HELP!! still no progress & i need love!!

[ronnieroach]

hey all,

i'm ronnie from CT, USA & i got my first dragon about 4 months ago. he was born on november 24th & seems very healthy. his name is puff.

i just have some minor questions since our research has given us various answers on a few things. hopefully someone here can set us straight

first, puff seems to do both - arm waving & head bobbing & its not all the time, but sometimes he's starring at us while he does it. i know one means submission but what do both mean from a lone dragon? we thought it was tai chi haha. could it just be his reflection messing with him? as i'm typing this he's eyeballing me big time lol

second, i hold him a few times a week but he sometimes squirms around & just doesnt dig it. he will eat right from my hand but still gets a little scared of it when it comes in his tank. can i change this? how can i make him love us? he'll hang with me & watch tv but not forever. i was hoping its because he's still young & energized.

lastly, i recently discovered breeds. puff seems to have colored up a bit but i assume his orange tint is from the carrots. my question being, is it possible to have a regular beardy change colors due to their diet? i would love one of the orange breeds but we love our little jerk too much lol

i probably sound like a ***** but any advice you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!!

 

[bunnyrut]

hey all,

i'm ronnie from CT, USA & i got my first dragon about 4 months ago. he was born on november 24th & seems very healthy. his name is puff.

i just have some minor questions since our research has given us various answers on a few things. hopefully someone here can set us straight

first, puff seems to do both - arm waving & head bobbing & its not all the time, but sometimes he's starring at us while he does it. i know one means submission but what do both mean from a lone dragon? we thought it was tai chi haha. could it just be his reflection messing with him? as i'm typing this he's eyeballing me big time lol

second, i hold him a few times a week but he sometimes squirms around & just doesnt dig it. he will eat right from my hand but still gets a little scared of it when it comes in his tank. can i change this? how can i make him love us? he'll hang with me & watch tv but not forever. i was hoping its because he's still young & energized.

lastly, i recently discovered breeds. puff seems to have colored up a bit but i assume his orange tint is from the carrots. my question being, is it possible to have a regular beardy change colors due to their diet? i would love one of the orange breeds but we love our little ***** too much lol

i probably sound like a ***** but any advice you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!!

1. he might be waving at he reflection, or he might be waving at you. he might be sizing you up, lol.
try arm waving back to him.

2. he is still a baby and wants to explore. my youngest is 6 months and she still tries to run when i hold her. when they are closer to a year old you can sit with them and chill. but occasionally they get that spurt of energy. feeding time is a good time to get him used to you, eventually he will look at you like "HUMAN! bring me my food!"

3. their color comes from their parents, and you can't change that. as they shed more and more their colors usually become brighter. my oldest was all brown with red stripes when i got him as a baby. now he is bright orange. multivitamins help bring out their color. feed that to them 2x a week.

good luck and come back and ask all the questions you want.

 

[ronnieroach]

Hey friends,

Basically I'm looking for some tips on how to make my beardie dig me more. We've had him for 5months & he's now 6months old. Me & my girlfriend did a whole routine to make him not afraid of us, including -- tong feeding to hand feeding, hands in tank while he eats, etc. .. He doesnt run from us when we come in, BUT he def DOESNT like to be picked up.

The times when I would take him out, he was calm & cool for the most part. Eventually he'd get antsy, but I've heard that happens with some when theyre younger. I was told to hold him daily to make him used to us, but I'm hesitant because if thats wrong I dont wanna set back our progress.

ANY AND ALL TIPS OR LINKS ARE APPRECIATED!!

For now, my only idea is to get a front or side opening tank so he doesnt think we're coming from above to eat him.

We really love our Puff & really want him to love us back.

PLEASE HELP!!!

Thanks!!
-Ronnie

 

[koco46]

Can you hold him in the morning after he wakes up?

Our dragon isn't that much into getting held either,he is 6-7 months old,but he'll sit on our hands for a while in the morning to warm up.

We also hold him in the evening at "bedtime" on our chest,put a little blankie over him and he'll go right to sleep.

He likes to explore,so we lay on the floor with him so we are closer to his level, after sectioning off a part of the kitchen.

He also likes to bask on the back couch,(it's by a sunny window)so he will sit still there for a while,we can get very close and talk and pet him without him running away.

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

Take him out of his tank about 15 minutes before bedtime, put him on your chest (preferably where he can smell you) and cover him up with a blankie like the poster above suggested. Let him sleep there for 30mins-1hr before you put him back in his tank. Deb (sweetiepie9) suggested that to me for bonding/trust purposes and it's done wonders for my relationship with my rescue girl Lotus. She had major trust issues at first, and she still freaks out a little when I pick her up but as soon as I get her somewhere stable like my chest then she's fine. Good luck!

 

[bunnyrut]

how old is he?

It wasn't until Tasty Treat was 6 months old that we could actually HOLD her for more than 10 minutes. and we held her every day. she's almost 8 months now and she'll sit on one of our shoulders and just chill. before that she would run away.

when it's lights out we wrap them up and hold them until they go to sleep. Mr Dargon likes to move around until he is facing me before going to sleep (awwww), and Tasty Treat actually curls up into a little ball (or circle).

if he is still just a few months old it might be a little while longer before you can hold him without him taking off.

 

[ronnieroach]

thanks for the help everyone!!

i tried distracting him with crickets the other day & he let me take him right out.

i just had shoulder surgery so the chest move might have to wait a few weeks, but i'm def gonna try it.

and he's now 6months old. he was actually born on thanksgiving.

again, thanks for the help friends!!

-ronnie

 

[ronnieroach]

further update:

the cricket distraction method is working wonderfully!

today i took him out & let him climb around to the back of my hand. he hung out on my lap for a good 10-15minutes without running or seeming scared. then i brought him to see his neighbors the fish, who he loves watching. a few minutes later, i tried putting him back & he clung to my arm and wouldnt get off for a good 5mins or so.

i was a very happy pappa

thanks again for the tips .. i cant wait til he can sleep on me!!

any other advice is def welcome!!

 

[ronnieroach]

Hey all,

I previously posted about trouble handling my 6month old beardy, Puff. I took some people's advice & all seemed to be going well during holdings for about 5 days. Then one day he started getting skidish again whenever I didnt have food & tried to take him out.

I think trying to pick him up from above was my main issue, but in his tank its kinda hard not to. I'm willing to try anything to make him love me & my girlfriend.

He eats from our hands, eats when I'm in the tank cleaning, but runs now when I dont have food. I didnt want to chase after him because I'm scared I'll traumatize him further. PLEASE HELP!!

I am DYING to have a close relationship with him. I'll do anything!!

PLEASE ADVISE!!

Thanks friends!!
- Ronnie

 

[Tonja]

I dont know....Geico has always <only had him now 3 weeks> let us handle him. Maybe try picking him up from the tail end so he doesnt have your hand make a shadow over the eye in the top of his head Maybe just leave your hand in the tank palm up and let him come to you..may take some time...but let him know that your hand is not unfriendly?

 

[Cendrillon]

If my guy is being skittish, I will pet his head until he calms down, and then just hold him with my hand in the tank. Have you tried wrapping him in a towel and holding him?

 

[drstevo]

Maybe place an item of clothing in his viv that you have worn for him to sleep on? This was suggested to me and it worked. So your BD can get used to your scent. With Deano, I pet his back and head first to let him know I'm there and then gently put my hand under him supporting his body and use my other hand to support his tail...let him crawl onto your arm then. Just be gentle and calm and it should be ok. You can also handle him near the end of the day when he is less energetic to get used to it. Hope some of this helps.

kind regards,
Stevo

 

[ronnieroach]

thanks for the quick responses and advice everyone!!

i got antsy and decided to give it another shot. i took everything off & fed him a few grapes. then i tried to slowly scoop from under him. well he jumped to the rim of his tank. once he realized he was stranded he came willingly lol

i held him for a few minutes before he got squirmish. we fed him a few grapes (usually crickets) like we normally do when we take him out, to show him its benefitial to come out with us.

he was cool for a while & we decided since he was chillin out we should try his first bath. i gently poured some water over his back while he was in the tub and he didnt hate it, but whenever you try to pick him up (or back up) he bugs out. once i have him, he's pretty chill, minus the occational coffee table leap

he doesnt puff up at me (regardless that his name is Puff) and he doesnt open his mouth at us or bite. my dude is just straight scared of me & its odd cuz even beaten rescue dogs flock to my wussy self as soon as i walk through a door.

i'm def down to try the clothing technique, but do you mean legit put it in his tank?

any special worms or treats that i can spoil / lure him out with? any other tips like the clothing ideas? i plan on trying the sleeping on my chest method once i'm outta my sling.

WE GOTTA DE-FEAR THIS DUDE!! lol

thanks again for all the help friends!!!!!!

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Behaviors

 

[ronnieroach]

Hello all,

I've posted a few times about this issue & have tried almost everything people have advised me to try.

My now 8 month old male, Puff, is still pretty scared of me. I've had him since he was a baby & he is well taken care of. He gets lettuce or veggies every day, along with a slew of crickets almost every day. I use rep-cal calcium & herptivite once a week. We remove his waste & old food every day. We tried handling him daily & giving him a bath before my shoulder surgery, but it wasnt getting any better after 5-6 days & I was scared I was hurting my cause more than helping it.

He eats from me & my girlfriend's hands, or from tongs, every day & comes to the food when we hold it on the opposite side of his tank. He doesn't puff up or try to bite us, but sometimes when I lightly pet him he runs away or breaths heavy. I don't approach him fast or come from right above him either.

While cleaning today, after getting some meal worms as a treat, when i tried to pet him he ran up his log & right into his strip light that I had on, trying to get away from me.

I JUST WANT HIM TO LOVE ME!! its frustrating because when we first got him we had him in a hex tank & I'm worried me coming from above (and chasing him down before I learned that was bad) might have traumatized him a bit.

Sometimes he's cool with me petting him, BUT as an animal lover & gentle soul I can just sense his fear.

Is this just what I have to live with? And am I looking at it getting worse as he gets older now?

If you have any questions for me that could help me find an answer or method to use, please ask. I truly love Puff & will give him a great life regardless, but if he would dig me a bit it would be awesome!!

Thanks,
Ronnie