Stress Marks and Unfriendly Beardie HELP!

[warac67]

My beardies name is Onyx I have had him for about a month now. He is eating like crazy, greens and crickets. He has had stress marks since the day I got him which at first was understandable because of relocation and such but at this point shouldn't they have dissipated? He is very scared of me and jumpy. When I reach my hand in to get him a first he is fine he doesn't try to flee but when I slip my hand under his belly to pick him up he flips out and tries to run away. When I finally do have him out and am petting him and holding him he is calm for the first couple minutes and then tries to bolt he jumps to the floor the couch anywhere to get away. I don't know what to do because I am terrified of him falling and getting hurt or running away in a heating vent or something on the floor. His set up his a 100 watt heat emmiter, a 10.0 Repti-Sun and a basking light. He has a 20L glass tank because he is still small and has repti-carpet as substrate. The temps in his basking area reaches about 105-110F and the cool side of this tank is about 80-85F. Please any idea why he is acting this way or is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable with me? I'm assuming the reason why he still has his stress marks is because he is so stressed about me handling him.

You can see them a little here.

 

[FishboneNC]

So cute!

From what I've read, babies have stress marks from anything and everything!
I'm guessing it's still a baby.
It's not very obvious but the marks should go lighter and darker....but I don't think they ever go away completely...maybe when they're older.

I have a 6 month old, his stress marks change very slightly...but they're always there.

You probably read this, but have you put a piece of your clothing in the tank?
Something with your scent on it.

I found the area where mine slept the most and put my scented towel there, now he sleeps on it.
I think that made a difference in his behavior with me.
He doesn't jump off me so much!

I also hand feed him phoenix worms...I think that helps make a bond and assures him I'm not going to eat him!

When I first got him he did some death defying leaps too!
When I would handle him I would sit on the floor. I covered my vents with screen! And I blocked off things with towels, the dresser, a shelf, so he couldn't get under them.
Mine doesn't like me to cup my hand around him...they need to be held so the tail is resting on you.
Bath time is good way of bonding...keep your hand near him in the tub.

I don't have much experience, but keep handling him/her, make the area safe.
I think it takes longer with babies.

 

[carlisv]

I bet the marks on his tummy are just part of his coloring. Stress marks are usually a lot more pronounced.

Like human kids, baby beardies are just squirmy! They're very curious and aren't likely to sit still for long whether they like you or not. They calm down as they get older; ours are over two and although Richard has always been a snuggle bunny, Dubs is just getting to the point where he isn't obsessed with what's over THERE.

Just because a baby wiggles and jumps doesn't necessarily mean they are afraid or don't like you - they could just like to wiggle and jump! Hand feeding, talking softly whenever you're close to him, and putting the shirt in his viv will eventually win him over. I bet if you make a habit of letting him run around the couch while you're sitting on it, he'll begin to pop over to say hi to you a time or two.

 

[RelentlessChaos]

Well from what I read as well, everything seems to be just about right in the enclosure. As for the stress marks that can be extremely normal for them to come & go at any given moment. My Juvenile himself has his ugly days & bright white days. Sometimes a mixture of both. As long as you can tell he is healthy & NOT lethargic then it's normal. As for his behavior you jut have to keep trying. Always be gentle & slow when handling him, no sudden movements & yes, never hold him high in the air when he is skittish as you described. He will jump, beardies always jump / think they can fly while screaming Geronimo! I know from personal experience so always cup him until you are sitting somewhere. Again, just keep trying. Try hand feeding him time to time to establish more trust etc.

 

[warac67]

Thanks so much everyone for your replies. I will definitely try some of those tricks. I also heard that you should take them out and have them fall asleep with you which I have tried with him but he just wanted to run and jump all over everywhere! I put him on my shirt and my runs up my arm to my shoulder and tries to jump off. And once again I am SO scared that he will find a little hole that I didn't cover and run through it and I will never see him again. So every time that I want to take him out and say put him on the couch for example I need to cover the bottoms of everything and vent holes? This is all just really new for me because the last beardie I had never had this problem I could have her on my shirt for hours and he would just hang out with me. Are males more energetic and jumpy than females?

 

[FishboneNC]

I have a safe area when I interact with mine.
He's not very 'jumpy' and will calm down after a few minutes of handling, but I have the same worry too...that he'll crawl into/under something I can't reach.
I move some storage boxes on one side and put rolled up towels in front of the dresser and shelf.
I sit on the floor or sit in a chair.
Sometimes I'll let him roam this area and explore.
As another poster mentioned, he might not be running from you, just exploring!

Bath time seems like the best time to gain trust, we become that safe haven from that mean nasty water!
After the bath, he seems to calm down, at first, mine didn't like to get wrapped up in a towel, now he loves it and will relax enough to try and sleep on me.

I don't know how beardies act, this is my first beardie, and not sure if one sex is more wild or calmer than the other, the girl I got mine from had two, 5 month old siblings to offer, a male and a female. The female was too 'active' for me, even with her it would jump run and hide, I could barely hold it a few seconds before it jumped, ran and hid, the male was nervous, jumped off me too, but eventually I could hold him,...that's one I wanted.

As far as stress marks, over the last day or so, I closely watched mine, the only times the marks were completely gone were when he was chasing/eating his Dubai roaches!
The rest of the time, he's got a leopard skin belly!

 

[warac67]

I have a safe area when I interact with mine.
He's not very 'jumpy' and will calm down after a few minutes of handling, but I have the same worry too...that he'll crawl into/under something I can't reach.
I move some storage boxes on one side and put rolled up towels in front of the dresser and shelf.
I sit on the floor or sit in a chair.
Sometimes I'll let him roam this area and explore.
As another poster mentioned, he might not be running from you, just exploring!

Bath time seems like the best time to gain trust, we become that safe haven from that mean nasty water!
After the bath, he seems to calm down, at first, mine didn't like to get wrapped up in a towel, now he loves it and will relax enough to try and sleep on me.

I don't know how beardies act, this is my first beardie, and not sure if one sex is more wild or calmer than the other, the girl I got mine from had two, 5 month old siblings to offer, a male and a female. The female was too 'active' for me, even with her it would jump run and hide, I could barely hold it a few seconds before it jumped, ran and hid, the male was nervous, jumped off me too, but eventually I could hold him,...that's one I wanted.

As far as stress marks, over the last day or so, I closely watched mine, the only times the marks were completely gone were when he was chasing/eating his Dubai roaches!
The rest of the time, he's got a leopard skin belly!

Thank you so much for the advice! I am just going to have check and double check and triple check that I covered every inch of the room that he could possibly run away in. I think wrapping him in the towel is a really good idea because it's similar to the "wrapping them up until they go to sleep" trick. But whenever I try to wrap him up before he goes to sleep he runs away like I said. But I feel like if he is wrapped up in a towel he has to just stay comfy But I heard that after a bath you have to get them under the heat light ASAP because they get cold so quickly when their wet. But if they are in a towel do you still think they need the heat light?

I have tried recently doing some of the tricks that people have suggested such as just petting him in his tank for a while and the moving onto the stage where I hold him in the tank. Petting him in the tank goes really well, he closes his eyes and relaxes he seems like he genuinely enjoys it but when I go to hold him again he runs away again. :roll: My beardie is still pretty young though he is only about 4 months old now.

 

[warac67]

I have been thinking about where I can play with Onyx in a "play safe" room. I think my bathroom would be the safest place for him because there is really just the one vent that I have to cover up so I was thinking it would be safest for them. But I am not sure because you know it is a bathroom that it might be unsanitary or just not good for him. Does anyone know if it would be safe for him?

 

[FishboneNC]

But whenever I try to wrap him up before he goes to sleep he runs away like I said. But I feel like if he is wrapped up in a towel he has to just stay comfy But I heard that after a bath you have to get them under the heat light ASAP because they get cold so quickly when their wet. But if they are in a towel do you still think they need the heat light?

Mine doesn't like to be wrapped up either, or held with my hands cupping him (I do cup him to get him to the safe zone)
When I take mine out of the tub (I use a tote) that's when I wrap him and he likes it, doesn't squirm to much, then settles down, I think you can leave them out as long as they are dry or wrapped up.
Mine will doze off, when it's time to go back into his tank he is still warm from the bath/towel and from lying on my chest or lap.

Petting him in the tank goes really well, he closes his eyes and relaxes he seems like he genuinely enjoys it but when I go to hold him again he runs away again

Mine does the same thing!
Sometimes he will lay in my hand and runs away if I try to lift him out.
I think this is normal behavior!

Give it some more time, you're making headway and you've only been trying this for a few days!!