying to get his food way to soon, then he rushes it and i get bit. The solution was to either get it into his strike zone faster. Or just hold it up higher, if he has to stretch up to get it, i don't get bit. You'll have to experiment and see what works. If it is food aggression and not her being defensive, than just find a way to get the food and not your finger in her mouth, if she is being defensive then you just have to earn her trust back.
 

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