Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i bought a frillie about a month and a half ago. I hold him at least 3 times a week but the day before yesterday, he started freaking out when i reached in his cage. He would frill up, then run away from my hand. I can finally catch him and hes calm, but still tries to get away. If i set him on my stomach and put my hand over him, he sits still and tries to get away less. do they not like to be held and rather just be covered? any tips on taming them. My beardies are never this much trouble to tame.. but they're not as cool as the frillie.

Hand feeding is probably the #1 way to tame a frilled from my experience and from what I've read. Both my male and female are pretty tame. My male is about as tame as any bearded dragon (he's 18.5" long and about 8 months old).

Whatever your frilled's favorite food is, try hand feeding it (use tweezers or watch your fingers). Some favorite foods for mine are super worms and pinkies/fuzzies. You might have to make the pinkie/fuzzie "look alive". Depending on how large your frilled is, pinkies may be too large (I waited until mine were about 12" before I fed them pinkies).

I've also found that if I scratch behind the frill of mine, they gape and relax -- anyone else seen this?

If you overhandle him you might stress him out so watch for signs like decreased feeding and staying in the bottom of the cage away from high basking areas. Eventually he/she should get used to you but don't rush it. Good luck.

thanks for the reply.. so stupid of me.. havent even tried hand feeding yet. I'll hand feed him some crix tomorrow, he seems to love them. Ive read that healthy frillies are supposed to be active, but he is usually sitting still. Hes always in different areas of his home, but i never really see him running around. I guess its normal, maybe not. I'll handfeed him, the rubbing behind the frill just makes him close his eyes.

They do like their privacy and are most active when you're not around. I wouldn't bother him too much. Hand feeding may not work until he's more comfortable around you.