scared to handle

[littlesavedgirl]

Sorry about your toe, ouch! You know, she might not be only not used to being handled, she might also be un accustomed to coming out at all. If I may make a suggestion :roll: , give her three solid days of peace. Then take it slow, I think she might be telling you to take her out of her viv . When it seems like your not getting the picture quickly enough, she looses her patience and nips. Another possibility, in addition to the others, is she is very territorial and felt threatened when you took her tree out. Is it in the way? Cause she really seems to like her branch.

I'd just give her time, and maybe give her a new worm for a treat, that usually lifts my dragons spirits Butter worms are a real crowd pleasers and you can get them at Walmart fishing section.

 

[trinity040400]

Good to know about the worms, I have only given her crickets and super worms but she is only 12" so I stoped feeding the supers. I took eveything out so the crickets didnt have anywhere to hid. I think I will give her a little peace for a while. Its kinda hard to know what to do because most people say to go right in and handle her but she seems to be getting stressed out.

 

[littlesavedgirl]

I'm sure everyone here knows that no one trait or rule of thumb can be applied to every animal, they are individuals like we are. All the folks are extremely knowledgeable and this site will save you a multitude of troubles and questions but at the end of the day it's just you and your dragon.
I personally would say your dragon is better off with Reptiworms and butter worms then crickets. I've fed my dragon gut loaded crickets for 3 months with very little growth, I thought it was normal, until I got tiered of the hassle and went to reptiworms with a few butter worms at night. Since then, my dragon has grown 3 inches and gained a bunch of weight.
Try to invest time getting to know her movements and how long she needs to switch from one thing to another. She could be stressed and confused so I'm sure she'll come around , with stabilility and love.

Hang in there.

 

[trinity040400]

I think I was tring to rush thing because I work full time and I was going to be starting school back full time on monday too. So I wanted her to be tamed quickly because I wasnt going to have much time later. Due to many different reasons I am waiting till January term to start back :x , so I will have more time to tame her. :mrgreen:

Crickets are a pain because I end up making 2 trips a week to the pet store for crickets and I always end up loseing some before I feed her.

 

[Twinz]

Im having the same issue but I just find it hard to get my hand under my beardies belly. Also im nervous because this is my first beardie and I have never held a reptile before.

 

[Germ]

One thing to keep in mind when handling your BD, is how you pick it up. Approach it slowly with the back of your hand, giving it nothing to latch onto. When you do pick it up, slide your hand under it's Belly, give full support to it's Belly & Tail, you will find they do not like being picked up by gripping it's sides.

For those that think BDs don't bite hard, here is a pic of an adult BD bite ...

No, that is not my thumb. But it resulted from the handler holding his BD & it jumped out of his hands, trying to catch it, the handler missed it's body but caught it by the tail, the dragon whipped around & tagged him. Definitely handler error, but shows the possible severity of a BD bite.

Germain

 

[littlesavedgirl]

That seems like an extreme example of a possible bite of a dragon, if you tried to grab me by my tail while trying to get away, I'd bite your thumb clean off!
Although I'm certain that a dragon can inflict injury, under normal circumstances, the outcome of a bite would not be so severe. Ever try to grab an unwilling parakeet? :? Ouch!
If you've ever seen a dragon eat a super in half with one swift chomp :shock:, then you have a pretty fair idea of what their jaws are capable of. More importantly, it's the intent behind the bite, that determines the result.

I'm just sayin ..... :roll:

 

[trinity040400]

Im having the same issue but I just find it hard to get my hand under my beardies belly. Also im nervous because this is my first beardie and I have never held a reptile before.

Yeah my first reptile too. :mrgreen: Last night I picked her up while she was sleeping, she was out like a light so it was really easy! You might want to try that.

 

[Twinz]

I got him today! I walked in the room to see him hanging off the bar under the doors to his "cage" so i put my hand in there and he jumped right on.

 

[trinity040400]

That good, how old is your dragon?

 

[Twinz]

That good, how old is your dragon?

Im not sure I got him like 3 weeks ago and he was very very small then.

 

[trinity040400]

I think it is easier to tame small beardeis, thats really good for you. :mrgreen:

 

[Germ]

That seems like an extreme example of a possible bite of a dragon, if you tried to grab me by my tail while trying to get away, I'd bite your thumb clean off!
Although I'm certain that a dragon can inflict injury, under normal circumstances, the outcome of a bite would not be so severe. Ever try to grab an unwilling parakeet? :? Ouch!
If you've ever seen a dragon eat a super in half with one swift chomp :shock:, then you have a pretty fair idea of what their jaws are capable of. More importantly, it's the intent behind the bite, that determines the result.

I'm just sayin ..... :roll:

While it may be rare, that is a BD bite, so it does show the possible severity, as posted, regardless of the circumstances :roll: . I have been handling many BDs for years & have yet to be bitten. My youngest was always skittish towards handling for the first 10 months of it's life, but tolerates it very well now.

 

[littlesavedgirl]

True enough, just can see someone who is brand new to dragons being really freaked :shock: out by that. I'd hate for them to be so nervous that they shy away from handling it at all, that would not be good for either of them. I know that was not you intention, just trying to put it in perspective is all. :study:

 

[trinity040400]

Well thankfully I have been bitten by many animals so i'm not that freaked out. I'm more afraid that she will end up hateing me and always run away from me. :shock: I must say a parakeet bite is one or the most painful I have had. They dont just bite and release oh no, they will naw at you until they are satisfied that you wont be picking them up again any time soon.