Taming a beardie

[OperationReggie]

After having my beardie for about 2-3 months im at the stage where he is comfortable with my hand being near him i was wondering what to do next, i know that i should be touching him but im not sure where to touch him, i dont want to move on too fast and startle him at a young age.
Thanks for any help!

 

[TrebleClef]

I'm no expert, but I would say dig right in. If there's something that he/she doesn't like it should be fairly obvious. My beardie is just a little over a year old now and I started holding her and petting her about two days after I got her. She's always been extremely docile and comfortable with me picking her up and stuff. I know they are all different though, so I would say just pay close attention to what he/she likes or doesn't like.

 

[OperationReggie]

Ok thanks! He seems very docile whenever im moving stuff around in his cage he just sort of stands up and looks what im doing, where is the best place to touch them first of all, is it on thier back of under the chin?

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Behavior

 

[ofcourseilikepasta]

I think 2-3 months is quite a bit of time to wait. You have a lot of patience, haha. I started picking up Gary within a week of getting him.

Don't touch your beardie when he can't see your hand. That spooks them out. Anywhere on the head is a safe bet, but Gary doesn't like being pet under his chin while others do. His back is also a great spot as long as you make it known you're going to touch him there. Avoid the tail for a while.

 

[OperationReggie]

If anything i think its down to my own confidence, he doesn't seem to care what i do while im in his cage. Since this is my first time owning a lizard like that im kinda nervous ( not sure why though i know he wont bite me)

 

[kingofnobbys]

If he's relaxed with your hand being in his enclosure, are you patting him then too ?

That would be next step - gently stroke him on his head and back and tickle him under the chin while quietly and calmly talking to him.

When he's allowing you to do that , you can try gently wrapping your hand around him and lifting him off his basking spot or where he is sitting and bring him out and place him on your tummy / chest with you hand still gently restraining him (good support for his full body is key here), I make sure I have hold (gentle but firm enough so he can't get away) of his tail (just placing it under your wrist should be enough) , more gentle patting , more quiet calm talking to him, ticking, maybe handfeed a yummy bug or bit of favoured green leafy stuff.

Growing lizards are VERY FOOD ORIENTATED !!!

Short nurses and cuddles to start (maybe 5 - 10min per day) and build up, I think it helps to give a food treat with all initial nurses , this will help with bonding and will help him learn you are the food giver and wont harm him ,and he'll come to associate nurses with food treats, then later he'll discover you are like a hot water bottle and that's nice (to a beardie too).

Soon, maybe a month or 2 of this and you'll have a beardie who will be crawling and climbing all over you and who will really enjoy his time out on you and you can let him "play with you" and explore you ... you aren't a real beardie person until you've had a beardie climb ontop your head (just because he can).

Tip. Make sure you get him out while in a room where he can't hide (under/behind/inside the furnature) or get hurt, or go missing. A bedroom is a good option , so is a lounge room (if you can block off any access to under stuff, you don't want to risk hurting a little lizard while moving heavy furnature around to find / get hold of a scared little lizard).

Tip2. Take your time.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I think 2-3 months is quite a bit of time to wait. You have a lot of patience, haha. I started picking up Gary within a week of getting him.

Don't touch your beardie when he can't see your hand. That spooks them out. Anywhere on the head is a safe bet, but Gary doesn't like being pet under his chin while others do. His back is also a great spot as long as you make it known you're going to touch him there. Avoid the tail for a while.

Also - don't loom over the lizard, all he'll see is a big scary (anything bigger than he is = potential predator) beast coming towards him.
My wife has learnt that when I'm nursing Toothless or Peppa , that she needs to kneel down as she approaches closely and talk to the lizard as she comes closer, if she wants to pet them while I'm handling them. She's not game to handle Peppa and Toothless yet.
Best to always talk quietly and calmly to a new lizard as you approach it so it's aware you are coming.

It doesn't take long to gain the trust of a lizard. Heck , I've befriended wild lizards sufficient for them to take food from my open hand or fingertips and let me pet them on their head, back, tickle under their chin, and even occasionally lift them on my open hand and let then handsurf a little (all in under a couple of months).

 

[OperationReggie]

Wow, thanks a lot for all of your tips, i have yet to start petting him due to my own confidence. I know for a fact once i have held him once i will be fine ( it has been the same with all of my pets) its just getting to confidence to do it the first time. Will keep you updated on what happens

 

[kingofnobbys]

Wow, thanks a lot for all of your tips, i have yet to start petting him due to my own confidence. I know for a fact once i have held him once i will be fine ( it has been the same with all of my pets) its just getting to confidence to do it the first time. Will keep you updated on what happens

you might get a pleasant surprise , he might immediately jump onto your hand / arm and start crawling up it to your shoulder - Puff did this to me ( when we had only had Rex and him for a week). This was when he was only 8 - 12g and believe me he was tiny , and I was initially really scared he'd leap off me and disappear under the lounge or the display unit, or worse - through the gap under the doors. At that age they have 2 speeds, dead stop and warp10 !! and they are unpredictable. We survived and got used to each other.

Puff was always a great people lizard, always loved being handled and snuggled (I'd walk about the house with him in my polo-shirt or tee-shirt pocket (with him looking out and taking it all in, then after a while he'd disappear inside the pocket and curl up to have a nap.
Wriggles is still small enough to do this and also loves disappearing up my hoodie's long baggy sleeves, or into the handwarmer pocket on the front of it, or in the hood (is not a problem if my head is in it , she just goes in there and curls up on the back of my neck if I'm got the hood on). Her fav place is snuggling in my open cupped hand or on my tummy snuggling as close as she get into my elbow.

 

[OperationReggie]

Wow all of your beardies seem very calm do you happen to have any images of them that i could see?

 

[kingofnobbys]

Wow all of your beardies seem very calm do you happen to have any images of them that i could see?

Heap of photos of Puff (who we sadly lost in surgery about a month ago) in this thread viewtopic.php?f=6&t=216352
see page 1 , there is an image of Rex and Puff sharing some dad time together ( I rarely had both out together ).
Towards the end of the thread are some images of Peppa and Toothless our newest reptilian children.

I've not posted any images of George or Mildred here.

I usually had one of the big beardies out with a "pal" (being one of the big bluetongue skinks - since both species are about the same size and seem to get on very well together - I know people who feed veg and salad and greens to their adult bluetongues and beardies together.

I've also posted some images of my little lady Wriggles here , she's probably the affectionate and tame water skinks I've ever seen. viewtopic.php?f=26&t=217016

 

[OperationReggie]

After trying since my last post i have gotten very close to him, under 1cm away from his back he is fine but everytime i get closer to him he closes both of his eyes and i have read that is a sign that they are getting angry/ dont feel comfortable, im really not sure what to do i dont want to stroke him and him run and hide and be scared of me... any tips?

 

[CooperDragon]

Try just picking him up in the evening and let him sit on your chest. He will like the warmth and likely fall asleep. This routine will help him realize that you're safe and will help you bond.

 

[OperationReggie]

I know i have taken my time to get to this stage with my beardie, but today i finally got the confidence to stroke him on the back, i know this may sound a bit pathetic of me that i needed to get confidence to do that, but never the less he let me do it and the only thing he done was close his eyes for a split second then open them again so overall i think he likes it and the only reason he closed his eyes i think was because he wasn't sure what was going on, an i right or is there another reason?