I'm trying to give her more freedom???

[Sagelover]

Sage is 2 years and 6 months old. I hope that is the case because I love him but will not fight everytime I attempt to allow freedom. I was going to tunr one my guest into a santcuary for her but I am afraid to at this point. It may become a war zone lol.

 

[Sagelover]

Sage is 2 years and 6 months old. I hope that is the case because I love him but will not fight everytime I attempt to allow freedom. I was going to tunr one my guest into a santcuary for her but I am afraid to at this point. It may become a war zone lol.

 

[Sagelover]

Sage is 2 years and 6 months old. I hope that is the case because I love him but will not fight everytime I attempt to allow freedom. I was going to tunr one my guest into a santcuary for her but I am afraid to at this point. It may become a war zone lol.

 

[Sagelover]

Sage is 2 years and 6 months old. I hope that is the case because I love him but will not fight everytime I attempt to allow freedom. I was going to tunr one my guest into a santcuary for her but I am afraid to at this point. It may become a war zone lol.

 

[Ethelia]

Sorry for being slow here, but are you saying she is fine to handle, and fine in her viv, but if you let her explore she is then agressive when you try to pick her up?

 

[Sagelover]

Exactly....

 

[Ethelia]

I used to have the same problem with Dex if I tried to pick her up when she was exploring.
It turns out it was how I was approaching her. Never do it from behind or the side, this is predatory behaviour. The only way madame will "go quietly" is if i sit down infront of her and show her my flat palm. I then slide this under her front arms and under her belly and pick her up. Voila!
Be sure to approach from the front.
It also cant help to try to lure her from a confined space with a waxworm as a treat.

 

[Sagelover]

I have done all of these thing but will continue to try. thank for all of you assistance and look forward to future updates...

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

This is for Maxattack and Sagelover. Keep allowing your bd's that fun of exploring outside of their viv's. I do believe they enjoy it(once they get used to it).I imagine at first it's got to be pretty scarey for them, they are out of their comfort zone or safe haven (you'd be scared too). As for the aggression you are seeing, you may just be startling them. If they are going off in some small place and sleeping like you said, they are probably sound asleep when you try to pick them up. Remember, when they are away from their heat their bodies tend to start shutting down and they become lethargic, so they sleep deeper.My bd is out of her viv for hours at a time each day. She'll explore for a while and then find one of her many hiding spots and go to sleep (get used to that..it only gets worse as they get older.Enjoy all that energy they have now while they're still little). When we do pick her up to go back to her viv we have to slowly wake her up. We stroke her real gently on her back and head.Trying to get her awake enough so she knows we are there. More than not she will puff up.Just keep stroking and talking to them. One thing a bd does not like is being startled or woken abruptly, they automatically go into defense mode. Keep trying with your beardies. Eventually it'll work out. Also. I think it was Maxattack who was worried about your bd getting cold being out of its viv too long. I'm here to tell you from experience my girl has been out of her viv everyday of her life (going on 5 yrs) anywhere from 15 min. to 5 hrs without any heat(unless we were outside) and she is fine. In fact she looks forward to her time out. She gets upset when we put her back (like Ethelia's bd)clamoring at everything as if to say " No, not yet ". As long as your home is not freezing cold your little one should be ok. I hope I was of some help. If Anyone has a problem with my answer let me apologize now. Everything I have said is strictly of my own personal experience with my own beardie....Dawn

 

[Sagelover]

Wow thank you so much, you fully addressed my concerns. I will continue to allow her exploratory missions and when resting will rub her until she is fully awake. Also I will no longer worry about her temp as long as the house is in the mid 60's.

 

[Sagelover]

Wow thank you so much, you fully addressed my concerns. I will continue to allow her exploratory missions and when resting will rub her until she is fully awake. Also I will no longer worry about her temp as long as the house is in the mid 60's.

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

And even more than that... from what I understood, aggression was an irritated beardie- not a biting one?

In some ways, in strikes me like a little kid who doesn't want to leave the playground and just requires a firm hand and getting accustomed to it. Pele's not a fan of going back to her cage after having been out for awhile, but I know it's better for her to be pissy about going back in her cage than to leave her out with my cats and therefore in spite of her objections back in the cage she goes.

 

[maxattack]

Thanks everyone for your answers. As much as Buttercup puffs up and black beards me she has never actually bitten me. It seems that it is mostly for show so I am not terribly afraid of her at this point. If I'm really worried she will bite me them I put a towel on the floor in front of her and kind of scoot her onto it so I can wrap her up. I always lie on the floor and talk to her first then show her my hand and pet her. While it may seem kind of counter intuitive when she puffs her beard at me, I pet the beard to show her I'm not afraid of her. I did this a few times over the last two days and she is puffing and bearding less. She still does the first time I go to pick her up, but I think it's because she is not ready to go back to her viv. So I've been picking her up and petting her on my lap for a few minutes then letting her roam around some more. I think she is really starting to enjoy her exercise time! YEAH! She really did need some time to get used to it. I was pretty sure that was what it was but I didn't want to freak her out. Thanks for everyones help!

 

[Ethelia]

Awww im glad buttercup.

You'd be suprised how much for show bearding can be. Like "Look at this? You see this beard??? Go ON. Let me have my wayyyyyyyyy."
Classic example of this with Dex is when she's in the bath. She'll drink, splash herself, beard at the water, run over and half heartedly beard at me until she realises she's not getting out :lol: ive got her sussed!

 

[Sagelover]

I tried what gulfbrzdawn recommended and it worked! I rubbed first, then laid my hand flat infront of her. He did not climb in but only mildly resisted as I lifted her up. No running or fighting. How often should you bath your dragon?