Did I terrify my baby beardie?????

[NatashaDawn]

I know this may seem very ridiculous, but today I was whistling a cheerful tune...as my son and I usually do and my dragon freaked out and started frantically trying to climb the walls which got my attention so I naturally quit whistling and she just stopped moving breathing heavily... I continued my tune as I walked over to see what was going on and then she freaked and darted (for the first time ever) into her little cave spot which she has never went into. She has not came back out and its been an hour. She is only 6-7 weeks old and has been in her new home since March 11th, 2013. So not very long now, but she is usually pretty chill and loves being held...even for her small size it can be a small chore to get her back in her enclosure because she really seems to enjoy hanging out with us. Was it the whistling or possibly just conquincidence? :?

 

[brittani299]

Hello . It is totally possible that the new sound freaked him out. My male freaked out when I was watching a movie the other day

 

[NatashaDawn]

Okay... thank you for responding. So should I try and watch myself with the whistling or is this just something unexplored and the beardie will likely get comfortable with after she realizes that it is nothing of harm? I obviously don't want to make the baby so uncomfortable that she hides out all day. Also on a side note how long can I hold her outside of the cage at this young age? (6-7 weeks old)She gets so mad when I put her up after 5 minutes of holding, but I dont want her to get cold and also I dont want to risk her jumping because I have hard tile floors. I always sit with her and always have a hand at the ready under her, but I dont know how long she can be out of the 100 degree basking spot without getting sick or uncomfortable.

 

[bunnyrut]

at that size i wouldn't keep her out for more than a half hour at a time.

always make sure she gets around 2 hours of basking time after feedings.

the new sound probably freaked her out. i wouldn't say stop altogether, but maybe in a lower pitch and softer so she understands it is coming from you and not from a bird that could eat her.

 

[NatashaDawn]

Okay that is what I actually thought at first is that her natural instincts say predator. I appreciate your help and she always has great basking time. Thank you so much for the info and advice. It is good to know I can keep her out for more than the 5 minute intervals 3 times a day. She will be a Happy Happy Beardie with that.

 

[brittani299]

Cute baby

 

[NatashaDawn]

Thank you...I swear she gets prettier everyday and especially after her shed yesterday. Well I say she loosely because I actually havent a clue whether the beardie is male or female yet.

 

[mommy2spike]

my girl will be sitting with me and if a sudden noise thats she dont recognize comes up she runs into my hair to hide..lower your tone and do it softly while holding her she will get used to it and may enjoy it in time.

 

[NatashaDawn]

Thank you I havent whistled while holding her yet, but she is all kinds of giving me concerns today. I call today... too curious day. She has always(The whole not even week I have had her haha) just chilled on my shirt or in my hand when held until time to be put up then she would dash up or cling to my arm. Today though she leaps and jumps and takes off, repeatedly. Then while I had her tank lid pushed aside for cricket adding time she did a honestly impressive leap and body pull up onto the cage lid and tried to jump the nearly 4 foot down on hard tile... luckily I am a mom for 8 yeas now so I have some quick hand eye coordination already in place... but she is scaring me and making me really nervous for her safety. Its like having a 1 year old child again. Any ideas on how to help her realize that jumping is dangerous(ridiculous I know). Because other than trying and sectioning off a play pen area in the living room I do not know what to do to help her to not want to be... well free to do whatever she wants...(still ridiculous I know). haha She loves my attention I can tell, but she has decided (it seems) that she needs to go ahead and start exploring...Which is cool in a couple months when she is not 6-7 weeks old.... lol :lol:

 

[Cherie]

I have the same problem with Spike and Sampson. When I go to put them back in their tank (separate tanks I might add), they will grab my arm and try to climb up it as if saying " No Mom! I don't want to go to bed!" It does make you think they are your children. Well, yeah, they are. they don't call us beardie slaves for nothing. They both love getting out of their tank and running around the living room. If you block off doors and watch any low furniture, s/he should be fine. Spike loooves to get out and explore.

 

[NatashaDawn]

That is awesome How old are your little guys?

 

[Cherie]

Spike is 5 years old and Sampson is about 8 months old. I've had Spike since he was about 4-5 months old. I got Sampson back 1st part of November and was told he was about 4 months old.

 

[NatashaDawn]

Thats fun.... My baby will be just 7 weeks on Monday.... I can not wait til the juvenile age and up when she will be a little bigger and not so fragile.

 

[mommy2spike]

I always put my girl back in her tank as soon as she would jump after about a week of doing so she stopped jumping off of my couch she now sits at the edge and waits to be put on the floor. that is how i got her to stop going off my chair when we go outside. they are pretty smart so it was not hard to train her to wait till shes put down to go!

 

[NatashaDawn]

That is awesome... Yeah I always put her directly up when she darts off or jumps...mostly because she makes me nervous...lol It is good to know though that this will help encourage her to stay close by and not to leap away...especially since she rarely looks before jumping...haha If I could put a parachute on her I would. lol she does great vertical leaps as well... which as impressive as it is...it is still scary for me because the last thing I want is for her to get hurt in anyway.