Beardie becoming aggressive. Please help

[Lpsouth1978]

I got Ghost about 2.5 months ago and he has always been very gentle and even tempered. He has never been extremely fond of me, but never threatening. He is just shy of a year old. I try to hold him and let him roam outside his enclosure on a daily basis.

Over the last week or so he has been getting more and more aggressive toward me. At first I just laughed it off and ignored it. He would puff himself up or half heartedly beard puff. But this morning he actually turned blackbeard, gaped, and hissed at me. For the first time ever I really thought he would bite me.

What can I do to curb this aggression and get the old, sweet Ghost back. I don't know why the sudden aggression, but I don't really like this "grumpy" Ghost.

 

[littlegoron]

i believe its a kind of terrible twos thing that beardies go through, which is unfortunate because it can make you lose trust in your little guy pretty quickly. I can recall a few threads with similar behavior and the experts usually weighed in with 'stick to your guns'

now is a crucial time where you need to show your beardie who is the boss and who is in control, he is testing you and its important you dont back down and let him rule you. pick him up anyway, hold him, let him know that his big shows dont scare you, because if you do he will quickly take advantage of it, they learn really quickly what they can get away with. im dreading the day my own fella may go through it, i hope he just kinda skips over it and remains my sweet little man :lol:

hopefully thats all it is, i hope some others pitch in just in case it is something more, since im no expert yet. : )

 

[ju5t1n]

My youngest beardie did the same I've had him for over year now, I believe he's about 1 year and 3 months right now, but a while ago he did the same. When I got him he was super chill and calm then he started to do exactly what you said. I started feeding him outside of his vivarium, I hoped this would do two things. 1 make him think that everything in his vivarium wasn't free game to chomp on(his territory) and 2 that in order to get fed I had to pick him up. That was just my thinking behind it.
When I picked him up I kept my fingers and thumb close together (kinda looks like a karate chop) and slowly picked him up under his belly. After he got used to it he would sometimes open his mouth, but after I picked him up he calmed down. Then I fed him, gave him baths and let him hang out with me for a while.

Now he is really calm. He just sits their and doesn't resist or act aggressive at all.
Just my experience.

-Justin

 

[bunnyrut]

I had Mr Dargon before I even knew about this forum.
and from past experience with many other animals i knew he was testing limits and trying to intimidate me.

the best thing is to show you are not afraid. if you back away from him when he does that he will keep doing it.

do not tease him when he does it, it might encourage him to bite. but keep your hand there so he sees you are not backing away. you can slowly move your hand close to scoop him up.
Mr Dargon never acted on those threats, and he soon stopped doing it.
if he does try to bite it might be more of a pinch.

try picking him up, telling him he's a good boy, then putting him down and giving him a treat. i give eskimo kisses (nose rubs)

Tasty Treat also did it, but it was much cuter. she would get low, open her mouth like she was going to lunge at me, then lick me and trot away "tra-la-la-la-la".

 

[ju5t1n]

Tasty Treat also did it, but it was much cuter. she would get low, open her mouth like she was going to lunge at me, then lick me and trot away "tra-la-la-la-la".

lol that cracked me up!

 

[Lpsouth1978]

Thank you all for the responses. Ghost is already being a much better boy. I have been giving him extra attention the last couple of days. I also took a piece of advice from another forum and placed a piece of worn clothing (a sock) in his enclosure so he could get more accustomed to my scent. Now he seems almost possessive of it. He now sleeps under it and sits on top of it most of the day. It is kind of cute really.

 

[jacody]

That's funny w/ the sock.. "yah, that's right.. it's my sock.. all mine" what a character..