Unfriendly Bearded Dragon

[bg1]

Hi Guys, We bought our daughter a bearded dragon about 3 months ago. We had heard they are typically very "people friendly" She tries to pet it, hold it or just give it some attention most every day. Basically anytime you get your hand close to him he hisses and appears to try to bite. If you try to pick him up he frantically runs away. This is not an occasional thing. This is every time. Basically he to this day has not been held because of this. Is this more common than I realize?

 

[xp29]

There has been several threads similar lately. Usually it comes down to working with them. Don't try to pick it up from above it scares the bejebbers out of them. Spend time with you hand in the enclosure. Let it get used to your presence. Put in a piece of your daughter's clothing so it learns her smell. Move in calm confident motion but not to fast. Try hand feeding, silkworms or hornworms are like crack to them. Be careful with these though because once they discover them they may refuse other feeders. At lights out when he is sleepy get him out and set with him. They are more calm when sleepy. Have patience with him, remember we are GIANTS to them.
Oh and another thing when you do pick him up he is probably going to want to bolt, be careful not to let him fall. Maybe keep handling him inside his enclosure till he learns to be more calm. Also don't give up and put him back if he acts bad it reinforces bad behavior, tire him out and when he stops trying to escape put him back then.
They are wonderful pets and i hopes this helps you get him there.

 

[KarrieRee]

Another thing is the basking surface temps and UVB are all contingent on behavior and adjusting to the tank and surroundings - if any of this stuff is off he will not adjust be in distressed and get sick --- if you bought one of the " kits" from the pet store you more than likely are going to haft to replace most of the stuff it came w/ --- hence UVB coil bulb -- any colored bulbs -- sand -- stick on gauges are good for ambient temps but not surface basking temps --- please ask for help so we can get the tank set up properly for her and so her dragon does not get sick / MBD is very bad ---