Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi there i was wandering if you can help me .i used to breed bearded dragons years back and had to get rid of all the reptiles i had i have only just received a bearded dragon from a shop in wales and im having major bother with it. it tried to bite my face the other day with me just speaking to it it jumped from my hand towards my face with beard out and mouth open angry i cant go near it without it trying to attack i cant even get my hand under it to try and handle it any sirt of hand movments and it goes crazy it will take things from my hand when feeding but when i move my hand away the beard comes out and it lunges

could you help tell me what to do ? the only thing i will say is that it was couriored from wales to glasgow and i only got it tuesday so its only been in its new enviroment for 2 days but i need to get in the tank to clean but just cant

thanks
graham

Patience.

Give him time to adjust to his new home. Limit hand movements to slow careful movements while you are cleaning. Don't try and pick him up for the time being.

If you are worried he will bite you, wear gloves. Or clean the cage in the evenings while he sleeps. After he has a few weeks to settle into his new home, then slowly start to handle him for very short periods of time. Start with forming a fist with your hand and just resting it on the floor of the cage (which works best if your cage is one with doors in the side/front instead of the top).

keep your face away from him too, I am sure you would be frightened if a giant face came close to you suddenly. Remember he doesn't know you yet and doesn't know if you plan to eat him or not. It takes time to build trust with a new bearded dragon.
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PHLdyPayne