Why is my bearded dragon SO MEAN!?

[Trackstrong81]

Alright so I've had my baby beardie now for about three months now. He is about 7 inches long, i would have to say he age is around 4 1/2 months because he was TINY when I got him. But what I do is I feed him in a separate Tupperware container so he doesn't have to chase his crickets all around his enclosure. He eats like a beast, and he is just beginning to munch down on some veggies (but he has a veggie bowl in his tank).

But what I am writing about is every time I try to get him out to feed him, he takes off running, and when I get near him he opens his mouth, hisses and he puffs out his beard as much as he can. He has even bitten me twice!! Every now and then I take him out of his tank and let him run around on my living room floor and on me. He is fine then and very active and curious, but when I try to get him out, he turns into a little you-know-what! I've tried giving him some space, that didn't help. I tried more frequent handling, that didn't help either. I don't know what to do please help.

 

[tripleh3lix]

Alright so I've had my baby beardie now for about three months now. He is about 7 inches long, i would have to say he age is around 4 1/2 months because he was TINY when I got him. But what I do is I feed him in a separate Tupperware container so he doesn't have to chase his crickets all around his enclosure. He eats like a beast, and he is just beginning to munch down on some veggies (but he has a veggie bowl in his tank).

But what I am writing about is every time I try to get him out to feed him, he takes off running, and when I get near him he opens his mouth, hisses and he puffs out his beard as much as he can. He has even bitten me twice!! Every now and then I take him out of his tank and let him run around on my living room floor and on me. He is fine then and very active and curious, but when I try to get him out, he turns into a little you-know-what! I've tried giving him some space, that didn't help. I tried more frequent handling, that didn't help either. I don't know what to do please help.

Mine has been acting EXACTLY the same. Except he won't eat.. :/

 

[Trackstrong81]

See that's the thing, once I get him out, he's perfectly fine. It's just getting him out initially that he gets mean.

 

[tripleh3lix]

See that's the thing, once I get him out, he's perfectly fine. It's just getting him out initially that he gets mean.

You should try putting your hand in there slowly, and make sure he's aware that your there. He's getting startled. Pet him for a while, and gently pick him up from the bottom under his face. He may not like the way you pick him up, they are very particular in what you do with them.

 

[bunnyrut]

See that's the thing, once I get him out, he's perfectly fine. It's just getting him out initially that he gets mean.

You should try putting your hand in there slowly, and make sure he's aware that your there. He's getting startled. Pet him for a while, and gently pick him up from the bottom under his face. He may not like the way you pick him up, they are very particular in what you do with them.

Tasty Treat was like that for a long while when we first got her.

we would go up to her slowly from the from and she would open her mouth looking aggressive. once the hand was in front of her face she would lick it. this went on for a few months. she would also run away.

we settled with just rubbing the top of her head. she would still open her mouth, then lick, and maybe tolerate the touching. eventually she got used to us rubbing her head and stopped opening her mouth at us. if she doesn't want to be touch she moves to the other side of the tank