Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well i just received a bearded dragon about8 inches long it was neglected. wasnt fed good cage all dukied up and man it was just horible. it was up at my school so i took it up wit the science teachers to talk to the owner and see if he would hand it down i suceeded. i love my beardy jus have 1 question

how did you guys break your beardy in to not being afraid of u. i mean i feed it and its kool. but wenever i go to pick it up it scatters for its life and breaths heavy.. i know its stil a baby and it is under stress for now til it gets used to its home but im curious for when its not stresed some ways to get comfort it and it not b scared when i go to pick it up.. thanks bye

patience is the key...i'm sure you are aware of that. since its a baby, it needs to eat everyday, feed it crickets by hand from time to time. very lightly touch your finger to the back of his head and hold it there. you have to show the BD that "you're not going to eat him". eventually once it seems comfortable with you....thy picking it up.

but since the animal was mistreated you may have a harder time and need more patience.

have fun

It takes time for your beardie to learn to trust you. If you just got him then you need to leave him alone with absolutely no handling for a few days for him to get used to his surroundings.

Since he was negklected it is more important you get his health checked out and get him back on his feet before you start handling him a lot. Have you ever had a beardie before? If not you should do a lot of research, especially since you may have pre-existing problems from his previous owner to take care of. Clean his cage, get him eating regularly and a proper diet, and take a fecal sample to the vet to check for parasites. Make sure his temps and other husbandry perimeters are set accordingly. After he is settled in, and back on his feet again you can start trying to handle him.

Good luck!
-----
0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Anerythristic Corn
0.0.1 Red Tegu
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

well this is my first beardy but believe me i have alot of knowledge on them i did maybe about 3 hours of research on beardies then i also have previous knowledge because 1 year ago i was goin to get one........

i really have no clue about a vet around here.......

man im scared thoe because she hasnt pooped in like 3 days...... the last time she did i had her in warm water for a few mins and she pooped she hasnt since then...... so since last friday the first day i got her til today thirsday. dont beardies poop daily?? HOW CAN I GET HER 2 poop??????? plz help.. thatl b it for now thanks everyone

bathing can help them poop so you can try soaking her for 20 minutes at a time...is she eating her greens??? mine used to poop everyday until he got stressed from moving him to a bigger tank and quit eating his greens....now he doesn't poop as often...
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons - Smaug and Little One (for now, till I know the sex for sure)
3.1 Bettas - Jason, Ori, Fishy Fishy Fishy, Faith
1.0 3 Legged Bullfrog - Jeremiah Sim Choy
1.0 Leopard Gecko - Spike
0.1 Guinea Pig- Oreo

i soaked her this mornin and success thanks...

the best thing I found for getting Smaug used to me was to pet his tail while he was eating...as he got comfortable with that I moved to petting tail and back...he was so focused on catching and eating the crickets, that he didn't pay as much attention to me...the only problem though isn if the beardie would not eat while you were petting, then I would not do it...
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons - Smaug and Little One (for now, till I know the sex for sure)
3.1 Bettas - Jason, Ori, Fishy Fishy Fishy, Faith
1.0 3 Legged Bullfrog - Jeremiah Sim Choy
1.0 Leopard Gecko - Spike
0.1 Guinea Pig- Oreo