My beardie wont even let me pick her up!!

[tierra88]

My girl bearded dragon wont even let me pick her up, so how do i make her like me and be cofturable around me ive had her since may/22/08 and shes about 6 months old! So if anyone had problems with there dragon how do you get them to like you??

 

[LJean]

Neither of my dragons like to be picked up. Calypso is the worst.

Have you tried to do some bonding? Sitting in a small room, such as a bathroom, with her running around, wrapping her in a small blanket close to bedtime and letting her sleep on your chest (beardie burrito).

 

[tierra88]

well i don't take her out of her cage much because she will try to run or jump away

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

"i just posted this in another thread"
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There are some great articles on here for "taming your beardie"

A lot of it has to do with trust, and a little bit of discipline.

Discipline in that when the beardie tries to struggle away, you dont let it. Apparently, it needs to learn that struggling does not get it what it wants (Freedom!!!!!!!). So, hold it firmly but safely and without grasping the beardie until she/he settles. Than when you return the BD to the tank, dont let her/he go if she squirms.

Make sure to handle the dragon correctly, calmly, and patiently.

She/he needs to learn that you are not going to EAT her/he.

Also, dont stare at the BD for now, and dont open your mouth at it. Dont approach from the side or above -- as these are behaviors that predators do, and BDs are threatened by.
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it wont get better unless you hold your dragon.

What I do is I held my problem beardies at nighttime when they were sleepy and less active... made bonding time less dramatic.

Also-- I had a standby tank ready just in case she got too squirmy and needed to be able to put her down safely.
-
Make sure you dont have any smells/odors on you or near you that may threaten your BD. Like a cat odor... hand soap/lotion -- potporri (spelt that wrong)... but you get the idea.

 

[tierra88]

well i'm gonna try to hold her close to night time in a pashally dark room like the washroom and play with her and let her sleep on my chest

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

sounds good, be patient!

dragons can be antsy at first but they will take to you you are a caring handler

 

[silverblade760]

Hey,

I'm kind of having the same problem except i've had my dragon for about 3 weeks which makes him about 4 months old. Are you suggesting to try to approach him head on and pick him up by just kind of lifting him up, because my dragon gets real defensive if i touch his sides. Also, i tried the whole try to get them before the fall asleep or even when they're sleeping thing, but as soon as my hand goes in the tank he's in full alert mode and gets agressive if i try to pick him up. My tank set up is fine except for the UVB. It's an ESU and i hear there bad so theres a reptile show this saturday and i plan on getting a Reptisun 10.0... Any suggestions??

Thanks,
Bilal

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

yes.. do the slow reach from the front so your BD sees you coming, and slide your middle finger under the belly and use your hand/fingers to support the BD's feet and body so it feels secure.

take your off hand to cup the top of the dragon ... limiting it from moving back/forward, and you should have your off hand thumb mobile so you can gently stroke your dragon if desired/appropriate.


from here you can wrap your off hand around the BD to free your Start hand, or bring the BD to your chest.

SUPPORT IT, be Calm, and be overall Pleasant and patient!
--
buy it offline.... you can get it much much cheaper... shop around you will see. :wink:

 

[silverblade760]

ok i used to do that and it worked but i read somewhere its better to pick them up from the sides... But ill go back to doing that... Also my dragons not eating greens, is that commom for his age... Hes about 4 months and wont even touch them... Ive tried putting waxworm in the greens but hes pretty smart about knowing how to get just the waxworms.. His main diet consists of about 15 crickets a day

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

BDs kinda avoid veggies at young age.

try variety... dill/curly parsley tend to catch their attention because of movement. (the dangles)

aromatic stuff works too.... its good to seperate the veggies in different piles so the scents dont blend together.

 

[tierra88]

my female dragon goes crazy when i give her romaine and pepers!! she will jump on the plate well im putting it down in her cage. and the male hes excacally opposite he is like a carnivore

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

ha -- GOOD LUCK! my dragons have never liked squash-- and everyone says thats almost a sure thing. one dragon loves raspberries and the other likes only to lay in them and get all red (shes blonde in skin tone-- so its SHOWS)

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

great guide to veggies and etc here.

 

[bekki10]

My beardie won't touch green's either, he's around 10 or 11 week's old. He prefere's cricket's and hoppers more than anything! Mine is going through a stage of not liking to be handled, he was fine at first but now he is very squirmy. I think it's just a phase he's going through...

 

[hvymetalbarbie]

lol ive fed mine crickets and mealworms ever since i got him, but i learned mealworms are fattening, so i put him on a bit of a diet, he eats can-o-crickets (i hope those arent unhealthy, they are very fat crickets and he seems to like them), and this dietary supplement called nibblets, he didnt eat it at first, but when i put a few mealworms in it (something he was familiar with) he ate everything. the second time i gave him just crickets and the supplement, and he knew it was ok to eat it. i've tried to give him fruits and veggies b4, but he wasnt interested, i will deffinatly try it again in the future tho

 

[JailBirdStripes]

1. Start Slow, be patient, and remember YOU are the boss.
2. Two Words: CHIN-RUB.... your best friend if they get a feel for it.
3. She will try to run if you go from above, if you go slowly from front, almost scoop from front and use other hand to support belly/bottom. Give her a place to crawl to, like your shoulder, so SHE gets to pick where it goes, once she realizes you're not trying to eat her, she'll potentially want to crawl on you like it might've crawled on her brothers/sisters as a hatchling.
4. BE AS WARM AS POSSIBLE when you pick your beardie up. Just like your significant other doesn't like you with cold feet climbing into bed, a beardie likes warmth rather than frigid hands.
5. COMMUNICATE that it can trust you by supporting it all the time, and not letting it even feel a hint of falling or losing grip. Watch for stress marks, if she starts blacking her beard, she's not liking it, and if she's flattening or filling out her body, she's probably uncomfortable. The trick is to try to not HOLD her as much as let her rest/ride on you- that's what her claws are for. It doesn't take too too long if you're patient and even try daily.

If nothing else works, see if you can hand-feed your beardie. If he/she takes a piece of lettuce or a worm or whatever from your hand, it'll realize it's you and potentially be less squirmish when you try to hold him/her.

Stripes goes right on my shoulder, and I'll start walking. She just climbs up, looks over my shoulder, or occasionally will turn around and see where we are going.