Ok, I can’t be the ONLY one that has noticed this happening? We have a 6 month old bearded dragon. I moved him into a much larger enclosure about a month ago... he likes it so much that the only time he wants out is to poop (but hey, at least he’s predictable!). ANYWAY, I’ve noticed that when he REALLY doesn’t want me to handle him, his spikes/spines will be extra pokey / hurtful (can pierce skin) whereas normally when I pick him up and hold him his spikes aren’t an issue at all. I’ve done some research, but have found nothing like this on line. Am I Crazy? Do I have some sort of “special” dragon? Is this normal but not spoken of? I’m just looking to see if anyone else has noticed something like this.
Their spikes tend to "align for puncture" when they bloat themselves up slightly. My Tombo I swear can puncture my skin with his side spikes if I go to grab him when he does this.
They bloat themselves to look bigger and more intimidating. So if he isn't wanting to be held, it would make sense for him to do that. It's his way of saying "back you beast!" LOL. But when Tombo is relaxed and ok with it, I don't get impaled.
Thank you! I’ve read that they can sometimes go through a sort of teenager faze ... I’m hoping this is the case with my George and that he goes back to wanting to hang out with people again once he’s through it. In the mean time, I’ll just keep making sure he’s happy and healthy.
Thank you again. It’s good to have some justification about what I’ve experienced.
I absolutely experienced this too when I was giving medicine to my Devlyn. She did not want the feeding syringe. Only time she ever got so spiky it hurt. Normally I call her spikes "soft" because she leaves them very flexible