Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I'm in serious need of help with a bearded dragon. I'd like to start by saying this is my first beardie which could explain his very unnussual behavior, however I've followed all the advice I"ve been given and what I've read, and my beardie is mean. He's about 3 months old now, and about a week and a half ago he decided he didnt like me. I never had any trouble with him, I handle him often and he was always very gentle wth me. Two weeks ago I had to go on vacation for 5 days and when I got back it was as if he didnt know who I was. When I try to put my hand in the tank he starts by running around rying to avoid me, which is new, and when I continue to try to put my hand under him (and I've tried waiting till he was in a better mood...) he does the ussual the beardie defensive display, then tries to bite me. I know that beardies just about never bite, but he jumps at me and actually bites (good thing it doesnt hurt..). This has been going on for over a week now and I've tried everything I can think of to change his behavior, I'm yet to make progress. Like I said, this is my first beardie, but I'm very careful to care for him as best as possible and don't understand why he's been acting this way. Please give me any advice you can, I want my dragon to like me again

His sister does it, so do several others, they bite they jump and bite, and threaten any sudden movements. Frodo stopped it after I took him off of the aper towells and put him on dirt, my snow giant was always friendly and so were my others from before. I guess they all have to demonstrate their personality differences, they are individuals after all. Good luck maybe like mine it passes after a bit.

Hey Grimm I have a question...did you leave your BD with someone to watch and feed him while you were gone? If so did they treat him right?
Jay

I would look into who cared for him. Possible trauma while you were gone? Don't get mad at them because it may not be the case.

However, I have heard of & seen myself where a dragon just looses their mind & decides they are going to be aggressive or better put (defensive).
I have one named Tyson for just that reason. He was calm for a while then he would lunge to bite! (Tyson) Anyway, I started with work gloves and would hold him several times a day. I worked off the gloves and within a week or so he started to calm down. Now he is the sweetest guy around.
You have to keep it up. If you take a break for a day or two, they will go backwards. You must hold them a couple times a day.
It's not that they are being mean! They are defending their selves. Once they realize that you are not going to hurt them, they chill out.

Good luck & don't give up.
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Joel R

Coming some day.
www.SpikesAndScales.com

Gloves worked on one of mine too. I used my husbands suede gloves to handle her. She would bite hard repeatedly then kind of start chewing, then look at me like "doesn't this hurt"?
After about a week, she gave up and either figured that her tactics were useless or that I wasn't there to hurt her. Mine is a sweetie now too.
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www.classylizard.com

Maybe try handfeeding him some treats (whatever food he likes best). I hand feed my dragons pretty consistantly so they often come to the front of their cages when I'm around and beg for food/attention.

I have seen some bad bites from some adults.
The problem with hand feeding is, they aren't that bright & may either start associating hands as food and or just miss the target.

I personally don't think it's a good practice. Some people get away with it so it's a case by case issue.
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Joel R

Coming some day.
www.SpikesAndScales.com

Yoshi is my first dragon, and I can feel for you man. He does the same thing. Its almost like he dares me to try. He runs and bluffs and acts big and bad. (i'm lucky Knock on wood, he has never followed through with his bluffs). Dont give up. I'm still waiting to see the nice quiet tame dragon everyone claims they are. Your pet sitter may have done nothing wrong. My dragon started this behavior suddenly after a week or two after bringing him home. Although he is still pretty much a pain, he is getting better with time.