Holding my beardie

[brie7]

I got my first baby beardie about a month ago. Not sure how old my beardie is now. His body is about 3-4 iches long. But the previous times that I have held him, there has been no problems. Now as soon as I stick my hand in the tank, he goes crazy. He runs into the walls of the tank, anything to try to avoid me. Sometimes he will just sit there if my hand is close enough, and gape at my hand. When I do hold him he will sometimes jump off my hand right to the floor. I'm just trying to get him used to people so he's not mean when he is older. I have changed nothing about the environment. Help...What should I do??

 

[jscott]

hello . have you tried hand feeding him? wait till he is hungry and offer him food from your fingers. he will get to trust you more.

he sounds very small still, baby dragons are skiddish and weary of being handled. just make sure he has all the proper lighting and heat and he'll grow up to be a happy, friendly dragon.


btw, what is your setup like? are there 2 lights or 1? what kind are they and what brand?

if you could give us a brief description of your setup we could offer further pointers.

once again, welcome to this site. sorry it took awhile for someone to get back to you, it doesnt usually take this long .

 

[starhead86]

we had the same problem with king when we first got him. Doesn't necisarily mean that he will grow up to be aggressive. Just keep trying in most cases its all show and they wont actually bite. Hand feeding is a great idea. When king used to open his mouth and puff up his beard when I was holding him I'd just pet his beard and eventually he realized that he wasn't scaring me and that I wasn't going to hurt him and would give up. good luck!

 

[wingeddrgn]

We we got our girl she was already grown. But the previous owners had never held her and she had not been exposed to any other animals or let out of her cage. When I first brought her home she would puff up her beard and it would be black. She would open her mouth like she was gonna bite (that's why we named her Jaws)but I would just pet her and stroke her beard and tell her I'm not afraid of her and I was not gonna hurt her.
It took a little while and she warmed up to us real good. And we have an old male dragon she hated but now she lets him walk all over her. Just give it a little time and lots of love...

 

[brie7]

Thanks for all your guys help.

I have him in a 20L one side is usually between 70 and 80 and the otherside is usually between 80 and 90. i know that it should be higher. I have an exo terra coil bulb on one side its 13w 10.0uvb and the hotter side has an exo terra 75w tight beam sun glo, basking spot lamp <-- he can get about 3 inches from the bulb probably, is that really bad? How do i get the tank hotter?

About eating he will eat 4 dozen crickets if i put them in there. He barely touches all the fruits and veggies i put in. He ate a small piece of banana the other day, other than that he'll like like the fruit go for the fortified food then walk away. I also put in a supplement made my zilla fortified food for beardies he seems to like those a lot.

What should i hold for him to eat out of my hand? He doesnt like hardly anything...

 

[jscott]

ooh, its really late at night and im about to go to bed, but i just had to say:

turn off the spiral compact. those are BAD. even tho its a reptisun 10.0 the coil version can be damaging. 3" is way too close, even for a safe tube. 6-8" is safe but in your case, id turn off the coil UV bulb and just use the heat light until you can exchange the compact for a tube.


the two bulbs MUST NOT be kept at opposite ends. then need to be right next to each other on one side. the coil UVB is bad so get rid of that one but try to focus on one side of the cage as a hot side. if you want light on the other side use a regular fluorescent tube, not a heat or UV bulb.

cool side temps sound ok (70-80) but you need to get the hot side up to at least 100(no hotter than 110). make sure one side is cool and one side is hot. dont use heat lamps on both sides, only the hot side. return the coil bulb for a regular tube reptisun 10.0, that should stretch across the whole cage. you really souldnt buy them at petstores because their so expensive, 40-70 dollars :roll: ... buy them here for $19.24($27 shipped) any size you want!

http://www.petmountain.com/product/fluorescent/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html


sorry, im tired. i dont have the energy to check for errors, i just wanted to tell you about the sprial compacts. petstores will try to sell you compacts over the tubes because they fit into so many fixtures that they shouldnt. people want to get combo domes with everything built in but the best way is to use a tube and a heat lamp. actually, if you can get a bigger tank(40gallon) the absolute bset thing to use is a Mercury Vapor Bulb. puts off way more UV-B and heat.

ok, my brain is shutting down... i hope i didnt come off as rude. im too tired to reread my post so i dont know how much sense it makes :mrgreen: . i just felt i needed to respond to your unanswered post.

 

[jscott]

also, dont leave crickets in his cage. they will bite him at night, after a while he can develop sores. i was unsure if you did or not, i just wanted to mention it. 4 dozen seems like alot. id put him in a plastic tub and feed him as many as he can eat in 10-15 min. just make sure you dont feed him crix in his cage and if you do, dont leave them in there after hes done eating.

check this site before feeding anymore veggies:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

it lists not only which foods beardies like, but which ones are safe and dangerous. i wouldnt feed him anything else without consulting this chart or another reputable one.

i personally feed mine alot of mustard greens. they cant seem to get enough of that and yellow squash. young dragons like fruit so you may want to try one of the safe fruits from that list like cactus fruit.

im reeeeally tired, i i think thats all for now. i just saw that there was another part to yuor post so i wanted to answer it :wink: .


p.s. one more thing about fortified foods: someone once told me that fortified means they stripped the food of nutrients only to replenish some of them. basically, fresh is better. fresh veggies, fresh insects, fresh everything.

most canned or pellet-form beardie foods are probably fine. i wouldnt rely too heavily on them tho. beardies get bored easily with food so try to switch it up all the time, so long as its SAFE.

good night :wink: .

 

[brie7]

Thank you so much, you dont sound rude at all.

What size tank would be good for a full grown beardie. Ive heard 40L or a 55 gallon. I was thinking I might as well buy one for when hes full grown so i dont keep spending money on tanks. I figure if he feels stressed I could block off part of the cage with cardboard or something.

So I should get the Mercury vapor bulb and keep my basking light that I have on a tank? I bought a setup and tank as one, I guess you cant trust the pet store...

Today he was doing the same thing when I tried to get him out of the tank. I got him out and put a piece of banana by him and he bit at it a few times. Then he jumped out of my hands ran all over I caught him and put my hand in front of his face so he wouldnt run and he bit me!.... I couldnt believe it. I put him back in the cage and put the rest of the banana by him and he finished it.

Sorry for asking so many questions I just want this to turn out right.

 

[kmarie24]

ive had my beardie for 2weeks now and for the first few days EVERYTIME i placed my hand in the vivarium, even when it wasnt close to his face he would open his mouth as if to bite me......I didnt back away, I just gently and slowly moved my hand towards him and stroked his beard gently......he hasnt done this for a week now and hasnt shown any signs of aggression towards me, although he does still run away when try to pick him up (this is normal behaviour from baby BDs).my fiance has a BD, shes about a year old now and apparently she did the same thing for about 4months, EVERYTIME he put his hand near her but shes absolutely fine now and not agressive in anyway.I wouldnt worry yourself, I dnt for one minute believe that your beardie is gonna be a nasty one, hes prob just trying to get the better of you and put you off the idea of holding him lol.

stay focused, keep putting your hand in the viv and offering foods to him, if he doesnt lick it or show interest, wait for a while and try again.dont give up, even if it is bothering you (and I can comepletely understand why it would) just keep holding him and stroking him and dnt back away when he looks as if hes going to bite.im sure everything will turn out fine

 

[stephenrose06]

I find draco I have to chase him a bit but once I get him on me if I want to move him or put him down he doesn't want to get off of me. Although some times he wants to run around so I try to be careful.

 

[brie7]

So i have been hand feeding my beardie and holding him and he still will open his mouth and hiss at me when i try to pick him up. when i go to grab him he runs all around his cage trying to get away. when i finally catch him he will sit on my hand with his mouth open. i dont know what to do im very frustrated. i dont think my beardie is getting any better.

 

[Taegrin]

If he's hissing at you it might be better not to chase him around the tank; he might perceive that as a threat. If he's only that little it might be better not to hold him right away. Younger bearded dragons are often very bold and will threaten to bite when you put your hand near them from what I've been told, which is a good sign because it means they know when something might be dangerous.

You chasing him around the tank might be making him worse; if he doesn't want to be held, don't force him. Let him come to you; continue hand feeding him, but try hand feeding him while he's in the tank as opposed to taking him out. If he turns down the food, don't try to force him to take it. Place your hand down on a surface near his head with something on your index finger; he'll eye it and if he wants it, he'll take it. When you hold him, if he squirms and tries to jump away, put him back; don't let him escape and don't chase him around. Later, when you're comfortable holding him, then you can begin training him to understand that squirming will do him no good. Definitely do not put your hand in front of him if he's agitated already, because he will probably bite you.

I think you're just scaring him and stressing him out by trying to force him into contact. Build up his trust first — baby steps, only handle him if he'll allow you to — and when you hold him, make sure he's in the palm of your hand. Gently wrap your fingers around him so his head is out and maybe bring him to a darker area; the dark seems to help them relax a little bit. Archaeon always closes his eyes and gets really comfy in dark places. Stroke him gently — be careful of stroking his beard, if he seems squirmy or agitated he might just bite, but I find it helps to offer my finger to Archaeon so he might lick it and recognise my hands — but be very gentle and calm. Definitely don't move your hand too quickly and don't make sudden movement, especially when holding him. Try to keep the area around you quiet, and don't rush into forcing him to trust you. Let him come on his own terms.

I know you need to be persistent, and I totally agree with that, but don't do it all at once. Archaeon has never once opened his mouth at me, or hissed at me, or threatened to hurt me and I've let him come to know me on his own terms. Also, if you do get him out without fuss, I'd suggest taking him to a room like a bathroom (especially a bath tub, that's where I always take Archaeon), closing the drain and sitting on the side with the drain so he doesn't hurt himself, and maybe putting him on your leg. If he jumps off and runs around the bath tub, that's all right — if he seems to be getting stressed, veeeery calmly take him out and return him to his viv — and will help him get used to your presence. You could also try gently wrapping him in a dish towel over something, to help him bond with you.

Good luck with your beardie! I'm sure he's just skittish because maybe you're a little overbearing, and definitely intimidating. Give him time!

 

[jscott]

i recently recued two adult dragons. one of them(Mayze) is sweet as could be, while the other is Trouble(thats his name :roll: )... i can hold Mayze any time i want, she doesnt mind. Trouble on the other hand, is wild. i only pick him up for positive experiences like the feeding tub or bathing(he likes baths alot ). he still shows alittle aggression, puffing his beard, flattening and opening his mouth when im trying to pick him up. he has only hissed once and has never bitten me but i still dont completely trust him. i know he doesnt like being held so i try to give him his space. eventually, he will see how much extra attention im giving Mayze. hopefully he will become curious as to why she would want to spend time being held.

i guess its different for me. i have 3 dragons with differing attitudes toward being held; LG doesnt necesarily enjoy it but doesnt hate it. Mayze likes to come out of the cage, she always glass dances when she wants out so i try to placate her. Trouble hates being held, he only tolerates it when he sees the feeding tub on the floor. even taking him out of the feeding tub is sometimes a problem. if he wont let me pick him up out of the feeding tub, i let him sit there for about 10 minutes. he usually changes his mind and allows me to pick him up without a struggle.

i didnt bring them home for me to enjoy, in fact i am away during the day. i only get to see them in the mornings and evenings, at which point i have several messes to clean up. they are all rescue dragons, i brought them in to make their lives more stimulating and less depressing. if they would prefer not to be picked up, im fine with that. if they would like to come out of their cage i try my best to accomodate that.

i understand this isnt a usual circumstance, to each his own. im just watching this thread to see how it works out for everyone else. hopefully ill see something that works and can try with Trouble.