mcguire":11cf2cj9 said:
every time I try to take him out to feed him he bites me, his stomach is covered in stress marks and I have started to notice that his beard when he flares up at me is black instead of its usual white/tan color. I don't know what to do or how to help my beardi be less aggressive and he has stopped eating, I managed to get him to eat yesterday after being bitten several times and probably scaring him even worse...... I just don't know what to do or how to comfort him, every time I set him down he tries to run and hide under surfaces. please help
I have started to notice that he tries to get out of his enclosure at night if I leave his heat light on
Hi McGuire, thank you for saving this stressed out beardie from his bully tormentor! It's a shame your friend wasn't able to gather the courage to stand up to his friend that did that to him, but hopefully with lots of time and patience you can remedy it!
It will take a lot of time and patience, and your new beardie may never come to enjoy physical interaction from people. It sounds like he was teased a lot as a juvenile, and that will seriously impact his impression on people for life. Stop trying to pick him up and handle him for the time being. I know this will be hard, but leave him alone to settle into his new habitat. Let him learn that it is a safe area, where he will not be poked and flicked and harassed. His habitat is his home, and he needs to feel secure there first. You may need to adjust how you house him in order to do this, to make it easy for both of you.
Let him adjust to seeing you and having you around, and associating you with good things. Start by putting your hand in his habitat,
but do not interact with him at all. Let him see your hand cleaning things, moving decorations around, and placing tasty FOOD in a food dish. Let him see that your hand is not there to hurt him, but to take care of his space and to give him FOOOOOOOD.
Do not try to force him to take food from your hand, and instead invest in a pair of feeding tongs. You may need to let him adjust to the feeding tongs just as he will need to adjust to your hand, but he may feel more secure taking food from the tongs, while keeping an eye on your hand. As he gets comfortable taking food from the tongs, start sliding your hand further and further up the tongs with each feeding.
GO SLOWLY. DO NOT RUSH. If he gets aggressive, wary, or moves away, go back a bit or retreat. Eventually, he will take food from your hand after associating it with so many good, stress-free feeding times!
Once he is comfortable with you feeding him by hand, you can also get him comfortable with you
touching him. Don't go near his head, and don't approach him from above or in front as other posters said. First
make sure he is in a good mood: if his beard is already dark and he's grouchy just leave him alone. If he keeps making aggressive displays at you, with just your hand in the viv,
leave him alone. If he's fine, but a little wary, and his beard is alright, THEN: Approach him low, from the sides, and start off with soft, light touches going in the direction his scales grow. Let him move away if he wants to, don't chase him, and keep it positive. If he lunges to bite...let him. Don't let him learn that if he bites, you retreat, as this will reinforce the behavior. Just let your hand go limp, move it away slightly, but keep it in the viv. Wait for him to calm down, move decoration food dish around, THEN remove your hand or try to touch him again at a much slower pace. Teach him your hand will go away when he is CALM, not when he bites.
And yes, turn off his light at night. They are like us and prefer it dark, as there is a sensitive third eye on the top of their head that picks up any light. Let his sleeping area drop to as low as 70* F at night. If it gets colder than that, look into buying a Ceramic Heat Emitter to keep him warm, without adding any light. This may be why your beardie tries to get out of his viv, and another reason why he looks so dark: he's stressed out from not getting away from the light!!!!
EDIT:
Your beardie runs and hides because he does not feel safe or secure. This is normal, and okay. It just means he isn't ready for that level of interaction with your world. Let him get safe and secure in his habitat first, and then with you. THEN you will start to notice him get more comfortable and confident and not hide as much.