Trouble with handling please help

[Yoshi2012]

I've had my little dragon for about 2 months now and I've had a hell of time trying to handle him. Im not sure how old he is (im guessing 4 months) hes about 11in from head to tail. He is VERY skittish around my hands, usually he slowly backs away from them when they are near. If i try to pick him up he will run. He has bit me once but i think it was more of him thinking my finger was food because he doesnt usually puff up or anything. Anyways,

He will eat out of my hands if i give him crickets and if i place worms on my palm he will climb onto it and eat them but the second i move my hands he runs. He is impossible to catch unless i really lunge at him which i never do. I try not to pick him up from above and go from the front or the side but he will NEVER allow me to scoop him up like this.

When it comes to running from me, he is nuts. He will run away from my hand, up his basking log and if i follow him he will jump off his basking log. I dont want him to hurt himself so i stop trying at that point.

He will let me pet him but i think thats basically just becasue he is being lazy. Ive held him twice since ive got him. Once held he doesnt squirm much but i can tell he is mad. The two times ive picked him up ive basically had to put my entire hand on top of him lightly so he cant run away and then turn my hand over to scoop him up.

Any advice or suggestions would be helpful. His enclosure setup is pretty standard with whatever everyone else here is doing and he usually seems generally happy and healthy.

 

[reptilegyrl]

Your post sounds like me and my Cupid girl! She was just plain nasty though, lunging up at my hand before i could even get it into her enclosure! She is now the sweetest, calmest (and largest lol) dragon i have!
Great job scooping him up instead of reaching from above. Beardies can get scared of predators being above them and get spooked, especially when they are at that "teenager age". I always make sure my beardies see my hand, and then gently pet them before scooping them so they are not startled.
What is your lil guys set up like? lighting, substrate, temps etc? There are several things about their environment that can cause them to be cranky. (too hot, too cold, loose substrate, poop, enclosure in high traffic area etc)
Though most beardies are generally docile and make great pets, I know from experience it takes some doing to get the feisty ones settled sometimes. :mrgreen: I reccommend you hold him AT LEAST once per day, more if possible. You can start out just simply placing your hand on the opposite side of the enclosure without trying to pick him up. Just leave your hand there a bit then remove it. Then eventually get closer... you get the idea.
Does he like to take baths? Cupid let me stroke her back when she was in the bath, and if she wanted out of the water she knew she would have to climb into my hand! after her baths, i wrapped my baby in one of my t-shirts (since it smells like me :mrgreen: ) turned the lights down, and cuddled her close. She still struggled and thrashed but after doing this every day, she started to calm down and fall asleep. When she felt comfortable enough to sleep on me i would keep her wrapped and put her strait into her enclosure.
I also spent a lot of time with her in the bathtub...yes i crawled in the empty bathtub with her. That way she could be free to move around but didnt feel like i was trying to grab at her. Or if you have a small room closed off where you feel he will be safe you can close the door, sit on the floor and see if he will get used to you.
Hand feeding is a good way to make him used to seeing your hand coming into the enclosure and know it is not a bad or scary thing. But there is always the chance of him thinking your hand IS food instead of giving him food like u said. lol
You can try thin gardening gloves if he really starts to tear up your hands haha

Well, sorry i wrote so much, but i hope it helps! Dont give up!!

 

[Yoshi2012]

My setup is as follows: 40 gal breeder tank, 18" Reptiglo tube UVB, 100watt basking lamp, another 60w house bulb on his cold side which i almost never turn on. 100-110 basking spot, 90 warm side, 75 cold side. humid is between 5-10%.

Porcelain tile substrate which i clean as often as i can. I feed him either pellets or phoenix worms in the morning (he'll eat both) and around 20 crickets at night. Mist him once or twice a day. He sheds ALOT, maybe cuz hes growing quickly?

I would love to pick him up at least once per day but he will not let me. I know you are not supposed to just pick them up but there is no other way for me to do it. If i try to scoop him, he runs off. He will not lunge at me (the only time he did was after i hand fed him so i guess he thought my finger was food) but he usually just runs away and squishes up against the glass trying to get out or runs up his log and then does a death-jump off the top.

Ive NEVER given him a bath because its so hard to pick him up. He hates being misted tho which i do once a day. If i leave my hand in the enclosure he'll be fine, he'll even eat out of it but at the slightest sign that im going to pick him up, he's gone.

 

[reptilegyrl]

Enclosure and temps sound good. Ive never fed pellets so dont know much about them. lol Young dragons tend to shed a lot. Growth spurts are mostly the cause as far as i can tell. It also tends to make the lil ones cranky because they tend to shed more all at once. Where as an adult will shed more in patches or sections. Poor guys look all mad when they have "shed explosions"
I have never misted my dragons as i have been told by many people it causes humidity to rise too much. Plus, as you said... it ticks em off! :roll: I think if you can get him in a bath at least twice per week he might warm up to you. Also, dome dragons drink in their baths and soak water up. Since he is young, and prob isnt getting much hydration from salad, i think baths are important. You can try getting him into a sink of warm water (95 or so) only up to his um...armpits? lol

 

[reptilegyrl]

Also, I forgot to mention. I recommend replacing your reptiglo for a ReptiSUN 10.0. the ReptiGLO has been known to cause eye problems and other health issues.

 

[Yoshi2012]

I have tried to give him a bath lol but it really is almost impossible to pick him up without basically lunging at him from above or trapping him against something (either the glass or the floor) and then scooping him up which i cant imagine is the best way of doing it. Unless i have food, he will not come anywhere near my hands and i dont just want to close my hand on him when theres food on it because he will think im using food to trick him and the last thing i want is for him to be scared of eating for fear that im going to pick him up.

Some people have suggested trying to pick him up when he's going to sleep but that doesnt seem possible either. Hes very active before his lights go out and once they are out he basically wanders around looking for his spot to fall asleep in. If i were to pick him up at that point im pretty sure hed freak out.

I have currently ordered a RepitSUN, just waiting for it to come in but from what i understand it was the older models that were causing issues. I ordered one anyways just to be sure tho. He spends a lot of time alternating between his basking lamp and the uvb tube so im assuming hes good at regulating himself.

 

[Chirple]

Personally, I would not feed from your hand - I would feed from tongs.

Feeding right out of your hand associates it with food - thus, your fingers getting bitten. It just trains a bad association. My dragon knows tongs mean food - and he'll bite at them even if a bug isn't being held by them - for you, this is what your hands are.

Instead of trying to pick him up, try just letting him get used to your hand in the cage - closer and closer. When that's comfortable, try stroking. Little steps, building trust.

Also, misting them for water isn't so much misting them as using the "stream" function and slowly squirting it so it drips just on their nose so they lick it up. Actually misting them will tend to make them grumpy.

I'm not sure of your setup, but he should be exposed to the basking lamp and UVB tube at the same time. I hear you've ordered the tube, so this should solve that problem. There's really not way to "regulate" otherwise - it's just a struggle to stay warm and also get enough UVB.

 

[bunnyrut]

When it comes to running from me, he is nuts. He will run away from my hand, up his basking log and if i follow him he will jump off his basking log. I dont want him to hurt himself so i stop trying at that point.

He will let me pet him but i think thats basically just becasue he is being lazy.

you just described Tasty Treat at that age.
It got to the point where it was a game. I also found out she doesn't like her tail being touched, She will keep moving in circles if i touch it (i'm a mean mommy)

Keep going at it. Just pet his head, scoop him up quickly if you can.
I could only hold her for a few minutes before she tried to jump (sometimes succeeded). now she's almost 7 months old and i can hold her longer, and she doesn't move as fast now that she's bigger.

Personally, I would not feed from your hand - I would feed from tongs.

Feeding right out of your hand associates it with food - thus, your fingers getting bitten. It just trains a bad association. My dragon knows tongs mean food - and he'll bite at them even if a bug isn't being held by them - for you, this is what your hands are.

i partially disagree.
I hand feed them greens without issues. But if it is live food that they go crazy for then yes please use tongs. in their over-excitement they may grab your finger too.

also, if they get used to you hand feeding them EVERYTHING they may only eat if you feed them like that.

 

[Yoshi2012]

Personally, I would not feed from your hand - I would feed from tongs.

Feeding right out of your hand associates it with food - thus, your fingers getting bitten. It just trains a bad association. My dragon knows tongs mean food - and he'll bite at them even if a bug isn't being held by them - for you, this is what your hands are.

Instead of trying to pick him up, try just letting him get used to your hand in the cage - closer and closer. When that's comfortable, try stroking. Little steps, building trust.

Also, misting them for water isn't so much misting them as using the "stream" function and slowly squirting it so it drips just on their nose so they lick it up. Actually misting them will tend to make them grumpy.

I'm not sure of your setup, but he should be exposed to the basking lamp and UVB tube at the same time. I hear you've ordered the tube, so this should solve that problem. There's really not way to "regulate" otherwise - it's just a struggle to stay warm and also get enough UVB.

I should clarify my UVB setup. I have a standard dome fixture for the basking light and a linear tube fixture for the uvb light. Obviously you cant put them on top of each other so the uvb light runs along the back of the screen top with the basking fixture in front of it. He usually sits directly under the uvb fixture but still on his basking log. The location he is in is about 95. He will only move over and sit directly under the basking light after he has eaten. He seems fairly active and has agood appetite so i dont "think" uvb is a problem but like ive said i ordered the reptisun just in case.

Im going to stop hand feeding him but usually what i do is put my hand in the tank palm up and put a worm on it and he'll climb onto my palm eat the worm and then run off.

Also, not related but kind of interesting, he has sort of potty trained himself. I used to have a blue dish to put his food into and he would always go poo in it so i would remove it. I switched it out for a shallow dish for his food and kept the blue dish in there and he will still go poo in the blue dish, every single day. Same spot, same time around 10am.

I'm worried that due to me not picking him up ive been lacking with giving him baths for hydration purposes. I do mist him and i dont believe dragons require baths for hygiene since they dont take them in the wild and there is no sand in my tank for him to roll around in. thoughts?

 

[bunnyrut]

I'm worried that due to me not picking him up ive been lacking with giving him baths for hydration purposes. I do mist him and i dont believe dragons require baths for hygiene since they dont take them in the wild and there is no sand in my tank for him to roll around in. thoughts?

baths OR misting 2-3 times a week helps keep them hydrated. Some dragons prefer mistings, some prefer baths. misting allows them to drink what falls on their face, baths allow them to absorb the water through their skin. either way they get the water.

they also get moisture from the greens and juicy bugs.

 

[reptilegyrl]

IMO baths are essential for beardies. It does rain in their natural habitat. They need the hydration. It helps with shedding, and helps keep them clean if they happen to get bug guts or poo on them. It also is a great way to spend time with and handle them.

I think putting the bugs on your palm face up in the enclosure is a good idea. Also, Dubia can be put in a bowl on the cool side of the tank since they cant usually climb slippery sides.

 

[nikipop]

Just my 2 cents... I have 3 beardies that I have tamed in the same way. Daily baths at the same time every day without fail followed up with 20 min or so of 'playtime' after bathtime. In the bathroom I sit in the middle of the room and let them run amuck and offer my hand so that they can chose to run up my arm or not. At first I carried each one by a critter keeper to and from the bathroo now they either travel willingly in my hand or on my shoulder. It took anywhere from a week to a month (each one being different to have them used to me but it worked on all 3... Hope that helps

 

[reptilegyrl]

I should clarify my UVB setup. I have a standard dome fixture for the basking light and a linear tube fixture for the uvb light. Obviously you cant put them on top of each other so the uvb light runs along the back of the screen top with the basking fixture in front of it. He usually sits directly under the uvb fixture but still on his basking log. The location he is in is about 95. He will only move over and sit directly under the basking light after he has eaten. He seems fairly active and has agood appetite so i dont "think" uvb is a problem but like ive said i ordered the reptisun just in case.

Just wanted to mention, the screen will block uvb. the linear fixture is best to be mounted inside the enclosure. I used command strips for mine. The basking fixture should be on one end of the enclosure and it can sit on the screen.

 

[Yoshi2012]

I should clarify my UVB setup. I have a standard dome fixture for the basking light and a linear tube fixture for the uvb light. Obviously you cant put them on top of each other so the uvb light runs along the back of the screen top with the basking fixture in front of it. He usually sits directly under the uvb fixture but still on his basking log. The location he is in is about 95. He will only move over and sit directly under the basking light after he has eaten. He seems fairly active and has agood appetite so i dont "think" uvb is a problem but like ive said i ordered the reptisun just in case.

Just wanted to mention, the screen will block uvb. the linear fixture is best to be mounted inside the enclosure. I used command strips for mine. The basking fixture should be on one end of the enclosure and it can sit on the screen.

I'll do this when I figure out how to separate the actual uvb light from the casing of the fixture. I'm not very handy with electrics.

 

[reptilegyrl]

if u need any help with that let me know! :mrgreen: