Help. She seems scared!!!

[BubbaAndJane]

I know its going to take a while for our girl Jane to become used to us but I wondering if anyone had any advice...
Jane seems to be around 6 months old, we just bought her at the atl repticon a week ago (Saturday). She has adjusted pretty well so far; eating well, no stress marks and she seems to be pretty active.
However, she acts really scared and almost like she wants to bite us. She hasn't struck at us but cracks her mouth when we reach in to pet her and she definitely doesn't want to be handled much.
A few questions;
Will she ever "friendly" towards us? What's the best approach to gain her trust? How should we handle her in the mean time to keep stress down for her but without letting her distance more from us?
Our first baby was a baby and he never showed and kind of aggression and he's around 4 months now and he's the most loving little spark ever. Will she ever become comfortable with us like him? She closes her eyes sometimes (like a beaten dog) when we reach in to pet her. Its making me nervous and I'm sure causing her some tension but I'm also afraid of her sitting in her tank and never having human contact and becoming more aggressive. Please help.

 

[kingofnobbys]

The chances are this little girl may not have been handled a lot or may have some bad experiences with people in the past , they have a good memory and you need to earn her trust .

Important to be patient - let the her decide when she is ready , they will not respond well to having a human's timetable / needs imposed on him.

Spend a lot of time initially hanging out where she can see/hear you so she can observe you and learn you are not a threat.

When she goes into defensive threat mode (open mouth , flared beard) --- it's all bluff with most beardies, they'd rather run than bite ---- have a food treat, something you know she likes handy and quickly deposit this in her mouth .... she'll soon learn you are the barer of tasty gifts and she'll either get so full of tasty treats that she can't another one in and she'll refuse to open her mouth (for fear of yet another feed treat being deposited there). LOL ....

You might also sit with your open upturned hand resting in her tank where she can see it (with a tasty treat sitting in it) , I'm betting she'll soon come ambling up and take the treat from your hand and she even try to check between your fingers and under your hand ( thinking you are hiding more and holding out on her , I've had wild skinks do this to me. Once she does come to you resting up turned hand - she will be more ready to interact with you.

When ever you take out for a cuddle or some petting or social time with you, again have food treats handy , settle her on your lap or tummy or chest (facing up at your face) with hand cupped over her body so she feels secure and offer her a couple of food treats.

Beardies are very fast learners and she'll soon learn to trust you. Especially if she sees another lizard being calm and settled on you ( I have observed that lizards (BTS, Water Skinks and Beardies) learn by observe the behavior of other lizards.

Also try taking her out for snuggles when she's got a full belly and has been basking for a while and is relaxed , or close to her bed time when she's sleepy.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I know its going to take a while for our girl Jane to become used to us but I wondering if anyone had any advice...
Jane seems to be around 6 months old, we just bought her at the atl repticon a week ago (Saturday). She has adjusted pretty well so far; eating well, no stress marks and she seems to be pretty active.
However, she acts really scared and almost like she wants to bite us. She hasn't struck at us but cracks her mouth when we reach in to pet her and she definitely doesn't want to be handled much.
A few questions;
Will she ever "friendly" towards us? <<<< yes once you gain her trust and she learns you are not going to harm her.
What's the best approach to gain her trust? How should we handle her in the mean time to keep stress down for her but without letting her distance more from us? <<< see my post below - the approach I describe works ! I've tamed even very skittish skinks this way so well they became tame and affectionate house pets and it didn't take long..
Our first baby was a baby and he never showed and kind of aggression and he's around 4 months now and he's the most loving little spark ever. Will she ever become comfortable with us like him? She closes her eyes sometimes (like a beaten dog) when we reach in to pet her. Its making me nervous and I'm sure causing her some tension but I'm also afraid of her sitting in her tank and never having human contact and becoming more aggressive. Please help.

 

[BubbaAndJane]

The chances are this little girl may not have been handled a lot or may have some bad experiences with people in the past , they have a good memory and you need to earn her trust .

Important to be patient - let the her decide when she is ready , they will not respond well to having a human's timetable / needs imposed on him.

Spend a lot of time initially hanging out where she can see/hear you so she can observe you and learn you are not a threat.

When she goes into defensive threat mode (open mouth , flared beard) --- it's all bluff with most beardies, they'd rather run than bite ---- have a food treat, something you know she likes handy and quickly deposit this in her mouth .... she'll soon learn you are the barer of tasty gifts and she'll either get so full of tasty treats that she can't another one in and she'll refuse to open her mouth (for fear of yet another feed treat being deposited there). LOL ....

When ever you take out for a cuddle or some petting or social time with you, again have food treats handy , settle her on your lap or tummy or chest (facing up at your face) with hand cupped over her body so she feels secure and offer her a couple of food treats.

Beardies are very fast learners and she'll soon learn to trust you. Especially if she sees another lizard being calm and settled on you ( I have observed that lizards (BTS, Water Skinks and Beardies) learn by observe the behavior of other lizards.

Thank you so much for the advice. Of course it all seems common sense. Lol. And definitely all makes total sense. Unfortunately my small place stayed pretty cold during the "winter" months so I have housed my two babies in my walk-in closet. Therefore they haven't seen much of our movements, but our little man stays out with us most of the day.
Now that its hopefully warmer weather to stay I had planned on building a shelf for her tank today and moving them into my room finally.
So far we are a little hesitant about bringing her out much BC she tends to dart away or jump from hands and we have only had her a week. But I have, the last two mornings (same as I did with our little man) before their lights come on, taken her out and placed her on my belly and a light sheet over her body (her facing me) for half hour or so. I read somewhere mornings and night were a good time to handle BC they were more calm and settled (idk about night time though. I wouldn't bother them after their lights have BEEN off)

 

[kingofnobbys]

The more time you spend with her the faster she'll learn to trust and then to like you.

I suspect she is more interested in exploring after being cooped up in her tank 24/7.

I found with Toothless that if I rested the left wrist on the thin half of his tail , the gentle pressure was enough to discourage dashing off to explore, you'll find if she gets off you, she wont go far inside the house , as she'll be uncertain of her surroundings. You could make or buy a hip or chest harness for her and have a leash attached to it so she cant travel far if she dashes off.
I found if I simply places my right hand infront for Toothless when he looking like making a dash it stopped him.

My Toothless became so attached to me that when I had to spend a month in hospital with a nasty case of cellulitis in the right leg and tummy, he pined for me and refused to eat anything for my wife. Boy was he pleased to see me when I returned home , and he was starving hungry, near bit ends of my fingers off when I handed him his silkworms and crickets he was enthusiastic to eat them.

Can you stack their tanks ? even have your partner build a two layer bench system.

Lots of people here buy precut plywood and 4 x 3ft long lengths of thread bar and suitable nuts and washers , just a matter of drilling 4 holes in each piece of plywood, and then slipping the thread bars through the holes and tightening up the nuts (above and below) to make a very stable and strong shelving system that the two beardie's tanks can sit on , one above the other, and tanking up minimum floor space.

 

[BubbaAndJane]

The more time you spend with her the faster she'll learn to trust and then to like you.

I suspect she is more interested in exploring after being cooped up in her tank 24/7.

I found with Toothless that if I rested the left wrist on the thin half of his tail , the gentle pressure was enough to discourage dashing off to explore, you'll find if she gets off you, she wont go far inside the house , as she'll be uncertain of her surroundings. You could make or buy a hip or chest harness for her and have a leash attached to it so she cant travel far if she dashes off.
I found if I simply places my right hand infront for Toothless when he looking like making a dash it stopped him.

My Toothless became so attached to me that when I had to spend a month in hospital with a nasty case of cellulitis in the right leg and tummy, he pined for me and refused to eat anything for my wife. Boy was he pleased to see me when I returned home , and he was starving hungry, near bit ends of my fingers off when I handed him his silkworms and crickets he was enthusiastic to eat them.Awwww. That's something special. Our little man seems to be connecting and attaching to us.

Can you stack their tanks ? even have your partner build a two layer bench system.
I have an end table that Bubba's tank sits on and I planned to put two large metal shelf braces about a foot above his tank top and add her shelf right above his tank. Something of the same fashion just without the exact stacking I guess.

Lots of people here buy precut plywood and 4 x 3ft long lengths of thread bar and suitable nuts and washers , just a matter of drilling 4 holes in each piece of plywood, and then slipping the thread bars through the holes and tightening up the nuts (above and below) to make a very stable and strong shelving system that the two beardie's tanks can sit on , one above the other, and tanking up minimum floor space.
right now they are both housed in glass tanks. Possibly thinking of switching their tanks (Bubba has the larger and he's smaller, Jane has the smaller and she's bigger).
But I am interested in building 2 stackable 3x3x3 homes. Something permnant but big enough I can add/remove/replace different decor or hiding. I'm also a big fan so far of the excuvator clay and if they like it and end up diggers I know I would need a few inches for them to dig around. Lol. Yea I plan to go quite extravagant for them but its all a work in progress. (So far just ideas. Lol.)
The other half hasn't heard any of the plans yet but he has mentioned it'd be nice to have them a walk-in, outdoors enclosure for the summer months. He's mention purchasing a pre-built small building. Lol.
Neither of us are too handy and I've been searching around for possible blueprint/plan specifics but haven't found really anything to go by. I'm trying the cricket breeding and a small box for them turned out pretty lopsided. I may have to pay my dad (ex-construction of 30 years) to join the team.

 

[kingofnobbys]

The more time you spend with her the faster she'll learn to trust and then to like you.

I suspect she is more interested in exploring after being cooped up in her tank 24/7.

I found with Toothless that if I rested the left wrist on the thin half of his tail , the gentle pressure was enough to discourage dashing off to explore, you'll find if she gets off you, she wont go far inside the house , as she'll be uncertain of her surroundings. You could make or buy a hip or chest harness for her and have a leash attached to it so she cant travel far if she dashes off.
I found if I simply places my right hand infront for Toothless when he looking like making a dash it stopped him.

My Toothless became so attached to me that when I had to spend a month in hospital with a nasty case of cellulitis in the right leg and tummy, he pined for me and refused to eat anything for my wife. Boy was he pleased to see me when I returned home , and he was starving hungry, near bit ends of my fingers off when I handed him his silkworms and crickets he was enthusiastic to eat them.Awwww. That's something special. Our little man seems to be connecting and attaching to us.

Can you stack their tanks ? even have your partner build a two layer bench system.
I have an end table that Bubba's tank sits on and I planned to put two large metal shelf braces about a foot above his tank top and add her shelf right above his tank. Something of the same fashion just without the exact stacking I guess.

Lots of people here buy precut plywood and 4 x 3ft long lengths of thread bar and suitable nuts and washers , just a matter of drilling 4 holes in each piece of plywood, and then slipping the thread bars through the holes and tightening up the nuts (above and below) to make a very stable and strong shelving system that the two beardie's tanks can sit on , one above the other, and tanking up minimum floor space.
right now they are both housed in glass tanks. Possibly thinking of switching their tanks (Bubba has the larger and he's smaller, Jane has the smaller and she's bigger).
But I am interested in building 2 stackable 3x3x3 homes. Something permnant but big enough I can add/remove/replace different decor or hiding. I'm also a big fan so far of the excuvator clay and if they like it and end up diggers I know I would need a few inches for them to dig around.

wouldn't recommend that stuff - impossible to keep the substrate using it clean and hygienic and will hold in moisture (with all that means - viruses, bacteria, fungi, high tank relative humidity.

Lol. Yea I plan to go quite extravagant for them but its all a work in progress. (So far just ideas. Lol.)
The other half hasn't heard any of the plans yet but he has mentioned it'd be nice to have them a walk-in, outdoors enclosure for the summer months. He's mention purchasing a pre-built small building. Lol.
Neither of us are too handy and I've been searching around for possible blueprint/plan specifics but haven't found really anything to go by. I'm trying the cricket breeding and a small box for them turned out pretty lopsided. I may have to pay my dad (ex-construction of 30 years) to join the team.

3ft x 3ft is good , but 3ft tall each I(?) is going be hard to heat and provide adequate UVA and UVB without suspending the UV tube from the ceiling so it's between 1.5-2ft from the floor and about 8inches from the basking spot.

 

[BubbaAndJane]

. [/quote]
3ft x 3ft is good , but 3ft tall each I(?) is going be hard to heat and provide adequate UVA and UVB without suspending the UV tube from the ceiling so it's between 1.5-2ft from the floor and about 8inches from the basking spot.

[/quote][/quote]

Would it cause too much stress to switch their tanks they're in? I know they're territorial so I didn't know how they would take it or ???if they can smell one another??? does it stress them out? And a quick question regarding their uvb lights. Is it nessecary to have uvb if u dust their foods with D3? I'm only asking bc recently visiting private owned pet stores, I've noticed many don't use uvb at all with ANY of the reptiles but they all have dusted crickets hopping around.

 

[kingofnobbys]

.
3ft x 3ft is good , but 3ft tall each I(?) is going be hard to heat and provide adequate UVA and UVB without suspending the UV tube from the ceiling so it's between 1.5-2ft from the floor and about 8inches from the basking spot.




Would it cause too much stress to switch their tanks they're in? I know they're territorial so I didn't know how they would take it or ???if they can smell one another??? does it stress them out?

<<< I think they'll be fine so long as you move their stuff from one tank to the other with them, might be a short period of relocation stress .

And a quick question regarding their uvb lights. Is it nessecary to have uvb if u dust their foods with D3?

<<< IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL FOR A BEARDIED DRAGON TO HAVE AS GOOD A UV SOURCE AS POSSIBLE , in their case the UV source MUST BE RATED AT LEAST 10% UVB and also provide about 30% UVA , failure to provide adequate UVB will result in health issues.... don't pay ANY ATTENTION to what the pet store does or advises , they are nearly always wrong and providing exceedingly poor advise.

I'm only asking bc recently visiting private owned pet stores, I've noticed many don't use uvb at all with ANY of the reptiles but they all have dusted crickets hopping around.

Personally this is one things that is like the health food/alternative medicine/ vitamin pill industry, in the main it selling stuff based on sales hype that is not supported by any proper science. I suspect added D3 in the calcium powder is not really a substitute to ensuring adequate exposure to intense UVB and good intake of dietary.
I do not think there is enough VitD in the powdered supplement to safely use with no dietary calcium intake and no / insufficient UVB.
Sunlight is the key: Its ultraviolet B (UVB) energy converts the precursor to vitamin D3.

 

[BubbaAndJane]

Thank you for the advice. Its amazing how even the most highly known breeders can be so ignorant. Its not too hard to do some research and as breeders you would think they care about their pets. Its so sad.
Even yesterday at "Bubbas pet emporium" in norcoss, game, I jumped a guys ass yesterday for this baby beardie walking on nubs BC the one twice his size has eaten his poor front toes. And I tried to make dude sell it to me and made sure he saw me taking pics and told him this was awful and very disturbing to see and he needed to rehouse the baby asap. He claimed they received them as a reduce pair and that's how they received them. Of course he didn't take any action and claimed he would. I'm thinking of calling and telling them I've seen a pic posted and bad reviews of the shop BC of it. Maybe they'll take care of.it.then.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Thank you for the advice. Its amazing how even the most highly known breeders can be so ignorant. Its not too hard to do some research and as breeders you would think they care about their pets. Its so sad.
Even yesterday at "Bubbas pet emporium" in norcoss, game, I jumped a guys ***** yesterday for this baby beardie walking on nubs BC the one twice his size has eaten his poor front toes. And I tried to make dude sell it to me and made sure he saw me taking pics and told him this was awful and very disturbing to see and he needed to rehouse the baby asap. He claimed they received them as a reduce pair and that's how they received them. Of course he didn't take any action and claimed he would. I'm thinking of calling and telling them I've seen a pic posted and bad reviews of the shop BC of it. Maybe they'll take care of.it.then.

One word : jerks.

 

[BubbaAndJane]

One word : jerks.[/quote]

Agreed. Believe me. I didn't have equipment at home ready but could have and TRIED to get the guy to sell but they claimed their breeder is going to take them in. I'm still calling today.

 

[bassclgirl92]

Mine is a few years old and is a tame little mush pot, but he still has his days where he cracks his mouth and puffs up when I try to take him out. I just take him out anyway and he calms right down

 

[BubbaAndJane]

Mine is a few years old and is a tame little mush pot, but he still has his days where he cracks his mouth and puffs up when I try to take him out. I just take him out anyway and he calms right down

Lol. Thanks for the advice and it actually helps a lot, mainly my nerves but definitely helps. I'll post an update soon but I think we're making some progress and we've made a more 'dedicated' approach.