I really got the meanest one ever???

[reptilegyrl]

Yes she is dang nasty and she knows im scared of her haha. When she bites or when im holding her she thrashes back and fourth and wiggles whipping her tail with all her might. She is smart Im sure and knows that the entire family is scared to death of her and im the only one brave enough to open her tank and now will only do it with gloves on...dang she's got us right where she wants us! lol
im going to try giving her a bath. though im wondering how often does my sweet cupid need to have a bath because this means be getting chewed up in the process?! :mrgreen:
I also did some reading and looking at pictures on this website and saw that everyone's viv is soooo different from mine! and im thinking how much Cupid just looks so unhappy and angry all the time! maybe she hates her house? I gave her a little snuggle blanket lastnight and I have never seen her so happy! she snuggled right in and slept all night like a baby! i never knew she would like that!
We are going to replace her rabbit pellets today with some tile also. maybe she will like that. i just want her to be happy and to like me.
as far as the light/heat sources go we are about to replace our reptisun 10.0 long tube and we just got a new bulb for the zoo med nocturnal infrared heat lamp 50 watt. does this seem right for her?

 

[Gail]

She probably only needs a bath a couple times a week but if you want to tame her down, you are going to have to handle her daily. Its possible she is uncomfortable or not feeling well due to improper caging.
It might help if you can get the rest of your family to touch her once you have her out and under control. Pig thrashes too but once she finally stops and closes her mouth, I have my dh pet her all over. She hates it but he keeps his fingers away from her face.

You don't need heat at night unless your house gets below 60F. If you are using a red/blue/black bulb it could be interrupting her sleep which will make her more crabby. If you do need heat at night, use a ceramic heat emitter, it produces heat but no light at all. For future reference, you don't need fancy over priced reptile bulbs for heat, you can use floodlights or even regular household bulbs.

When you change her house around, don't be surprised if she gets a little stressed. Dragons don't care much for change, she will get used to it though. Another thing to think about, a 30 gallon is really small for a adult dragon. A 40 gallon breeder is the smallest recommend cage for one dragon, floor space is more important the height.

 

[reptilegyrl]

If you go to the enclosure section you can see my thread with the pics of her house right now. The pet store said it was fine until she was a year and a half or so. They had one set up like that in the store and sold me all the pieces. But reading on this website im learning it is way too small for her already at 9 months! We are leaving now to lowes to get her some tile to replace the substrate at least. The reptile store said the basking spot or "hot end" needed to be at least 102 for her and to keep the heat lamp there? that is not right? they probably just wanted to sell me a dang light. grrrr!
I am also going to get better gloves for her. and she has never had a bath so im going to start that routine in hopes she gets used to more handling and a regular feeding and bathing sleeping routine etc. I wish I would have found this web site when she was first brought home!!

 

[saleen89559]

Did you get it from a breeder or from a chain store like Petco or PetSmart?


If from a chain store, I have heard of cases where most of those dragons are basically raised like a puppy mill. Tons of imbreeding and bad genes because those chain stores are only looking for a sale, and whatever they have to do to produce dragons faster, they will do it.


On your light, it is best to have a white light basking light, and the temps ON the basking spot should be 95-105 F

 

[Gail]

get rid of the red bulb, she needs a bright white bulb for day time basking. Turn the heat off at night, they need a cooling down period for sleeping.

 

[reptilegyrl]

Did you get it from a breeder or from a chain store like Petco or PetSmart?


If from a chain store, I have heard of cases where most of those dragons are basically raised like a puppy mill. Tons of imbreeding and bad genes because those chain stores are only looking for a sale, and whatever they have to do to produce dragons faster, they will do it.

We got her from Stickly Reptiles. It is a small reptile store we have gotten all our snakes and feeders etc from. They breed and also have a breeder they buy from directly. I believe they bought her from their breeder.

 

[reptilegyrl]

get rid of the red bulb, she needs a bright white bulb for day time basking. Turn the heat off at night, they need a cooling down period for sleeping.

I am so worried to get rid of the heat lamp! its the only time she seems really happy is when she is under it relaxing. she sleeps under it every night. will she get too cold if i take it off?

 

[Gail]

Not as long as your house is at least 60F at night.

 

[reptilegyrl]

I changed her home a bit I hope it will make her happier. You can see the new pic on the other thread. Thank you all so much for your advice! We are going to attempt a bath now! eeekkk!

 

[reptilegyrl]

5. Start exercising her. Dragon proof a small room so she can run around, sit in there with her so she can see you aren't going to eat her. Another option is letting her run in the bathtub. This is where my dragon and I have a lot of interaction.

put Cupid in the bath tub with a bit of water. She hated it at first then splashed around some and actually let me pet her without attacking me!! I think she got so worn out after that she was too tired to resist a little cuddle when i got her on my chest with a little blankie. I am soooooo excited!
This was her first bath and exercise time. We got to interact like we havnt been able to in a long while! And she is suddenly having an awesome shed like she has not had before.
Thank you so much for your bath tub advice! :mrgreen:

cupid in the bath tub for the first time

cupids new renovated home. (tile no rabbit pellets!)

 

[mrsblackington]

Thanks so much for the advice about the rabbit pellets. I have noticed her eating some while catching a cricket or so. I did not know this would be bad for her because that is what the reptile store we got her from uses and what they sold to us to use. We will change that as soon as possible!!
wow! they eat more stuff than I thought! looking at that chart I really thought I had a list in the book I have about beardies and the paper that the store gave me but wow! Thank you so much! I will take a good look at that info.
Ya that glove is scary. lol so is she! unfortunately she is scared of me and i am scared of her... not a good combo! I had to start using the glove a few weeks ago. Got tired of getting attacked without protection! I am mega jealous of all the pictures and stories on here of all the cute beardies cuddling and stuff. she is half asleep under her heat lamp right now. if i open the lid she will stand up and puff out her beard and bear her teeth...i think she is possessed! doesnt she know i just wanna cuddle?!
we just got her a new heat bulb and it is time for a new uv bulb as well my husband said we have had it 6 months and 2 weeks (i wonder if he marked it on the calendar lol)

Awwww!!! You poor thing!!! I couldn't imagine not being able to love on my Princess Littlefoot!! She is wrapped up in her blankie on my chest right now as I'm typing on here. And she's just as sweet as pumkin pie!! I guess trying to hand feed your baby is out of the question if she attacks you whenever you open the tank. Have you seen those tongs they have for feeding live insects? They are about a foot (or more) long and they sell them at the pet stores. If you maybe only feed her with that it could build up a trust with her over time. I had a 5 1/2 ft iguana that past away 10 years ago. He was MEAN as a rattlesnake when I 1st got him. (and he was about 3 ft then!!) I kept him in his cage and would only hand feed him thru the wires of the cage. After 2 days of not eating, he decided to eat out of my hand. After only a month of that, he was able to he handled and a YEAR later, he was roaming the house like a dog!! We never had any attitude from him at all!! So, that was why I was wondering about trying to hand (or tong) feed him and maybe gain the trust from the baby to be able to have a loving relationship.

 

[reptilegyrl]

Awwww!!! You poor thing!!! I couldn't imagine not being able to love on my Princess Littlefoot!! She is wrapped up in her blankie on my chest right now as I'm typing on here. And she's just as sweet as pumkin pie!! I guess trying to hand feed your baby is out of the question if she attacks you whenever you open the tank. Have you seen those tongs they have for feeding live insects? They are about a foot (or more) long and they sell them at the pet stores. If you maybe only feed her with that it could build up a trust with her over time. I had a 5 1/2 ft iguana that past away 10 years ago. He was MEAN as a rattlesnake when I 1st got him. (and he was about 3 ft then!!) I kept him in his cage and would only hand feed him thru the wires of the cage. After 2 days of not eating, he decided to eat out of my hand. After only a month of that, he was able to he handled and a YEAR later, he was roaming the house like a dog!! We never had any attitude from him at all!! So, that was why I was wondering about trying to hand (or tong) feed him and maybe gain the trust from the baby to be able to have a loving relationship.

I know i just wanna kiss her but she will prob rip my face off!
I do frequently feed her with tongs. and just recently she is letting me get closer! after bath and exercise she let me cuddle. and during bath she let me pet her and didnt try to bite. today she has let me pet her in her enclosure without trying to bite. then i tried to do a quick spot cleaning of a poop and she was fine at first and just watched what i was doing then did a flying leap at me lol. but i think the more patient i am with her and the more i make her realize i am not going anywhere, i am her mommy, and i am going to hold her and love her NO MATTER WHAT, she will give in! I am as stubborn as she is!! lol

 

[mrsblackington]

Good luck! I just put my Princess to bed and as usual we had our nightly refusal to go in her tank! Lol They are amazing little companions once they let you love them! Keep us posted!

 

[reptilegyrl]

Good luck! I just put my Princess to bed and as usual we had our nightly refusal to go in her tank! Lol They are amazing little companions once they let you love them! Keep us posted!

i now must look for a thread with pics of princess!! :mrgreen:

 

[BeardedAaliyah]

I really hope everything works out!