Juv Beardie Jumped On My Face

[alialidandi]

I have a young beardie prob a few months old, about 4 or 5 inches s to v and always shy/nervous. Doesn't like crickets, I hand feed it wax worms. Kind of skinny but not scarily so. Drinks water when I use mister on it. Takes a few bites of salad a day. Basks at around 105. I hold him every day for a few minutes. He doesn't love it but tolerates it. Today he was super jumpy and was just looking for a way to escape. Wouldn't calm down so I was going to put it back into its tank. I held it in front of me about a foot and a half away and was looking at it to make sure it looked healthy-I swear it looked at the top of my head like it was trying to figure out how to get up there and the next thing I knew it jumped, literally, onto my face and grabbed my cheeks and glasses with its claws. Was not fun. I gently disengaged myself from it and placed it back in the tank and washed my face. Now I don't know what to do. Seems like its behavior is getting worse instead of better. I've spent so much money and time trying to do everything right over the past month with this little guy and I'm not seeing any progress. Please advise, I have small children and I can't have an aggressive or unfriendly dragon-that's the whole reason why I got this kind of reptile. Thanks.

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

So first let's get some of the general questions out of the way.

How long have you had it?
What is its diet (other than wax worms, how often)?
What kind of lighting are you using?
What are the temperatures in the tank (basking temps and cool side)?
What are you using to measure temperatures?

As for the jumping on top of your head, beardies climb on top of one another to show dominance. Perhaps it was trying to show you who's boss? I've heard not to let them climb on your head, but who knows.

 

[alialidandi]

Tnx lemmonade for your response. Here's some more info to answer your questions:

Got Tofu (it's name-don't know if it's a boy or girl yet) about 4 weeks ago. Also got Spiny at the same time, who is bigger and acts much more like the descriptions I've read of Beardies-charges after crickets, not as shy, gaining weight/growing fast, calmer. They are in separate tanks. Yes I purchased them at a PetCo, shame on me... anyway, back to Tofu:

Salads: I chop up dandelion greens with a little bit of another green such as collard or romaine and toss in a few cut up blueberries, little mango pieces, a sprinkle of grated carrot or a pinch of chopped cucumber. Tofu eats maybe three bites. I put crickets and he eats, like, three. I think he eats when we're not in the room. I've seen him actually eat a cricket only a handful of times. I tried feeding him in a separate tank, and in his tank, I've held up crickets by their little antennae right in front of him- he closes his eyes and turns away. He likes wax worms and meal worms but I don't give him mealworms (mini) often because of their exoskeleton. He poops every day so he's got to be eating something. I sprinkle the salad with Calcium/D3 and Multi-Vitamin, and the crickets but he really wasn't eating them. So two days ago when I fed him the mealworms I practically rolled them in calcium and he ate 5. Yesterday he ate a bunch. Today he wouldn't eat any. I saw him eat one cricket. No salad today either.

Lighting: Zoo Med 10.0 UVB light and a 100 watt basking light in a reflective deep dome, both set right atop the metal wire mesh screen top. The tank is 40 gallons. I have a digital thermometer set up next to the repti-hammock which is accessible via a half-log "habi-hut" set on its side against the back of the glass so it can climb right up. It spends most of its time on the hammock near but not directly under the basking light. The temperature just at the edge of the basking light usually reads around 104 degrees F.

The lights are on timers and are on from 7:30 am to 10:30 pm every day.

I mist Tofu every day and he hates it but he drinks from the mist about every other day. His tail is shedding today.

I'm at my wit's end. Spiny also tries to run around when I hold it but not like this. I did read one time about nail polish spooking out Beardies and I put on polish the other day for the first time, is it possible it's bothering Tofu? Regardless though, this behavior is still in keeping with how it's been since day one-very little eating, super skittish.

I'm making everyone I run into who has a beardie crazy with my constant questions and worrying. Don't know what's going on or what to do. Thanks!

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

First of all, there's nothing wrong with purchasing your beardie from pet-co. The beardie will be sold regardless of whether you buy it or someone else, and I would rather it go to a responsible owner.

Now, you seem to have everything right, just a few more questions. What kind of substrate are you using?

You could cut down on the fruits a bit to maybe once a week. What size crickets are you feeding? Also, do you know what it was being fed at Pet-Co? You might try using whatever they were using and gradually switching it to other foods.

Another reason for the behavior may be relocation stress. PetSmart and Pet-Co usually keep a few beardies in one cage, so he could still be scared from other aggressive beardies. When I separated my two beardies, the one being bullied had a hard time adjusting and took a while before she started eating crickets again.

The amount of light may also be a bit excessive. Follow the cycle of the sun. In the winter, days will be shorter, so adjust your timers accordingly.

If all else fails, just try handling it more. That way it will be more used to people, and will not freak out so much. Try putting a shirt you've worn in the tank with it so it gets used to your smell.

 

[alialidandi]

tnx for your continued help! i use natural non-silica play sand that i hand-sift before putting in the tank. i know there is a contentious debate about substrate but i tried reptile carpet and the smell was too much in my daughters' rooms and i found it to be very unhygienic. these guys poop at least once a day if not twice and i am careful to put their salad, worm treats and water in sand-free containers and keep them that way. tofu is actually in a 20-gallon tank right now, spiny-the slightly bigger one-is in the 40-gallon tank. actually today tofu ate six small crickets i was so excited! and i held him for a little while and he was nervous but didn't jump... i kept him kind of cradled so he felt secure but not trapped. so maybe things will turn around... i also adjusted his lights so now they go on at 8 and off at 9, and i will match it up more as the days turn shorter, so in the Fall i will go on at 7 and off at 8, etc. it will be a little tricky because the tanks are in my kids' bedrooms so they will be turning their lights on and off but i will just cover the tanks with a sheet or light blanket, maybe? i don't want to interfere with air flow... any ideas? thanks and i will keep you posted. any other thoughts or suggestions are always welcome!

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

I'm glad things are turning around. It was the same with Lemons sister, but see doing much better now.

As for the lights, yes, it's quite a dilemma. I have a special bulb that I can change the color and brightness of so that it won't disturb lemon. But I think just a lamp near your kids' study areas, or whatever they need the light for, shouldn't be to bright to disturb them.

 

[Buddysfam]

Do you have a coil UVB or is it tube? Also, you should have the UVB light inside his tank as the screen on top can filter out almost 50% of the UVB he's trying to get. Question - if you say you've only seen him eat a couple times, how do you know he hasn't licked his sand?

 

[alialidandi]

hi buddysfam: tnx for response, tofu's been actually eating 6-8 crickets a day for the past few days and starting to come right up to me for a daily "facial" (misting/drinking from the spray and the little puddle that forms on the reptihammock next to him/her) i think there might have been some dehydration and i also cut back a little on the light, it might have been maybe too much believe it or not... so looks like we're doing good!!

 

[alialidandi]

famous last words, i was holding tofu today and he/she bit me... don't know what to do now. definitely was on guard the whole time i was holding him, was nervously looking around, kept trying to run away, so after a few minutes i tried putting it back in the tank and it tried to jump on top, i gently scooped it up and it turned around, opened its mouth and bit my finger.

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

famous last words, i was holding tofu today and he/she bit me... don't know what to do now. definitely was on guard the whole time i was holding him, was nervously looking around, kept trying to run away, so after a few minutes i tried putting it back in the tank and it tried to jump on top, i gently scooped it up and it turned around, opened its mouth and bit my finger.

The behavior you describe is EXACTLY Peach, Lemons sister. We made some changes to her habitat and diet and she is doing perfect now. We kept holding her even though she would bite and eventually she calmed down. It helps to have food when you hold it. That way when it opens it's mouth you can feed it something and let it know you aren't trying to hurt it. You may also want to wear gloves so yiu don't react to the bites. If you pull away when it bites, you're just showing it that it wins.

 

[Trajega]

Ive got a guy who was this way when he started to hit puberty. There was a TON of ebb and flow in his behavior. Overtime he warmed up. He will now come out and play, be held etc. He still has his days hi hisses and wants left alone... but doesnt play death the the hoomans anymore.

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

I forgot to ask something. Is your other bearded dragon within view of this one?

 

[alialidandi]

THANK YOU ilovelemmonade and trajega for your responses... trajega omg i was laughing so hard re: your "death too de hoomans" comment... and funny you should mention puberty because even though tofu is pretty tiny i can see his/her femoral pores VERY prominently already and i'm wondering if that's a part of it...? and ilovelemmonade no tofu cannot see spiny they are in separate rooms BUT i do think tofu can see his/her reflection and i'm wondering if i should block that off somehow-but that means i need to put up paper or something INSIDE the tank, right? otherwise it won't prevent a reflection if i put paper on the outside, it would even enhance it...? and i hear you re: not teaching it that biting=freedom from "de hoomans..."

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

The reflection has never been an issue with our beardies but I've read that the younger ones can get freaked out by it. Just taping a white paper to the inside should be enough to stop a reflection. Just be persistent and hold him often (I am assuming it is a he since you can see femoral pores at such a young age).

 

[alialidandi]

Tofu is starting to calm down...! I think he/she is WAY younger than I originally thought. But he/she also seems to be growing very slowly, although he/she is eating much more than at first. I measured Tofu today and he/she is exactly 4" snout-to-vent; including the tail, 10". I got another beardie at the same time which was a little bigger but he/she has grown MUCH faster and probably measures at least 6" s-t-v and is much, much heavier... so that one's probably older but I can't imagine by that much. I think I'm starting to figure out his/her behavior a little bit... like it seems he/she wants me to take him/her out now when I visit in the morning.

Here's a pic!