When to Start Handling Hatchlings?

[MariosDad]

Mario is 5 weeks, and has been with us for 2 weeks tomorrow. He seems very happy in his enclosure; basking, climbing, exploring, but almost never hiding. He eats 4-6 roaches every morning and evening before leaping out of his murder pit to bask. (Seems like too few to me?) He won't eat from my daughter's hand yet, but doesn't run away either.

He is wholly uninterested in the wax worms, but the BSFL arrived yesterday so we're going to try those with his salad Saturday morning.

I've told my daughter that he just needs time to get used to her and he is still a baby, and that we can try taking him out this summer. I TOTALLY hedged my bet on this, hoping that she'll be able to handle him sooner. :mrgreen:

What have you all done with hatchlings and handling?

 

[kingofnobbys]

I'd start off with a few minutes per day of handling , offer a bug or two with each session , and use the time to spot clean .

Slowly build it up over time, but make a predictable routine/ritual of it each day.

How old is your daughter ?
Regards your daughter handling the hatchling , if she's only very young , best not other than guided petting when the hatchling is on your lap, chest, tummy or hand .

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Definitely as recommended, go slowly with the hatchling. Mario is a very cute name for him.
Feel free to post pictures of him, along with your tank setup. Since you have already had him
for a couple of weeks, it sounds like he is adjusting pretty well. It takes the youngsters awhile
to fully become comfortable.
What is your tank setup like, such as your lighting, temperatures, etc?

Tracie

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[KarrieRee]

Its going to take some time -- we are still working w/ our 8.5 month old --he has gotten a lot better and is not running and hissing anymore and lets us pick him up but it has taken a long time to get this far as we got him in Sept of last year ---- they need to learn to trust and every dragon is different - it may take months for him to adjust and learn to trust -- working w/ him every day w/ hands in tank and slowly approaching from the side not over head --- hand feeding is good - take a piece of cloth or blanket or clothing put in the tank like in the hide and that will get him used to the scent of you -- its going to be a slow process -- I would not recommend your daughter holding him out of his tank --- too many accidents--- and not holding for too long as well -- they will be squirmy and try to get away -- patience thats all I can say and working w/ them every day---
Karrie

 

[MariosDad]

Thanks for the responses!

We'll definitely start slow. Seeing how he is most used to my daughter, I'll have her just keep doing what she's doing. She's been sleeping with a piece of cloth the last few nights that she's going to put in today after school.

Tracie, he is definitely cute! Kerrie helped with the lighting and temps, but here's a pic just for you! :wink:

 

[AHBD]

Start off by keeping her or your hand in the tank + let the baby climb on it. You can take Mario out slowly and carefully but that's when you should be the one holding him, not your daughter until Mario is out of the tank and then you all should be low to the ground in case he tries to jump. As already mentioned, just for short periods at first. Babies can all be tamed pretty easily, some more so than others . I hatched 1,000's of them and could handle every one. They get used to it very quickly.

 

[MariosDad]

Start off by keeping her or your hand in the tank + let the baby climb on it. You can take Mario out slowly and carefully but that's when you should be the one holding him, not your daughter until Mario is out of the tank and then you all should be low to the ground in case he tries to jump. As already mentioned, just for short periods at first. Babies can all be tamed pretty easily, some more so than others . I hatched 1,000's of them and could handle every one. They get used to it very quickly.

I'll add this to the tips and tricks so far! Thanks for the specifics, that really helps.