How painfull is an adult BD's BITE?

[newbeardie79]

Hi! We recently adopted an adult beardie and are ENJOYING every part of it!! Just one pressing question keeps coming to mind, as i have a 5 year old daughter who is all too eager to hold and pet her. (We just found out that "Buddy-Elliot" is not a boy as we had been told and thought, but rather a sweet lil girl!! ) Anyhow, I really doubt she will bite, BUT just in case... it would be nice to know, if she does bite (she's over a year), what kind of pain and damage should I expect? Thanks! (I'm addicted to this site!!! LOL)

 

[Spikiesmom]

Since I was bitten today, it's fresh in my memory....it hurts a bit! But it doesn't break the skin or leave a mark. Let me say that Spikie has only bitten me once before, and that was when we first got him and we were still learning about each other. Today I forgot NOT to try to pick him up in the afternoon when it's "cricket time"! Food 1st! As long as a child is gentle, as with any animal, it should be ok. Your beardie should give you plenty of warning if it's scared etc.
K

 

[nighttrain]

i have a 6 month old beardie and she bit me it drew a tiny bit of blood it felt just like someone pinched me so they can bite but it wasnt to bad. i have 3 dragons one is about 8 yrs old and this is the only time i've even been close to attacked i think i just scared her and she reacted out of surprise . anyway i dont mean to scare you . just wanted to share my 2 cents

 

[newbeardie79]

Spikiesmom, oh wow! Talk about timing, huh? Thank you for responding!! It's a relief to know that limbs will still be intact should something happen! I completely know what you mean about the necessity of children respecting animals... parents that let their kids do whatever they want to animals (which usually includes some sort of annoying, mean, torchurious thing that kids find so amusing ) frusterate me beyond words! I've atually scolded some kid once who was tormenting a dog, and whatta ya know, he ran to tell his mommy and sure enough, she was all upset at me for telling her kid to play nice. (She was no where around when I originally scolded the kid, or I woulda gone to her.) But what can ya do, right?

Nighttrain, I totally appreciate you sharing your experience... When "Buddy-Elliot" (now that she has been determined an actual "she", that name just doesn't fit anymore...LOL) vents (which isn't too often), I can see a row of teeth towards the back of her mouth and her face (jaws) look like they could do some serious damage, so a little skin breaking is far less damage than I feared it would have been. (I was imagining chunks of flesh being ripped off. ) No doubt the initial strike would probably be more offensive and ego-busting than the actual bite.
THANK YOU BOTH so much for your insight and sharing your experiences. I hope to never see that side of her, but it sure is good to atleast have an idea of what to expect!
Take care!

 

[wingeddrgn]

I just got bitten yesterday by my newest dragon. She is shedding right now (the first time with us) and when I picked her up I caught a piece of skin and it got pulled. She did not appreciate that and bit my finger. It happened so fast I wasn't sure at first what happened. She got me right by my fingernail so there was a little blood there. The bottom part of my finger was cut (kinda like a papercut)but didn't bleed. It hurt some but I was more surprised than anything. She has never bitten before. She didn't puff or black beard me - I think the poor girl was surprised too... I have 2 other dragons and they have never bitten me. (they are both boys)

 

[protiemama]

Bogie has only bitten once, I was holding food and didn't let go soon enough. :lol: It surprised more than hurt. He has never bit my 4 yr old son, even though he has had every right to at times. The 8 yr old Katherine is ever so gentle and I doubt she will ever get bitten by any animal. Just teach your little one to be gentle and move slowly, your dragon will give love (not bites) in return.

Sandy H

 

[msmaui]

Cinnamon (RIP) bit me once. It wasn't so much of a bite as it was just him trying to keep his mouth closed. I was trying to force feed him when he was sick. The bite was a little circle on the end of my thumb. The whole bottom half of the "circle" was like sliced open. The whole little "circle" of skin was almost totally numb for about a month. So it is possible for them to really bite down hard. Like I said, he was trying to keep his mouth closed so I'm sure there was a lot of force behind it. Other than that, he never bit me. But that was enough.

 

[AlanHJ]

I hate to say that I am one of the only unlucky ones to have been bitten by a dragon that MEANT it. It left deep marks on the top of my thumb nail and the cut into my thumb was quite deep. Probably about 3-4 mm...or maybe 3/32 of an inch deep. It HURT and didn't stop bleeding for quite some time. Also, it was on an angle so I really had to open it up to disinfect it.

I wasn't prepared for it because a friend of mine told me that their bites feel like squishy sandpaper. Turns out, when they mean it, they have a good bite. But there was something wrong with that dragon. Very anti-social. Not the norm for sure. Most dragons will never want to do that to you

 

[Warro]

We used to have a fully grown adult who once bit me, mistaking my finger for a worm as I was feeding him some apple. Ouch. Left a mark and a cut in my nail that bled a bit but it wasn't too bad, its all healed.

 

[OhNoChloroformx]

For little guys, beardies sure can pack a punch! Bentley loves his calcium powder, and I was letting him lick it off the tip of my index finger and he got a little overzealous! It broke maybe a single skin cell but I was just shocked more than anything, their jaws are really powerful for such little guys and I had to control myself so I wouldn't fling my hand back and send Bentley soaring :lol:

But they're a calm lizard, so you shouldn't worry about bites :wink:

 

[Kasinda]

Deja has bitten me 2 times but both where when I was feeding him by hand. And once he realized he did it he wouldn't come over to me anymore. It was like he felt bad. And punished himself himself. I have 4 kids. Ranging from 8 years old to 3 years old. I let them hold him when im in the room. With my experinces Beardies are really layed back I would stay by your beardy while your dc is holding him/her. And watch for your beardys mood to change. Such as black beard. That will just show you when and if he is getting mad. Enjoy your exparince im sure your child will.

 

[SuperMom30]

Thank you for speaking up and saying something to the kid! To many parents just blow off bad actions with kids and pets and can one day not only end up hurting an animal but something is probably going to take a chunk out of them! My niece was the same way my sister-n-law thought her being ruff with animals was funny and would just laugh about it...well sense I have my niece about 6 days a week I put her through animal boot camp! Now she is so sweet with all the animals :love5: The dragon babys are her fav! She will stand at there tanks for hours just talking up a storm to them and helps with the feeding a lovies time here is a pic of her giving Vivid some love.

As for the biting I really couldnt say the first time my adult dragon bit me it didnt hurt at all, he had MBD and no teeth when I rescued him...so his bark really was worse than his bite

I got nipped one by my baby boy while handing him a crick and he had little sharp teeth for sure but he is tiny so didn't hurt much at all.

 

[newbeardie79]

Thank you everyone for all of your feed back and sharing their own experiences. I am so thakful for this site and everyone here!!! Your lil one is just ADORABLE!!!! Glad you did the animal boot camp!