Can noise make dragons skittish? Staring in glass?

[jenneelk]

Wondering if louder kid noises can cause dragons to be skittish? What about staring at it through the glass?
Our dragon Rocko belongs to my 11 year old and while he's handled daily.. He still fights being held. If left in an open palm he tries to run away and thrash but does stay pretty calm when closed up.

My other 3 children are younger and can tend to argue and be loud with the 4 year old enjoying staring at him all the time through the glass. Rocko is always giving her the eagle eye it seems. Lol

Not sure if these things can add to his apprension and make taming harder?

Here is how my 11 year old mostly holds him and rubs his chin. Only him and I hold him but 90% is just him.

 

[Brooke74]

Baby dragons tend to be rather active when out of the tank. They roam, and scare easily. They are little, and naturally, think most things are threats. I can't imagine you've had the dragon very long judging by his size. As long as you supervise handling and make sure your beardies body is supported, and not being squeezed to tight, I think he will settle down as he gets used to his surroundings and human handling.

 

[jenneelk]

Thanks.. We have had him 2 months now and estimate he is 5 months old. He's 11 in long.

My son is very gentle and we don't allow the others to touch him until he is used to my eldest whom he belongs to. we plan to put a piece of his clothing in there to further promote the bond.

I worry if we should move him out of the office where the kids go a lot.. His new tank is 100 gallon and i don't want to move it once it's set up.

 

[Brooke74]

Does your beardie show signs of stress when there are loud noises and/or the kids around? (Such as a color change to a darker shade, stress or dark marks on his underside or belly-when happy it tends to be all white. Or attempts to hide)

While loud noises can stressbearded dragons, from personal experience with my own dragon it typically doesn't. When there are house parties or gatherings with the neighbors, my dragon seems to be curious about the new sounds and sits on his basking spot, tilting his head at everything. Of course you could move him from the office as a precaution, it wouldn't hurt anything, and your kids can visit him at his new location as well.

 

[jenneelk]

The 'office/dining room' is our best spot and and I like that with the stand he will be right in front of our window for natural light, so would love to keep him here through winter at least. It's warm in Cali so he doesn't get cool drafts and it's double pained.

With the noise he doesn't seem to change colors, actually never learned that they could do that! He does tilt his head a bit when they argue right in front of him at the computer.
The staring thing too with my daughter which I'm trying to break her of..it's not really a hard stare but a lot of watching right up at the glass. Not sure if they sense this and consider it a stress.. because he does seem to stare back when she is there rather than look the other way.
If he doesn't mind likely, I'll relax with my daughter a bit and let her have fun with watching him.

 

[Brooke74]

Oh, yes! They do change colors, or at least shades. They get darker when they're cold, in an attempt to attract the sun's rays, as well as when they're angry. You'll notice that when they're warm and happy, they tend to be lighter or brighter colored and when they're stressed they get a dark belly as opposed to a white one. From the sounds of it, your dragon will very much enjoy his spot. And I don't think your daughter peering at him will do him any damage at all. If you have any other questions are concerns feel free to ask, and I advise you to explore this site and read the "bearded dragon care" "lighting for newbies" and other like articles that can be found here. There are many knowlegeable people and information here, perhaps you'll find out something you didn't know!

 

[jenneelk]

thanks again.. you've been very reassuring and helpful!
I have actually read through those and made notes for our 100 gal. tank we got today. Realized we shouldn't be using the red light for heat at night and just use the CHE which I'll be getting.

 

[Brooke74]

I'm glad to be of assistance! Enjoy the little creature, he's a pretty one! Ceramid Heat Emitters are great, my bd snuggles up under his every night