How do I socialize my dragon to people?

[nenders]

We bought a bearded dragon in February for my 9 yo son. It has since essentially become mine, as I suspected it would. It still does not like to be picked up. I would like to hear the specific steps we can do to get him more socialable.

When we pick him up up, he runs with his legs and kicks. He does not like to be pet and he runs away. We got him at Pet Smart, so he may not have been properly socialized before hand. I think my 6 and 9 year old try to pick him up and end up chasing him around the cage. I do not think just grabbing him will get him used to us. He has bitten a few times, me once and the kids a few times. I think the kids are not being mean to him, they are just excited and move too fast. I can tell when he is feeling cornered and aggressive.

I have started working on him some. I started sticking my hand right next to him. Then slowly moving it towards him. Trying to get as close as possible without freaking him out. Now I can pet him some. He eats crickets and greens. I have been luring him onto my hand with a live meal worm or a green. He will take it and then sort of sit there. I do not move him around much, because he needs to get comfortable. I am concerned about luring him with food, that he will come to expect it.

What next steps do I take? Should I just grab him and maybe wrap him a cloth and cuddle him? Do I let him climb on me more? Since he doesn't like to be picked up, we do not take him out of his tank. Maybe he would like being carried around? Should I try handling him after his basking light has been off for awhile and he is slower and more mellow? I normally try in the evening, his basking and UV light are on a timer from 8AM to 11 PM.

I am just looking for some specific things to try, any hint would be appreciated.

PS: We call him a boy, but have been unable to handle him to sex him .

 

[pamelacoe]

I think I little guy was so happy to get out of Petsmart that he is friendlier. But still, after his relocation period (which my son could only hold out for about 2 days), we started him getting used to us by gently stroking his head and back in his cage. I told my son to be very gentle, like "butterfly touches". The next thing we did was stick a finger in his water bowl, then drop the drip on his nose. Within a day he would lick it off your finger. This is my son doing it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCg4BwpKsOQ

I have also heard about putting something with your scent on it, like a used t-shirt, in the cage will help the beardie get aclimated to your smell. I know the first time I really held mine and let it crawl all over, he (she?) kept licking me now and then. I figure she was figuring me out.

 

[ziggy23]

You're already on the right path.

One thing, when you try and pick him up, make sure you scoop him up from underneath, not over. When you do it over, our hands kinda resembles a big mouth.

I would interact frequently. Reach out to him a lot, even talk to him. Don't expect him to sit still on you for long periods of time, especially if it's still a baby. Just like the babies of other species, they can only sit for so long before they just have to run around. So keep it short, a few minutes a couple times a day is much better then 1 marathon session. He'll grow out of it eventually.

Right before lights out is a good time to handle them. They tend to not give as much trouble when they're sleepy. Get a hold of him, wrap him up in a little burrito and let him fall asleep on you. One of your worn shirts would be great for this. then when your done, put him back in his viv shirt and all. that way he's sleeping all night smelling your scent.

And most of all, have patience. Trusting relationships take time.

 

[nenders]

Thanks, he is warming up to me. I can get a bit closer to him and pet him. I have also moved him out of the kids room. The meal worms really work to draw him out. As I have been and feeding him more veggies I am getting more used to being licked or nibbled. So I don't draw back when it happens.

I am just wondering if I should try to pick him up and lay him on me. I guess the worst that could happen is he tries to run off. We need to let him explore the house some anyways.

 

[ziggy23]

You can try that if you want, I would make sure the room is dragon proofed first so the little one doesn't get hurt. A word of warning, when they're small they think they're invincible and might try to jump from high places.

And meal worms are not very good for them. They have little nutritional value, and have hard shells that are hard for them to digest and could cause them to become impacted. There are a number of other types of worms that are good for stables or treats.

 

[Phoenix17June2009]

Phoenix did a great many "leaps of faith" when he was smaller... let me tell you friend... leashes are a hassle but they are well worth it, it saved him from breaking a leg during his "moments" that he thought he was 10 feet tall and bullet proof lol!! glad hes warming up to you. it just takes a little time is all...

 

[Sapphire]

When I first got my dragon, I wore an old t-shirt for a few hours and then put it in his viv, on the right side. I don't know if it's because of my t-shirt or just because he liked that side better, but that's the side he has slept on every single day since I got him. A few times he would even sleep ON my t-shirt. I don't know if it had anything to do with the shirt, but it it certainly wouldn't hurt anything to put it in there. Just make sure it's an old t-shirt that you don't care about cuz he might poop on it.