Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My new beardie is very afraid of hands. When I first got him about a week ago, he was very calm in any hands. About 4 days ago, he started freaking out and wouldn't let anyone touch him. He would claw at the side of the cage and run away from any hands. He still does run away from hands. He eats a lot and all the temps are good. I was wondering if there are some handling techniques that might be useful for my beardie to become acustom to my hand? I'm trying to SLOWLY bring my hand close to him, and eventually pet him on the head.

Would it also help if I moved the cage over next to my desk so he could get used to my movements more or something?

The same problem happened wit me when my beardie was young, he was afraid when i opened the top of the cage. Me and him are cool now tho. I would leave my hand in the tank for a while until hes not afraid n e more. It may take a while but dun be afraid to just grab him sometimes (not aggressively) once they're in your a hands they calm down, jus remember to hold the tail if they thrash. if u hold them to ur chest and if ur heart beat is normal, theyll remain calm. It takes time but its all worth it in the end. Hope i helped

peace