Beardie with trust issues.

[wspatterson]

Okay, so I've had my beardie, Priscila, for about 7 months. She was possibly a year old when I got her, and she was very mistrustful about being handled. I admit, I've probably not worked on it as much as I should have, but we'd managed to make progress in that area.
Now that I think about it, I believe there was a backslide in our progress about a month ago, where she started whipping with her tail when I picked her up, but I didn't think anything of it at the time. Anyway, I tried introducing some new foods to her about a week ago, by presenting the food with a pair of tongs. I think I got a little overly pushy about it, and it stressed her out. Now we seem to have had a major setback. I tried to give her a couple of days to calm down, then I went back to giving her a little petting every day. Since that day, whenever I look at her, her beard gets black. And today, when I was petting her, she made a mild threatening gesture.
So I need advice on how to proceed here. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[coastergirl946]

What is her favorite treat?
Try entering the room with that treat, and showing her that you have it, and offer it to her. Once she gobbles it up, gently offer her another piece and then pet her once she is done. I made Curt pretty mad one day and this is how I got his trust back. I knew he couldn't resist a blueberry.
How often do you handle her? The less you handle them, the less trusting they are likely to be.
Whatever you do, don't back away.. she will see this as getting her way, and she will continue to be hostile toward you.

 

[ChinelleKitten]

Was she whipping her tail or sort of spinning it when you picked her up? One of my boys spins/whips his tail around when I pick him up if his feet aren't all on my hands and he feels off balance at all. If she felt insecure about being picked up that could have made her nervous for next time. The above poster has a good idea about tastey bribes and keeping up with the petting. You could try seeing if you coaxed her onto your hands (if she lets you) if that'd make her more comfortable about being picked up. good luck

 

[coastergirl946]

Oh and also do not grab your dragon from above.. this is what predators do in the wild and it frightens them.
What you want to do is slide your hand under their head and cup their belly, wait until they latch onto you, and then pick them up.. sudden movements also may startle your dragon.
You may also let her rest on your leg or chest to get used to you and your scent.

 

[FBradshaw]

The only thing you can do to get your dragon used to you is handle her more often. When you're sitting watching TV let her lay on your chest or lap, when you go walking around the house have her with you. The more you handle her the more she will come to trust you.

 

[Puff2011]

Maybe try picking her up for cuddles when she is tired so she can sleep on you. :lol:

 

[wspatterson]

Thanks for the advice. I've been making sure to give her treats and petting her. She absolutely will not climb onto my hand, but I'll attempt to slide my hand under her.
And yes, the tail whipping was when I was picking her up; my gf & I had concluded the tail whipping was probably due to her feeling unstable.
We've also concluded that the cats are a big part of the problem. We've been on vacation from school for two weeks and that cats have gotten pretty spastic during the day rather than sleeping like they would if we were in school. We think that since they're acting like spazzes, the dragon is getting freaked out. In fact, when my 14 lb monster was zipping around the living room this morning, poor Priscilla was looking pretty disturbed & was hiding under the wood in her tank.

 

[FBradshaw]

Dragons would view cats as a predator especially if they run around spazzing out often. Maybe try keeping the cats away from the enclosure even if that means moving it to another room and putting the cats up when it's time for your dragon to come out to play.

 

[warnisha]

Yeah the cats could definately be a problem! I know my one cat likes to jump on top of the aquarium and look....Now our big guy just looks at her like yeah whatever doesn't stress him at all (esp since when hes out he charges them rather than vice versa)... Now the baby spazzes if the cats watching him...if he is on the floor...if he's on his tree he couldn't care. Our big guy also whips the tail and all that jazz, I thought it was just him!!! haha!