@xp29 do you have any tips on how to get my bearded dragon to come to my hand willingly and wanting to be with me?
My Taco is a rather shy guy. Not aggressive - absolutely not, I even haven't seen a head bob, and he's a male of almost 2 years now - , but a "if in doubt, rather not" character. He likes being pet, he's calm (putting on a harness isn't causing any trouble), but for sure he would not fall asleep on my shoulder, or sit on me longer than 1 - 5 minutes. He also doesn't come when called (despite he hears very well
), would not run up to the glass when I come home. So: friendly, but rather shy.
Got him at 3 months age from a reptile store that made a very responsible impression, Taco also was never sick, we = his humans are a quiet couple with no kids and no other pets (despite fish
)... he really had no bad experiences at all. I'd say Taco's character is being introvert and rather shy. When I got him, he was like: hiding when we entered the room his enclosure is in and not coming out for about one our; immediately stopping eating when somebody approaches and so on. I had, to be honest, never thought my dragon would become like he now is: a dragon with a shy but friendly character who is not hiding when I enter the room but looking at me (running towards me also not, but looking at me and expecting something to happen), a dragon I can easily put a harness on (which we use for on the balcony), a dragon who I can let walk around in the apartment and then he wants me to put him back into his enclosure (walks back to there and waits) and I don't have to catch him, a dragon who eats from my hands. We've even established a "I pet his beard, he licks" greeting routine
What worked and works for him:
- food, at least showing him that it's me who puts in the food and sometimes offering him food right where he's sitting (it took him months to accept food from my hand)
- petting him, and stopping as soon as he doesn't want it anymore (dragon closing the eyes means "stop that" and not "enjoy that")
- a name and using it often; despite he's not coming when called, he learned to associate that when I say "Taco" or "Taco, hey Tac Tac!" I will do something like opening the enclosure, feeding, cleaning up, or taking him out, so he reacts curious and also things don't happen suddenly
- routines: when I do chores around him in his enclosure (morning: opening curtains of the window behind and next to enclosure; that's about the time when the first lamp switches on (basking lamp 1 -> basking lamp 2 -> UV); misting/watering his plants; putting in his salad and insects; when I come home from work: removing poop and shed if there are any, removing/ exchanging salad); not changing too many things around him (I don't re-decorate; I exchange things if really necessary, like if a plant was eaten down or in the beginning when I had a food bowl from which insects easily escaped I exchanged that - but otherwise, everything stays the same)
- new things, if I introduce them: slowly; that's how I got him to accept a harness (it might sound funny, but for some weeks I put the harness next to him, pet him, pet the harness
then laid it on his back without closing it, petting him and the harness and then giving him an insect... until finally he was wearing it)
- being interesting for him: My Taco is much more an explorer type than a snuggler type. So, after snuggling 1 - 5 minutes, he gets bored and wanders around to happily explore. For this reason, when I take him out, we're always looking out of the window (he can look out of two windows from his enclosure, so we are going into another room to look out of a window he otherwise can't access), or he can sit with me while I do interesting but harmless things (drawing for example, or unpacking a suitcase when I come home from a business trip - then he stays longer with me as it's not getting boring); he can also watch me from his enclosure doing things I rather would not to have him around directly, and enjoys this (I do a lot of crafts and scalemodeling, repairing electronics...; of course he's not allowed to sit with me during me doing so because of small parts and sharp tools, but he watches me for hours (!) from his enclosure doing those things)
