We're afraid of our beardie now...

[railroadwife]

We bought a bearded dragon for our son for his birthday after reading all we could on them. He had wanted a snake but my husband is not a snake fan. So we did some research and decided a beardie would be good. He is about 3-4 mos old. He's been sweet up until about the last week or two. It started with puffing his beard, now he actually is opening his mouth to bite us. My daughter said when she was holding him the other day she changed his position so he could look at her and he opened his mouth great big. She ran into my son's room and put him back in his tank and said she never wants to hold him again. I have to say I'm not exactly excited to pick him up either, I am scared of being bit. He has been shedding for the last two weeks or so. His temps are all good and I check them with a high tech temp gun. He has the right light, the reptisun 10.0. No screen over the top because the lamps won't fit with the screen on. What to do? I'm scared of him, the kids are scared of him, and my husband has never touched him. And he's still no bigger than my hand!! What can we do to protect ourselves from a bite so that we won't be afraid to reach in and get him so we can hold him?

 

[bexhill1]

my 2 were exactly the same, you just need to be paitent with him, if you do a few things and just let him get used to you he should be abserlotly fine!!

one of mine actually bit me and now they both loved bieng picked up and it only took a couple of weeks.

put ur hand in the tank a few times a day but dont pick him up. let him get used to the fact that u are not there to hurt him!!
after a day of so, try hand feeding! wriggly worms work best so he can perch on ur hand to get the food, if he does try to bite try hard not to flinch and just remove the food, he will see that biting doesnt work and will hopefully stop this
handle after the light have gone out and he is sleepy - i did this for about an hour every night for a week and now they dont mind being picked up at all

i got all that advice of sumone on this board and it worked for me so give it a shot and see what u find, i wouldnt be scare of him tho, reason he is openin his mouth is probaly becuase he feels treatened with this big hand comin for him and hes just reacting.

hope that helps

 

[smaug85]

my 2 were exactly the same, you just need to be paitent with him, if you do a few things and just let him get used to you he should be abserlotly fine!!

one of mine actually bit me and now they both loved bieng picked up and it only took a couple of weeks.

put ur hand in the tank a few times a day but dont pick him up. let him get used to the fact that u are not there to hurt him!!
after a day of so, try hand feeding! wriggly worms work best so he can perch on ur hand to get the food, if he does try to bite try hard not to flinch and just remove the food, he will see that biting doesnt work and will hopefully stop this
handle after the light have gone out and he is sleepy - i did this for about an hour every night for a week and now they dont mind being picked up at all

i got all that advice of sumone on this board and it worked for me so give it a shot and see what u find, i wouldnt be scare of him tho, reason he is openin his mouth is probaly becuase he feels treatened with this big hand comin for him and hes just reacting.

hope that helps

I also tried this and it worked a treat with Smaug

 

[Jasper's Mom]

Another thing you can try is, every time he opens up his mouth at you, just pop a piece of greens in there. It will distract him and he'll come to associate you with food. It could be that he's approaching adolescence a little early and his little beardie hormones are in overdrive. We all know what teenagers are like!!! :lol:

 

[haleygirl272]

lol, he could be gaping! They do that sometimes, as for the puffy beard...
When my dragon,Zinger,was in the rebelious stage, I would just stroke his beard gently and coo at him and be like, "Awww, who's an angry dragon? No need for that little draggy!" and then pop some food in his mouth! lol, works like a charm, works every time.... 8)

 

[muzikfreakah]

Also when they are shedding, dont handle them too much since they are very irritable whenever they shed.

Did he bit or was he gaping?

 

[haleygirl272]

Also when they are shedding, dont handle them too much since they are very irritable whenever they shed.

Did he bit or was he gaping?

Well, only some are, Zinger isn't at all.

 

[jkatzenfutter]

mine did this too when she was little. i was scared, but i did what the first person's post suggested: keeping your hand in the cage for a couple minutes a day without touching her and she began to understand that i didnt want to hurt her. beardies are really good at looking scary, but the majority of them are just acting tough. they might open their mouth to bite you, but dont jerk your hand away.

also, if you try to pick them up, try not to pick them up from above/behind them so they can't see you. it might freak them out some. good luck! don't give up handling him.

 

[Denise Bushnell (RIP)]

It sounds to me like your little one is going into puberty a little early. Just like human teenagers, they can become little brats when the hormones are raging. Also, since you've only had him for a short time, he could simply be afraid and feel a bit threatened by all of you. Imagine how you'de feel is someone about a 100 times bigger than you are kept picking you up! He may think you want to have him for lunch! LOL

As the above posters mentioned, just sitting quietly by his tank, and talking to him, while your hand is in his tank will work wonders with him. Put your hand close enough so that he can see it, but not close enough to him that he will feel threatened by it. Once you do this a few times a day, for a few days, it won't take long for him to figure out that you aren't going to hurt him.

Also, if he does lunge at you with an open mouth, be ready for it, and pop a piece of food in there. That usually works every time......he'll start to chew and forget all about biting. Also, it tends to confuse the devil out of them. They're intelligent little guys, and he'll begin to wonder why you're feeding him when he's trying to bite you. If you don't react with fear, as he expects you to, it stops being fun, and the behavior will stop.

One of the best ways to get him over this is to do the "beardie burrito" routine at bedtime. Just before you normally turn out his lights, when he's very sleepy, turn his tank lights out, and dim the lights in the room so that its nearly dark.
Take him out of his tank, and wrap him snugly in a soft hand towel, with just his little head sticking out. Then lay him on your chest, where he can hear your heartbeat. Talk to him softly and rub his little head and back, until he drifts off the sleep. Once he does, keep holding him close for 10 or 15 minutes, and then carefully pick him up and put him back in his tank, towel and all. When morning comes, and he wakes up back in his tank, he'll remember you're holding him, and realize that you didn't hurt him at all, even when he was asleep, and was the most vulnerable. This is absolutely the best way to build trust, and after a few nights, you won't believe the change in him. Once he bonds with you, you'll have a best friend for life, and you won't believe how affectionate he'll become with you.

Just try to remember that he's not acting this way to be mean or nasty, but rather because of fear and feeling threatened. Even when a beardie is extremely scared or angry, they rarely bite, unless they have no choice in order to protect themselves. Most of the time its all a big bluff to get you to leave them alone because they're afraid of you. If you take away the fear, the love and trust follow very quickly, and believe me, it will be worth the effort!

 

[haleygirl272]

Leave it to Ms.Denise to elaborate! lol :wink:

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,
All the advice you've been given so far Id defiantly recommend aswell.

Beardies do make wonderful pets, and they arent like cats or dogs, ie. they bite you once and they're likely to continue this behaviour and grow more agressive.
When I adopted my adult she was practically feral. She scratched, bit, paniced and was terrified of me. After only 3 weeks she became the biggest cuddlebug who loves nothing more than to sleep on my chest and snuggle into my neck.
Taming just requires patience and a firm consistant hand.

Dont be jittery around your little one, always move slowly around her and approach her from the front, not the side or the back which is predatory behaviour. If you are frightened of her biting you or jumpy with your hand she will pick up your nerves and become even more skittish. If she lunges to bite you. Carmly move your hand away, and if you were offering her treats, remove them and dont offer them again for a while.

If it helps, just tell yourself this: It doesnt even hurt to be bitten. Be brave. Be carm.
(As I said Ive had alot of bites from full grown adults, which simply dont hurt. So from a baby you have nothing to be frightened of).

It may therefore be a good idea for you yourself to tame your dragon because children can be much more jumpy.

Alot of beardies also "try it on". IE become a complete brat to try and get their own way.
My girl, although tame as anything hates baths, and will always puff up her beard at me when she's decided she wants to come out. Its their little trick to be big and scary and get their own way. She always ends up unpuffing when she realises she's not going to be allowed out of the bath.
If you just back down immediately because she puffs her beard at you or gapes she will continue the behaviour because it gets her her own way.

Do keep us updated on your progress.
Im sure lots of us have even more tips to help you with.
Please dont give up on your grumpy dragon, they can be the most affectionate and rewarding creatures.

Holly

 

[Denise Bushnell (RIP)]

Leave it to Ms.Denise to elaborate! lol :wink:

I can't help it Haley.....when you get old, you just go on and on and on! LOL

 

[railroadwife]

Thanks for all the advice. I just got back to reading all the posts. I do believe this could just be an issue of shedding. I will get brave. I had never thought of popping some greens in his mouth. That might be one way to get him to try them! I was hoping your responses would be encouraging because I really do like my little dragon. Oh and someone asked early if I was sure he was opening his mouth to bite or just gaping, HE WAS DEFINATELY WANTING TO BITE. But I did talk to a pet store owner who actually has one and he said they can get really grumpy when shedding. I didn't know this. That would probably explain it. I also didn't realize I was acting predatory by approaching him from the top. I will stop that. The beard puffing tho just cracks me up!! He's so little to be trying to puff a virtually non existant beard! One last thing maybe I should've added before, this is his first time shedding so live and learn. THANKS for all the advice I will use every bit of it.
A

 

[smaug85]

Thanks for all the advice. I just got back to reading all the posts. I do believe this could just be an issue of shedding. I will get brave. I had never thought of popping some greens in his mouth. That might be one way to get him to try them! I was hoping your responses would be encouraging because I really do like my little dragon. Oh and someone asked early if I was sure he was opening his mouth to bite or just gaping, HE WAS DEFINATELY WANTING TO BITE. But I did talk to a pet store owner who actually has one and he said they can get really grumpy when shedding. I didn't know this. That would probably explain it. I also didn't realize I was acting predatory by approaching him from the top. I will stop that. The beard puffing tho just cracks me up!! He's so little to be trying to puff a virtually non existant beard! One last thing maybe I should've added before, this is his first time shedding so live and learn. THANKS for all the advice I will use every bit of it.
A

Let us know how you get on with your little guy

 

[haleygirl272]

Leave it to Ms.Denise to elaborate! lol :wink:

I can't help it Haley.....when you get old, you just go on and on and on! LOL

People never get old, just more experienced! :laughing6: