She bit me?!

[joelolly]

We have had Ony for about 8 months now. Everytime I go to handle her she opens her mouth like she is goin to bite and her beard turns black. This has been goin on for about 3 months now. Before that she would just run away from my hand. Usually I can coax her into calming down and letting me pick her up. However, she tries to run away after I take her out of her cage. Today she was tryin to run and when I caught her to keep her from falling down, she bit me hard. What are some reasons she has yet to warm up to me?

 

[mickeysmomma]

Yikes! Hope you aren't hurt too badly.

 

[joelolly]

Oh, I'm fine lol. I'm just worried about her. I've read that beardies make great pets and love human attention, but lately she is being a lil heffer. IDK whats up with her.

 

[mickeysmomma]

I wish I knew what to tell you! Was she a baby when you got her?

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Hi Joe, first off try not to make her feel threatened. If you go in the viv to pick her up remember just go slow and come in from the front or side and scope her up gently. Remember there worst fear is getting eaten or attacked from a predator above. Take a piece of green or a bug in your fingers and when you go in and she gapes at you or goes to bite just stuff that into the mouth and then pick her up. Another thing you can do is wear a tee shirt all day and at night put it into the viv so she can get your scent into her body and she can sleep with it. You can also pick her up after lights are out when she is tired and let her cuddle and fall asleep on you. Remember the more you hold her the quicker she will become accustomed to being with you. I hope this helps.

 

[Nomad85]

It's important to remember that they are reptiles so don't take it personally, usually dragons are just calm, but some can be feisty, have you tried hand/tong feeding? There is a good chance that this dragon wont ever like being handled, but approaching from their level or below might help, anything overhead scares most dragons. Good luck

 

[Nomad85]

I've read that beardies make great pets and love human attention

That's really not true at all, they put up with us very well typically though.

 

[Freeie]

Sorry but i happen to disagree. We have 4 very loving beardies who love to be handled and petted. We do have 1 who dosnt like a few things but hey thats just about anything rather they are a cat, dog or even humans. I think they make wonderful pets.

Joelolly you might just have one of those who has issues with a few things Twobeardieguy gave you some wonderful advise.

 

[FATBOYDADRAGON]

I have to agree with Lance (two beardie guy .) they are loving creatures that if handled often will eventually demand to be handled .
My 9 month old female bit me a couple of months ago and drew blood.
This was no fault of hers .Itook her outside for some sun and a hawk flew over
really low .This totally freaked her out.
As i was trying to calm her down she bit my finger .
Te girl was hyper when she was a baby and hated being handled.
The way i got her use to us was in her baths i would let her rest on my hand .
She became accustomed to this and eventually i gained her trust .
As Lance said slow and easy and not from the top . They think anything from the
top is a predator such as the hawk.
Now eveymorning about 10am Te girl cage dances on glass and wants out to go on our
walkabout in the yard.
Hope this helps.
Mike D.

 

[FalkorsMommy]

Wow, I have been going through the EXACT same thing with my beardie Falkor. I was just going to post something about him biting me this morning. I was using the scoop to pick up a poop in his tank and he bit the scoop a few times then jumped up and bit my hand! He's still young, I've had him 5 months and got him as a baby. The only way I would be able to scoop him up gently from the front to pick him up would be with gloves on, and he runs away immediately. I have tried the t-shirt in his tank thing too. I love him to pieces and just want to be able to pick him up. He beards me almost every time I go to near his tank. I can hand feed him though, that's about it.

 

[joelolly]

Well lol, just found out she is a he! He doesn't beard me all of the time, but almost always opens his mouth to bite me. He is very cool about hand feeding though...

 

[Monkey]

I would say use gloves and be consistent with the handeling. It might be hormones spooking and once they level out he will calm down again. I am one of the lucky ones, my beardie never did a peep she's two years old and she will demand attention. She will sit in the cage and stare at me, going darker, darker, darker, and when I go and pick her up and holds her she goes bright and orange again. So don't give up I have seen and heard about them calming down as they get older. Just be consistent with the handeling and the advice twobeardieguy gave you