Controlling the wiggleworm

Alinannyms

Member
Beardie name(s)
Marcy
Hey all! It's been a while since my last post, but Marcy's officially settled in and at least tolerates me. Every day, I hand feed him his dinner and he doesn't seem to have any problems with it. I probably don't put my hand in there for neutral reasons enough, but to be fair to myself his tank is pretty high up and I would need to stand for a very long time lol. Speaking of high up, however, It seems that's where Marcy always wants to be. Most of the day is spent basking (besides the weekends, where he moves over to the side of the tank to watch me all day), so when I take him out of the enclosure, he seems to wanna keep getting higher up. Recently, I've been allowing him on my desk, while making sure there are no spaces he can fit through to get out. However, I can't tell if he enjoys it or is stressed by it. Stress marks are a difficult indicator as he's almost always full dark when he's doing anything other than bathing or sleeping. I could send a video of how he runs around, but I don't know if that's relevant. Anyways, save for taking him out at bedtime when his lights are already out, he usually seems to want to get as far away from me as possible/get to the nearest hole/climb back up to his enclosure. If I sit in a chair with just him, he usually rests for a bit, then climbs on me curiously in an attempt to find his best course of action. I'm learning that he is, unfortunately, a jumper, and will attempt leaps that he cannot make. Fortunately though, he always lands on a blanket and hasn't (and hopefully never will be) injured by his habits.

Anyways, what I'm wondering is mainly 2 things:
1. Is this normal behavior? Do dragons usually climb away from you and try to get back to their enclosure? (for reference, he is able to climb to it relatively easily from any point in the room if that's a factor)
2. Should I still handle him? If so, how do I help discourage this behavior and normalize chilling out?
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Yes it's normal, they like to be elevated so they can survey their surroundings. Also it's normal for them to try to get away, they stop doing it when they learn to trust you. (At least as much) when he is being fidgety don't put him back in his habitat it reinforces that behavior, wait for a lil bit after he chills out to put him back. The biggest thing is to have patience, it usually takes a few months working with them to get them acclimated but it's worth the wait. 🙂
 

Members online

Still Needs Help

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,897
Messages
1,255,656
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom