how to bond with a baby beardie?

[Gizmo1]

hi everyone, ive recently bought my first beardie, hes coming up to 1 month old on the 4th of may, i bought him 2 weeks ago today. ive been watching videos on how calm beardies can actually get around us and other house pets.
My beardie (Gizmo) will let me stroke him down his back but i ave to be very careful. i have tried picking him up but he doesnt seem to turst me or he just doesnt like it. is there anything i should be doing or could be doing to get mine and Gizmo's bond stronger?

All comment and feedback is appreciated,

 

[JenFid]

How are you picking him up? Coming in from where they can see you, slowly, and then sliding your hand under them is best. Another good trick is to hold them once they are falling asleep since they're much less active then. Also putting a shirt of yours in their tank with them so they can get used to your scent.
I just got my new little girl today, she'll be a month old in 5 days. She jumps or shies away when she sees me walking by, but once I'm close and pick her up she calms right down. Persistence is the key. Good luck!

 

[bunnyrut]

being able to hold a beardie that young will be tough.
at 6 months i am finally able to hold my youngest without her trying to jump (right away). before that she would run or jump when i held her.

let your beardie sit on your hand inside the tank so he/she gets used to it, and if they jump they don't escape.

keep up with the petting, let them lick you so they get used to your 'flavor'

 

[Gizmo1]

the way ive been trying to pick him up is... first ill make sure he notices my hand slowly coming towards him, if he hasnt shown any signs of being frightened, ill then stroke him with my finger very gently down his back, if this has also gone well, i would now try pick him up by slowly lifting him and trying to support each leg with the palm of my hand. but this is the stage where he will either run off or will start scratching my hand in that slow arm rotation/wave.
and congrats on the new little one, thought of a name for her yet?

 

[JenFid]

the way ive been trying to pick him up is... first ill make sure he notices my hand slowly coming towards him, if he hasnt shown any signs of being frightened, ill then stroke him with my finger very gently down his back, if this has also gone well, i would now try pick him up by slowly lifting him and trying to support each leg with the palm of my hand. but this is the stage where he will either run off or will start scratching my hand in that slow arm rotation/wave.
and congrats on the new little one, thought of a name for her yet?

Yes, we named her Scully :mrgreen:
Well, it sounds like you're going about it the right way. The arm waving might be a good sign too (not 100% on that one mine never did that when I picked them up). Just keep it up, he'll come around eventually, that's what's so nice about babies You could also try hand feeding him greens so that he associates it with good things.

 

[NeosMom]

Everyone here is giving you great advice. The key is patience, patience, patience. A month old is really young. Sounds like you are doing just right and you will be well rewarded as your baby grows up.

 

[YellowRoomReptiles]

We've been raising lovable babies for years now. We start by holding them daily, but nothing major, even if it's just to move them to the bathtub, or to another container for a cage cleaning.

Another trick we use for babies, especially flighty ones, we're girls, so we put them in our shirts and hang out with them all day, the babies love to curl up in our bras. Lol. For guys we recommend using a shirt and an undershirt, and letting your baby hang out in between your shirts. They'll curl up and go to sleep. We take them everywhere with us that way, school, the store, anywhere you want, and this is especially helpful with small babies.

By the time our babies are ready for their new homes at about 6 weeks, they love being handled. Hope this helps!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Congrats on your new baby! You got great info, that's how I approached mine when they were little, they're so skittish, but love the warmth of our bodies. One thing that worked well, is when they got tired I'd carefully hold them in the palm of my hand, hold my other hand over the baby while still in the tank, lie down on my bed, put the baby in my shirt & calmy stroke his/her back. I'd get the little wiggle & sleepy bye baby. He/she could smell my skin & would get used to me very quickly. It always took awhile, so as Neo's mom said, patience, patience, patience. Your baby is very young, most are at least 6 wks - 2 mo before being sold, so it will take some time. I like the t-shirt in the tank thing, I never had to try it, only had 2 babies out of the 8 beardies I've had in the last 6 years. Alot were rescues (in fact 3 of the 5 I have now were rescues, the other 2 were adopted). But mine are all adults, from 4 yrs old to 9 yrs old, so it's been awhile since I had babies!

Good luck with getting aquainted!
Deb

 

[Gizmo1]

Thanks for all the feed back guys n gals really thankful .. oh and scully wat a lovely name hope she grows up to be a beaut!

im guna try get him used to my scent over the next few days see if i see any improvement in his trust.
oh yeh also, yesterday Gizmo's beard and stomach was black for pretty much the whole day yet he was still acting pretty much the same as any other day, i think? does any1 know why this might of happened? Just curious.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Sounds like stress marks, which is part of relocation and being a baby. He's really young, so keep remembering that. You should check the temps in your tank on the basking area & on the cool side with a proper thermometer, be it digital probe (accurite is a good brand, get it at Walmart or Lowes in the gardening department) and there is a temp gun you can get that is a little more expensive but also very accurate. If you're using a round dial thermometer, it can be off by 20 degrees either way. Babies need at least 105-110F to be comfy, so your baby may just be cold.

What type of UVB light are you using, that can make a big difference. Also is the light on top of the tank top or in the tank & what size tank, it all makes a difference. Let me know & we can figure it all out.

If your baby is cold the stress marks show up. If you put her on your hand do the marks go away & her tummy is creamy again? It's important to find out why she's uncomfortable, she's such a young beardie. So check into this, let me know what basking temps are, what the cool side temps are and what UVB you use and we'll go from there.

Hope to hear from you soon, so we can figure this out.
Deb

 

[ChuckA]

I have 2 of them , one of them (Tyson) will let me hold him for hours, the other one (Holyfield) doesnt like to be held, as the posters said , need patience, he will come through, good luck

 

[sweetiepie9]

I would just say that Holyfield is just very young & stress marks are the norm more than not at that age. If the temps & UVB are good, then as was said before you just need patience with him & he'll be like your other beardie before too long. Good luck with him, you were given lots of good ideas!

 

[bunnyrut]

have you posted pictures anywhere yet?

 

[ghostkid90]

Hey guys alot of good advice here got the same when i asked similar questions me and angel are on our 2nd week together when i first got her i would just put my hand in the tank so she would get use to me and i found if you harm up your hands before holding them angel likes it and i always have my hand on a incline and have your other hand ready if she jumps but now i go outside with her and doesnt try to jump at all and it shows that anyone can do it i had no idea what i was doing a week ago alot of good help here and im thankful for that so have fun with your new beardie as i do every day if you have any questions at all just ask alot of good people here to answer i know from experience lol
Here is angel outside

 

[Gizmo1]

thanks again for all the advice hes coming along really well now, he seem alot more comfortable with me and his surroundings.
also can someone tell me how to upload a pic of him i cant seem to figure it out.
thankooo