Embery's a brat?!

[alieraisu]

I recently bought a second bearded dragon from a local pet store. Embery is roughly 8 months old and female, and was housed in a 20 gallon breeder sized tank with a male beardie at the store. I had been looking for a second beardie as a companion for my 1 year old female. (no flames, I already know not to house them together and that beardies are supposedly solitary creatures). Anyway, I immediately fell in love with Embery, and I knew the manager of the pet shop, and knew that he handled the animals as much as he could, and that they were relatively well cared for, as much as any pet store can do. So I knew when I brought Embery home that she would need a lot of tender handling and a lot of time for her to be comfortable with being held. We've had Embery for about a month now, and MY boyfriend and I handle her as often as we can without causing her undue stress. Still she FREAKS whenever we take her out to hold her. This is a problem because temporarily we have paper towels as a substrate and whenever she poos, we have to take her out in order to change her substrate. I need help! How can I work with Embery to make her calmer so that she will stop being a brat? Should I put her down as soon as she flips out, or am I teaching her that she will get her way when she throws a mini hissy?

 

[LJean]

More time is all I can suggest. I have had my female beardie since she was about 6 weeks old. She is about 11months old now. Only recently have we been able to cuddle with her. She still freaks when I take her out of the viv, but it takes less time for her to calm down now. And she has stopped biting.

 

[alieraisu]

Is there any better specific way to approach her? I try not to come from above, but she's still schitzy

 

[LJean]

Is she in a tank? The best way is to come from the side or front, not reaching over her. This is hard to do in a tank. You can also keep your hand in there, without touching her to get her used to it. Handfeeding some greens or a worm or two is also a good way. I always just got them out, freaking and all, and then sat in the bathroom with them. This way they can't run off anywhere, and you are close to them (thought they are still free). Also a good time to hand feed a treat worm such as wax worms.

 

[alieraisu]

Her tank has a sliding front instead of a top lid. I hand feed her and she tries to take my finger off! She eats voraciously, and thinks fingers are worms. Also, when I put my hand in, she goes after my fingers... again, she thinks they are superworms.
I was holding her today and she started thrashing and bit me, so I tapped her nose and put my finger in her face again and she didnt touch it. But she really throws a whole full on hissy fit to begin with.

 

[LJean]

I totally understand!
This is the first week that Calypso hasn't tried to bite me. Total opposite of Oscar who has always been a good boy. Wonder if it is a girl thing? LOL I have tried every trick I could think of, and only now have progress. 9-10 months of a girly attitude.

I wonder sometimes if it is because she is afraid of Oscar (though he isn't in the same room as her)

 

[alieraisu]

Well I have 1 year old girl in the cage across the room and I had to cover the front of her cage with a blanket so she would stop scaring Embery.

 

[LJean]

See Oscar strolls in here on occasion when he is running around. I think Calypso feels safer in her viv because of it. When the hand goes in (must take her out for bathing) she starts to freak knowing she is coming out. It's all I can think of anyway. She hasn't bitten me yet, because I have been faster, LOL But has bitten my daughter and husband a few times.

I think you just need to keep doing what you are doing, and hopefully she comes around. Good luck!

 

[alieraisu]

Embery licked my eyeball today! Or maybe she was trying to bite me... I'm not sure. SO you let your beardie roam? Where does he bask? how does that work?

 

[LJean]

LOL about she licked (which is ok) or maybe tried to bite (not so much) LOL

Oscar basks in his enclosure, sleeps and eats in his enclosure, but gets to run around the house for a few hours a day. He loves to look out the windows, and lately to head bob and beard the other tanks (turtles and frogs).

I don't let Calypso run around because I know I wouldn't be able to catch her.

 

[alieraisu]

I'd love to let Zaki, my older girl, out but she has an affinity for licking electrical outlets!!!!! Knucklehead. And she can't stand people walking around when she is on the floor, she freaks out and black beards and opens her mouth and I have to stoop down and pick her up and put my finger to her nose softly, because she knows its me and would never bite me.

 

[LJean]

Licking outlets is a bad thing, but bearding not so much if she isn't going to bite. She will get used to people walking around, I think. I got spoiled with Oscar. He was the easiest dragon to deal with. Any time I can just scoop him up and put him in his enclosure with no problems. He has never bitten or even bearded until Calypso came to live here. Now he is a mess of hormones and bobs and beards everything. But still the biggest sweetie there is!

 

[alieraisu]

She's just scared if she is on the ground and you are above her because you look soooooo big. I don't think she recognizes us if we are so far above her. She's fine so long as she isn't on the ground, being on the ground raises her stress a bit.

 

[Freeie]

We have a 8 month beardie that we let roam. He used to puff up and push out his beard when people would walk around him. We just set him on the couch or on the floor did our normal stuff a few weeks later you can do what ever and he wont even blink at you. My daughter will even try and sneak up on him to get him to puff up he just looks at her like shes stupid haha. Everything just takes some time but you have to do it all like clock work. I do everything the same way every day. Clean the vivs , feed , baths , then let who ever wants to roam out im even letting the babys roam a little at first they would zoommm and i had to chase them down now they dont go far at all. But I'm disabled and I have all day at home to work with them while the kids and hubby are away.

 

[alieraisu]

So how long/ how often do you suggest we hold Embery each day?