Tips for handling?

[Littlebuddysmomma]

Cookie has been with me for about 6 weeks now and has adjusted very well. She's eating well and growing like a weed. I recently upgraded her to a much larger enclosure (48x18x18) and upgraded all of her lighting equipment, etc. She's a VERY happy camper!

However, she does not like being handled. I feed her in a separate enclosure (decided after we overlooked a cricket once and caught it in the middle of the night - I refused to put any back in her tank after that), and even with the fact that she likely knows by now that being picked up usually means she's about to be fed, she still can't stand it. She squirms the second she's in my hand and I have to put her in the feeding bin as quickly as possible. She has actually jumped from my hands TWICE now, which scares the crap out of me but has fortunately not seemed to sustain any injuries.

She is never aggressive with me, and never runs from me when i put my hands in her enclosure. She just tries to get out of my hands as soon as she's in them.

She's still young, so I've been chalking it up to her just being hyper and curious. When I picked her out, she was the only one in the tank running around and jumping on things - which is why i picked her (maybe I shouldn't be wondering why I have such a jumpy dragon then?).

I'm hoping that as she gets older, she'll mellow out a bit and be happy to hang out with me. I see so many other owners report that their dragons like to fall asleep on them, and I'd love to bring her out to just hang on the couch with me and stuff.

My question is - have other owners experienced this? Did it change? Are there any handling tips you can offer?

I speak to her every time I'm around her tank, a piece of my clothing is in the tank with her, and I reach in and pet her several times a day.

 

[KarrieRee]

That is normal --- they all do it - just be patient and keep talking to her etc --- the hands in the tank will also get her accustomed to that --- so just keep working w/ her my 7 month old did it for months -- as far as crickets you can try dubia roaches -- they are a better feeder and more nutritionist --- they dont stink they dont chirp easy to care for and they last longer --- keep them in a 10 gallon aquarium or tote and feed them squash carrots and whatever else you feed for vegies - I bought dubia food and it last a long time - you can order them on line from these places
http://www.dubiaroaches.com
http://www.abdragons.com
http://www.reptilesuplies.com
They all have other things like butter worms horn worms super worms etc also you might try some BSFL
http://www.symtonsbsf.com-- order large as they are small another great staple feeder and you dont need to dust
Karrie

 

[Littlebuddysmomma]

Thanks, Karrie! I actually have some Dubias on the way. I tried BSFL a few weeks ago and she just wasn’t that interested in them... and then they all started turning into flies I decided they were too expensive for her not to care about them that much. I have higher hopes for the roaches.

 

[KarrieRee]

Yes they can be picky -- mine ate them for a while then got tired of them - I used them to lure them to the bowl for their salads and also hand fed the youngest one to get used to the hand - he nor the older one wont eat them now - so I just use the worms in the salad - silk worms are good - www.mulberryfarms.com has them on sale now - if you order them make sure you get some chow too
Karrie

 

[MrSpectrum]

[Slightly OT]

.... as far as crickets you can try dubia roaches -- they are a better feeder and more nutritionist

Just playing devil's advocate again for a moment.... Not disagreeing.
First, dubias are my go to staple feeder. I don't feed crickets for the other reasons stated (stinky, noisy, may attack dragons) not to mention there are some small holes/openings in my enclosure...
I tried BSFL, but ... they just weren't working out for me--no real objections as good feeders.

My question/doubt arises out of accurate information (and this really belongs in the Feeders forum, but here we are... :roll:

Perusing nutritional information re: various feeder insect nutrition, the first 4 links that came up all had different nutritional values for crickets & dubias; some were fairly close, but others had some significant differences.
https://thereptilereport.com/the-most-complete-feeder-insect-nutrition-chart/
https://www.reptifiles.com/feeder-insect-nutrition-facts-chart/
https://blog.homesalive.ca/reptile-feeder-insect-nutritional-breakdown
http://www.moonvalleyreptiles.com/crested-geckos/diet-nutrition/feeder-insects

I stopped at 4 because the results started getting into links with possible conflicts of interest (feeder sellers); it's possible one or more of the above links also fall into that category.

The question remains, with so much differing data, which one are we to believe? IOW, which one (whether above or elsewhere) is most credible/reliable, and why? :?:

[/Slightly OT]

 

[MrSpectrum]

As far as handling, we're still working on it too (ZaRDoZ is ~5 months; had him since early Nov). If I'm fast enough to catch him off-guard from behind, I don't get gaped at, hissed at, and/or bitten as often, but it still happens. Then again, some of it is his personality. In the words of Agent K, "He's... grouchy."

Gotta keep working with them. Their reluctance is understandable; sometimes they get picked up for good things (feeding, freedom, cuddles) but sometimes (from their perspective) they get picked up for things they may not like as much (baths?, weighing, health checks, enclosure cleaning, etc.)

When training a dog, it helps to "keep it fun--make a game out of it". I'm not really sure how to do that with a lizard (yet?)