Beardie Personality

[koco46]

We just rescued a small,malnourished 5-7 month old beardie last weekend.
My son had been wanting a beaqrded dragon for a very long time and we had been reading books,gathering info on this forum and watching tons of youtube vidoe about wonderfully tame dragons that seem to enjoy and interact with their families.
Our little dragon is very skittish and stresses when handled etc,which I understand is to be expected after such a short time with us.

But I do wonder,I have been hearing about people riding in cars with their dragons,going on vacation,going out in public places like Starbucks etc,

Is that the norm in beardie personality or rather the exception and what can we expect with time and gentle handling?

I would love to have a beardie that would greet me in the morning and hang with me to watch tv but is he more likely to acknoledge me as his source of food?

 

[tgolden]

With time your dragon can be taken out and about with ya. Most are docile enough for outings. Maybe try little trips at a time till he gets use to strange surroundings.
Mine does not go out well, he puffs and gets grouchy and has bit me a time or two but from what I understand he is the exception and most do well.
~ Tommie

 

[luvmybeardies]

our Izzy Belle is 4 months and we started to take her out. I started taking her in the car to pick up the kids from school. At first she was freaked out by the trees, cars, noises,birds, ect... but she calmed down and loves hanging in the window ( on my arm). Then just recently i took her to the store to get her crickets. She was an angel. Just sat on our shoulder or in our hands. the store people love her and asked for us to bring her in again. i have not taken her any place else yet, but we will eventually.

I say give yours sometime to get use to everyone. handle him daily and let him out to just sit with you. ( ours loves to watch tv).the more you handle him the more he will relax around you. good luck

 

[bunnyrut]

My oldest loves going out, but he gets scared by other people. when they all start crowding around him he tends to run into my hair and hide.
we still haven't taken our youngest anywhere, but i'm sure she would love all the attention.

as for the other part, i do almost all of the feeding, bathing, handling, and cleaning up after, but both my beardies will allow me and my husband to hold them without a problem. and for the food source, they both know where we keep their food so when they see anyone near that area they go nuts. i don't think they care who feeds them as long as they get food.

 

[YavannaV]

My 8mo beardie, Dregan, goes outside with me to the mailbox and to sit on the back porch. He's gone a few times to pick the kids up from school as well. I just bought him a leash and we've tried one outing with that and he freaked out a bit touching grass for the first time and puffed up with a black beard. I just let him back on my hand to calm down and he settled pretty quickly. We'll have to go slow with the leash I think, but overall he seems to really enjoy being out and about.

 

[koco46]

Thank you,those are very encouraging stories,and some still very young beardies

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from General to Behavior]

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Some are naturally docile with the outdoors and strangers, while others may never be calm regardless of how often you take them out.

Digi, for example, loves car rides and being outside, even from the first day I got her. She gets very yellow and would sit with her head stretched out to see everything around her. She's also not afraid of moving objects like birds or planes, so she's great to sit outside on the porch.
Pookie, on the other hand, likes to go to places with me but hates the car ride. He's afraid of the traffic lights and utility poles (no idea why, since they technically don't move), and is petrified of planes flying overhead (since he was a baby but had gotten a bit more brave about them). But once he's inside a building, he's all interested in everything and everyone.
MoMo flip flops between liking and hating being out. I have yet to figure out her moods.

 

[BlueDragon09]

My 8 year old loves to go out so I take him to the pet store so everyone there can
see him.
He's not too happy about the birds since seagulls are always flying around the pet store...
I assume people throw food to them.