scared of window, need Help. PICS

[japcarsBrett]

Hi as in the title my beardie Axel is scared of the window and out doors, he has been like this since i got him over a year and half ago same age as him, i have posted on here before and someone suggested to keep getting him out of his viv to get him used to being out and let him roam around the house and outside in the garden on a nice warm day but outside keep him on me and cover him if he acts scared, in doors someone said cover one side of his viv with a towel so he can hide if he gets scared from the window from a bird etc i have done this and unfortunately still no progress with him it is very hard for me to help him as he will just look at the window/sky not move and look scared, unhappy and gets really bad stress spots on him anyway here are some pics to show you what he does

he will be like this not move for ages stare at the window (same as outside) if he does move it will be extremely slow and as low to the ground he can get for about 3 steps then stop again

His stress spots don't look too bad here but trust me it gets very bad all over him and all over his belly

This is his window looking right up into the sky

and these 2 show him almost cowering away from the window he will do this then slowly move to the cool side of the tank farthest part away from the window and he will go behind his log so he cant see the window lie down and not come up very bad if im at work and he has been like it after eating something and not basking which i know he must do! as i get home from work and there he is behind his log (everyday) and he eats all ten of his locusts and he must not have been basking them off not good for him
Please any help will be great i really need help
Thanks.

 

[Irwinshealth]

He looks so helpless!! I'm not trying to sound like a smarty pants, but have you tried curtains to cover this window? Maybe he is going to be the type that really never gets use to it. Hopefully someone comes in soon with suggestions as mine isn't the best Can you move him to another room without a window? My Palmer does not like the outdoors yet but Cooper does. We just say Palmer is going to be the couch potato

 

[Dooter]

My dragon is scared to death of the outside too - windows included.

This is just my 2 cents, but honestly - I wouldn't put him thru the torment of having to get used to it. His cage should be a place of peace and solitude, where he can always feel comfortable. I would put a towel or background over the part of his cage where he could see the outside.

 

[japcarsBrett]

hi thanks guys for the reply's when i put a towel over one side all he will do is look out at the window but get really stressed out about it i keep thinking to my self why doesn't he move behind the towel lol bless him but i guess he gets to scared to move i do have a blind that goes over the window it is so good at blocking out light it will be pitch black over his viv (luckily there are 2 windows so the room wont be completely dark) i just feel sorry for him having nothing to look at whilst he is alone when im at work but with the blind and towel off he just gets too stressed and i feel bad for him but then i feel bad when he looks bored to tears when i get home from work. i guess the best thing to do is keep the blind over as i don't think he will get used to it i will just put more locusts or crickets in his viv so he can hunt all day

 

[Irwinshealth]

Good luck I hope it helps

 

[japcarsBrett]

Thanks i hope it does too

 

[Dooter]

hi thanks guys for the reply's when i put a towel over one side all he will do is look out at the window but get really stressed out about it i keep thinking to my self why doesn't he move behind the towel lol bless him but i guess he gets to scared to move i do have a blind that goes over the window it is so good at blocking out light it will be pitch black over his viv (luckily there are 2 windows so the room wont be completely dark) i just feel sorry for him having nothing to look at whilst he is alone when im at work but with the blind and towel off he just gets too stressed and i feel bad for him but then i feel bad when he looks bored to tears when i get home from work. i guess the best thing to do is keep the blind over as i don't think he will get used to it i will just put more locusts or crickets in his viv so he can hunt all day

I kind of made the same mistake at first with Stanley. I would take him outside with me and put him on my leg, and he would just sit there as still as a statue.

I was all like "OMG, LOOK - WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT HOW WELL-BEHAVED HE IS OUTSIDE! HE LOVES IT!" :roll:

Stupid me, I didn't realize he was sitting like that because he was TERRIFIED, lol

Then one day he shot off my leg and TOOK OFF LIKE A ROCKET and hid... long story short, we found him quickly, he was terrified and black and hissing and puffing, and I finally realized how he really felt about the great outdoors, LOL

When he's out and about in the house, he will go and peek around the blinds, get terrified, and then take it out on me by gaping at me, LOL

 

[Irwinshealth]

Poor Stanley!! If we could just read their minds, lol Where did that beardies whisperer go???? :laughing6: :laughing6:

 

[bunnyrut]

the main thing that bearded dragons fear in the wild are birds.

they are always watching above them for predators.

the window is at an angle that he can see up, not just out. that would cause any beardie to be on edge.

Mr Dargon always stops and looks up when any type of bird flies by.

Have you tried showing him the window? tap the glass and put his nose against it? maybe he could see that it's safe.

 

[tattykassy]

Hi, Sorry your beardie is afraid of the outdoors and windows...I have no idea if this will help but I felt compelled to offer it up anyway.
I have sort of done the opposite thing here with mine, from the beginning, by having him in an open area. We had his tank situated behind the living room couch facing the kitchen, at about hip-height for the first year of his life. I also had a 75 gallon fish tank behind the couch as well, but on the floor so he could look down and see fish swimming. I would often take him out and let him wander on the floor, and he always went to the fishtank. The cat was also there, sniffing him and sitting with him, laying around watching.
Now he lives in a 75g tank by the living room window, and it actually stretches the length of the window. I also have my television in the corner by that window so not only does he get the window, he also gets the TV and the people in the living room as well. I do provide a hide, but I have never seen him use it.
I think what I have accidentally done is from a young age exposed him to so many different types of moving things that now he is actually quite the curious little guy. He actually responds to certain channels, I think its the movement and colors that attracts him. When the TV is off, I have the blinds sort of half-calked to the side so the one side of his tank is exposed to the view and he goes over there and sits and looks out the window. He's usually just watching the cars drive off or across the field, people walking their dogs, the planes taking off and landing (We live close to an airport) and oh yes birds. We have some crows that like our garbage bins. I do however live on the 3rd floor, so he is quite elevated off the "ground" that he is seeing outside and gets quite the view.
It may of been a stupid thing, but really I felt I wanted him to be apart of our family not tucked away in a corner somewhere and he gets alot of attention this way. He's had moments he's been spooked, like the first time I put him on the floor and walked close to him it freaked him out he puffed up his beard and turned black. But the second time I put him down and walked near him, I did it slowly and talked to him, and he didn't react negatively. Eventually he'd crawl around reguardless if you walked near him or not he just ignored you.
The more you gently get them to experience something, even tiny moments in a day, the easier it gets for them to handle the other things that occur. In nature, yes there are birds to be worried about, but there are also so many other animals and bugs and lizards, etc, that they would encounter in a day and I am sure they learned how to distinguish what is danger, what is nothing, what is food, etc just by their experiences growing up. I find it hard to imagine that theres all these bearded dragons running around in Australia terrified of the outdoors hiding and panicing all the time because theres a bird in the air. I've seen people on nature shows just walk right up and pick one up in the wild, granted they did it cautiously, but still. They learn to deal with their environment, knowing their environment brings comfort. I think thats true for any animal......

If I were you, and my lizard was being scared and timid, I'd start by holding him, carrying him around. If he is comfortable with you, walking around the house, maybe try something that is stimulating for him. Put that fish swimming screen saver on and let him sit there and watch it, if he's freaked out by it maybe hold him and try to calm him while they are there. Touch the screen, let him touch the screen, etc.
Turn the TV on, flip around and let him watch see how he reacts.

Basically, thats my advice. Hiding him away further isn't going to cure any of his anxiety. In my opinion.

 

[japcarsBrett]

Hi thanks for your advice guys i have tried right from when i got him over a year and a half ago to get him used to the window like bunnyrut said the window faces up so its enough to make any bearded dragon on edge but in the wild they are grown up with it they aren't in a viv all day which they know is safe but outside is all different but i have had him in my hands on my shoulder i walk him around the house outside etc he will never get off me he is very good with me he never tries to get away once he is in my hands or on my shoulder he will stay there till i take him off which is really good for me but once i put him on the ground out of his viv or back in his viv with the blind up he will just be still like a statue and not move, he gets to see movement all day people are always in and out of the room he gets to see the clouds move all day birds etc but no tv as it can't get near where his viv is but i have tried so much and running out of ideas i don't want to keep him in the dark as i feel sorry for him being bored to what i think tears when me and my misses are at work and he is alone and i just dont really want to keep the blind down.
Plus by keeping the blind down he will go to the darker and cool side of his viv?? and stay there and not move all day he will most likely not fall asleep but do nothing no basking eating etc and i know its not Brumation as he only came out of that end of February so he hasn't been awake that long plus its summer now and i know he normally goes through brumation start of October right through till February and he is active and awake all day well till the blind goes down as above, so i want it to stay up for that reason but its hard when he seems scared and stressed from it like i said i have tried doing things for so long and im really running out of ideas i tapped the glass put his nose on it to show him nothing could get in and he is safe etc he did not look happy doing that lol
I really want to help him i feel well bad for him