Bearded dragon running away

[Jesse103]

Hello,
My name is Jesse and I'm new to this page so I am sorry if this is in the wrong spot. Anyway, I've had my bearded dragon for about 6 months. He is a juvenile and is about 15inches long. He doesn't hiss or try to bite me. Just every time I pick him up to hold him, he sits for about 30 seconds and then runs away. I'm not sure why. In the past I've held him for about 15mins but I haven't seen any improvement. I read online that the babies are more skittish, but I haven't seen anything about juveniles being like that. I'm wondering if maybe when he's an adult he will stop running away? Any advice would be very helpful as I am really wanting a great companion. I am not sure how to put a picture of him on here so I'm sorry.
Thanks

 

[CooperDragon]

Welcome to the forum! He might just be curious and runs off to check things out. If he has a safe spot to run around I'd just let him explore. When he gets tired you can pick him up again. Some of them like interaction more than others so I'd let him dictate what level of handling he wants. If it's safe for him to run around when he gets squirmy just let him be for a bit.

 

[Jesse103]

Ok thanks! Do you think he will calm down when he gets older?
Thanks again for the advice. I will definitely be trying it out.
Thanks

 

[EllenD]

Welcome!

All Dragons are different, most of them do calm down after they turn a year or so old, and they "slow-down" a bit all the way around. That being said, some of them just take a little more time and work to get them to be cuddly and like being held.

Something that usually seems to work for people if they commit to doing it every night and sticking to doing, in addition to handling them as much as possible throughout the day, is taking them out of their tanks at nighttime, after it gets dark out. At the end of the day when you are able to stop doing things and you are laying down to watch TV, to read, etc. before bed, take him out of his tank (leave the lights on over his tank while he's out with you so that his tank will stay warm until you put him to bed). Then lay down on the couch, a chair, in your bed, etc. with a blanket over you, and put him on your chest and under the blanket. Usually because it's dark out and it's the end of the day, they will just crash right on your chest and not even attempt running off. They usually just fall right to sleep under the blanket while you're watching TV or reading. So just lay down, pull the blanket up over your stomach/chest, and then just put him under it on your chest. Once he settles in then just start gently stroking the top of his head, his back, over his ears (my guys love their ears scratched), etc. and usually they'll let you do this with no opposition. And just let him there with you for 30 minutes, an hour, however long you stay up. Your body heat will keep him warm and he'll most likely fall right to sleep. Then when you're ready to go to bed, just put him back in his tank and turn off his lights. If you do this every night they usually start bonding with you pretty quickly, and become much less skitterish overall when being handled, and will usually start liking to just hang out with you during the day as well...

 

[Jesse103]

Okay, thanks for the advice! I will try it out. Hopefully he will calm down and want to be held. Thanks again!

 

[PuppysPets]

Eh, my baby, Oliver was like that for a while, but once he grew up a little he greatly calmed down. Almost every juvenile I have came across has been "skittery" but has calmed down within a year or two. All I can really say is keep trying with your scaly baby.