I personally wouldn't recommend holding the dragon for 5-10min at all at this stage. It would be more effective to just accommodate the dragon to having you around outside the cage. As it does eat from tongs you hold, it can't be too skittish. Approach the cage slowly so if she's out, it won't flee to the nearest hide. Use food from tongs as a way to lure the dragon to the feed dish where you have more crickets. Once it sees crickets in the feed dish it may forsake the tongs to eat the moving crickets.



Also, since you have most of its caged covered, appearing suddenly really close in the small field of vision it has now may be more startling then just leaving at least half of the front of the cage exposed.



TO help encourage your dragon to get used to later handling, offer crickets held with your fingers...or hold a couple phoenix worms in the palm of your hand. Small butterworms would be good too as a treat for now, but can be added as a regular addition to its insect part of its diet as they are quite high in calcium.
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PHLdyPayne

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