Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'll try to make this short. I have a 5-6 month old beardie (male)who I purchased from a reputable breeder. He seemed healthy and happy. But when I got him home he refused to eat. After showing no signs of eating on his own, I hand fed him baby food and crix till he finally had a better appetite. He would finally eat but not unless the cricket walk directly in front of him. Well his appetite is much better now, but he just is not growing as he should. He is 9" at almost 6 months. He just went through his first shed since I bought him in April, but just his tail and head. I have two other big healthy dragons that I raised from 4-6 weeks old so this isn't quite new for me, however, I feel like I'm doing something wrong here. I am waiting for a fresh fecal sample to take to work to check for parasites. We handle him often but he has never been overly social, but in the past week for some reason we can't even touch him. He lunges at you and bites hard, hissing and running away. He has been such a prodject that we are getting frustrated and don't know what to do. I try to hold him just a little everyday but I can't even get near him before he goes after me. What to do?!?!?! Any help would be great.

Marilee
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1.2 Bearded Dragons (Dezirae, Artimis & Papi)
0.2 Dogs (Timex & Brady)
1.0 Sulcata (Speedy)
0.1 Hamsters
2.2 Horses (Joey, Lady, Cherokee & Crystal)
2.0 Beta Fish

i think your dragon need a buddy.your dragon should calm down and his eating habbit should get much better make sure his basking temp.is 100 degree's

Whoa, no buddy is needed,most dragons don't do well with a cage mate and an aggresive dragon would most likely attack a strange dragon in its territory. Can you give us a quick run down on your set up? temps, uvb, feeding, ect...

He is acting this way either because he is scared or just plain mean, its very rare that a dragon is mean but it does happen. Make sure you move slow around him, when ever he opens his mouth at you poke a piece of greens in there, it will take his mind off biting you. Also start handfeeding him his favorite foods,silkworms are very good for handfeeding, so are fruits.

It important that you don't ever shy away from him when he lunges/bites, if you do it will teach him that his behavior works and he will keep doing it. If need be use a pair of gloves and let him bite all he wants, he may get the idea that biting just doesn't do any good and give up.

You might also have a vet check him over to make sure its not health related.

is that he might be having vision difficulties? You might want to make sure that his eyesight is correct as if he isn't seeing well, that could be why he's waiting for the cricket to be right in front of him and moving or why he is lunging at your hands.

A vet visit is definately in order. Good luck!

-Bonnie

ok...right now he's in a 20L because he's small and the fact he doesn't chase crix that well I wanted him to be able to get them. Basking is 100, other side is about 85 or so. He has a uvb. I thought about the eyesite thing too but this is new behavior for him. This morning I did put a piece of food in his mouth when he hissed at me and it seemed to surprise him, but he stopped! (great idea by the way) but shortly after he bit me a good one when I went to try it again, he ended up with another mouth full. Dont want him to start thinking my finger tastes good though...lol. He did let me pet him a couple times on the head last night and today before he went awol. I'm gonna keep trying but it is unfortunate because he is my daughters pet and now she's scared of him. I have two others who are so sweet...I hope it's just a phase.

I'll keep the eyesight in mind.

Marilee
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1.2 Bearded Dragons (Dezirae, Artimis & Papi)
0.2 Dogs (Timex & Brady)
1.0 Sulcata (Speedy)
0.1 Hamsters
2.2 Horses (Joey, Lady, Cherokee & Crystal)
2.0 Beta Fish

just posted a similar one the other day about an agressive juvie. what has worked best for me has been the greens trick. I almost think mine is looking foreward to it now, like a game or something- he "attacks" the greens while I'm holding him. I've been bitten so many times that I lost count! also, try holding him while you mist him with a spray bottle. when i do that mine immediately just sits there and enjoys it, then he lets me pet him for a minute before he remembers that he is supposed to not like it!! good luck!
~Teresa

The food thing works pretty good, until he realizes he's being rewarded for bad behavior. Then he'll do it for spite, just to get a meal out of it. The misting idea works very well, but there are other alternatives to try.

One way to go about it is to pick him up when he's sleeping for the night. I know, it sounds dangerous. But believe me, after the initial shock of being picked up wears off, usually they go right to sleep so long as you don't move around a lot.

Another way is to get workman's gloves and go in and pick him up. He'll nip at the gloves which won't hurt you, and then you can cup your hand over his eyes for a short period of time. This has a calming effect that will (most of the time) settle him down. Remember, beardies rely on visual threats more than anything, and since you're bigger than he is, he's perceiving you as one. If he can't see what's happening he'll settle down, thinking the threat has gone away.

Thirdly, don't approach your beardie from the front and above, which is the zone where most of his predators come from. If you can, try to approach him from the back and belly area, and slide your fingers underneath his rear and front legs, lifting him up gently. If he is facing you at the time, divert his attention with something while moving in around his rear and side. You might want to try this with gloves, as they tend to squirm a lot, resulting in him nipping you and you possibly dropping him to the floor.

Although Draconis was never a nipper, he was really skiddish about being handled. After finally getting him on me, I would cup my hand over his head just enough to calm him down (not grab ahold of it mind you, more like a shelter), and he'd sit on me for hours. He's tame enough now to "rely" on me for attention, so I hope you'll get yours to that level as well.

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Dl

THANK YOU guys for such great advice. I've used a little bit from everyone. Well...today is the first day I didn't get bit. I scooped him up early this morning and put him in a small carry case to take him to work with me (hoping to get a fecal sample and to check his eyesight). He has been his normal self pretty much all day. Doctor saw no signs of eye problems and unfortunately I didn't get a fecal done, BUT he has been pretty well behaved all day and I handled him alot. I just put him back to relax...hope I can get him out in the morning without an issue! I am thinking maybe it's b/c he's starting to shed? My girls have never been grumpy when they shed, but maybe he is?!?!? It is his first shed since I've had him....food for thought.

Marilee
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1.2 Bearded Dragons (Dezirae, Artimis & Papi)
0.2 Dogs (Timex & Brady)
1.0 Sulcata (Speedy)
0.1 Hamsters
2.2 Horses (Joey, Lady, Cherokee & Crystal)
2.0 Beta Fish

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1.2 Bearded Dragons (Dezirae, Artimis & Papi)
0.2 Dogs (Timex & Brady)
1.0 Sulcata (Speedy)
0.1 Hamsters
2.2 Horses (Joey, Lady, Cherokee & Crystal)
2.0 Beta Fish