Gaining Trust?

[NorbertTheDragon]

The first two weeks that I had Norbert, he would let me pick him up and hold him no problem. Loved to come out and chill on my chest. Today, I stick my hand in and he puffs out his little beard and opens his mouth as if he wants to bite me. I am not doing anything differently than I was. Always trying to scoop him up under the belly. All day, he has been running around his enclosure like crazy, scratching at the glass. Is he stressed out? How can I convince him that I am not going to hurt him, that I'm not a predator?

 

[khaleesi]

Maybe he's getting stressed due to shedding has he had any color change? By color change I mean colors looking dull, slightly grayish. Lots of lizards behave differently when they get to shedding if he's rubbing a lot this most likely the reason and as for running round possibly trying to split the dry skin. Hope this helps I'm sure there's a perfectly rational reason for his change in behavior and my money would be shedding. Next time you have him out maybe try giving him a little soak in some warm water (not too warm test it like you would for a baby with your elbow) don't fill it any higher than his little arm pits and watch the whole time just to be on the safe side, this will help take the itch down a notch and also provide a bit of moisture into his body which is always a good thing

 

[Germ]

Just leave him alone when he does this, he doesn't want to be picked up. Khaleesi's comment is a very good possibility or he may just be having a bad day, they have moods just like we do . Attempting to force him while in this 'Mood' will only aggravate it, stress him out & possibly estrange him for a long time. Patience is generally the answer.

 

[NorbertTheDragon]

Maybe he's getting stressed due to shedding has he had any color change? By color change I mean colors looking dull, slightly grayish. Lots of lizards behave differently when they get to shedding if he's rubbing a lot this most likely the reason and as for running round possibly trying to split the dry skin. Hope this helps I'm sure there's a perfectly rational reason for his change in behavior and my money would be shedding. Next time you have him out maybe try giving him a little soak in some warm water (not too warm test it like you would for a baby with your elbow) don't fill it any higher than his little arm pits and watch the whole time just to be on the safe side, this will help take the itch down a notch and also provide a bit of moisture into his body which is always a good thing

His colors do look slightly dull on his head and tail, but other than that I haven't noticed much of a difference. I spritz him every day to give him a little moisture. I haven't tried putting him in the bath yet, thanks for the tip! I left my room for a brief moment today, and when I came back in my cat was peering into the tank and pawing at him. Could this have shaken him up and made him not want to come out? I immediately shoo'd her out of the room when I saw this. Also, he has had his tail in the air as if he is in alert mode. I put a backdrop behind the glass on one of the walls of his enclosure because it seemed like his reflection was freaking him out. But there are two other sides in which he can still see his reflection. Could this be causing stress/agression? He sits to the side of the tank often and scratches the glass or runs back and forth. Sometimes bobbing his head. When I approach the tank and just look at him today, he puffs up.

In response to Germ:
I immediately left him alone. Aside from cleaning up a pile of stinky poo and fixing up his salad. The last thing I want is to make it worse. As you said, he could just be having a bad day. I'll try again tomorrow.

 

[khaleesi]

My little girly is stroppy she doesn't seem to like being out of the viv she will come out of her own accord and go back of her own accord she does on occasion have a funny half hour and charge round the viv when she's been out and she does the same thing when I've cleaned it she inspects my work and very often sulks because I've cleaned it all up lol

 

[NorbertTheDragon]

My little girly is stroppy she doesn't seem to like being out of the viv she will come out of her own accord and go back of her own accord she does on occasion have a funny half hour and charge round the viv when she's been out and she does the same thing when I've cleaned it she inspects my work and very often sulks because I've cleaned it all up lol

That makes sense. I did have him out while cleaning his enclosure up yesterday. Maybe that could be part of it. He gets these little spurts of energy and runs around and then just goes back to his corner to sit. I've done some research and a lot of the sources I looked at say this is perfectly normal behavior for a baby. I was just a little worried as it seemed to come out of nowhere.

 

[khaleesi]

His colors do look slightly dull on his head and tail, but other than that I haven't noticed much of a difference. I spritz him every day to give him a little moisture. I haven't tried putting him in the bath yet, thanks for the tip! I left my room for a brief moment today, and when I came back in my cat was peering into the tank and pawing at him. Could this have shaken him up and made him not want to come out? I immediately shoo'd her out of the room when I saw this. Also, he has had his tail in the air as if he is in alert mode. I put a backdrop behind the glass on one of the walls of his enclosure because it seemed like his reflection was freaking him out. But there are two other sides in which he can still see his reflection. Could this be causing stress/agression? He sits to the side of the tank often and scratches the glass or runs back and forth. Sometimes bobbing his head. When I approach the tank and just look at him today, he puffs up.

The cat: Yes this will make him stressed he's territorial and a huge kitty peering at him probably had him on alert.

Color change: I would say he is definitely fixing to shed if his head and tail have gone dull.

Glass and Reflection: If he's at the glass he's doing the very common ''glass dance'' he can see himself but doesn't realize it's himself it's just another lizard to him.

Head bobbing is natural both my little angels do it it's nothing to worry about. And the tail in the air I'm not sure why but my girl does that too. Puffing up hmmm slight anxiety maybe but nothing to worry about.

Did you add anything new to his enclosure apart from the scenic view? I doubt the view will bother him much.

 

[khaleesi]

They thing I learnt about babies very quickly was they are either insanely active/sleeping/eating/pooping and nothing in between lol

 

[NorbertTheDragon]

The cat: Yes this will make him stressed he's territorial and a huge kitty peering at him probably had him on alert.

Color change: I would say he is definitely fixing to shed if his head and tail have gone dull.

Glass and Reflection: If he's at the glass he's doing the very common ''glass dance'' he can see himself but doesn't realize it's himself it's just another lizard to him.

Head bobbing is natural both my little angels do it it's nothing to worry about. And the tail in the air I'm not sure why but my girl does that too. Puffing up hmmm slight anxiety maybe but nothing to worry about.

Did you add anything new to his enclosure apart from the scenic view? I doubt the view will bother him much.

Well, when I cleaned, I removed the water bowl. I have read that it is not necessary for him, as beardeds will not drink from it and get water through the foods that they eat, bathing and a light spritz of water (which I do daily). It was taking up space and he didn't use it. I got a smaller food dish for him and took out the other. Would these small changes make a difference? Also, should I be putting something on the sides of the tank as well so that he cannot see his reflection?
Will the encounter with my cat terrify him of ever coming out of his viv again? Or is it something he will get over.

 

[NorbertTheDragon]

Well, when I cleaned, I removed the water bowl. I have read that it is not necessary for him, as beardeds will not drink from it and get water through the foods that they eat, bathing and a light spritz of water (which I do daily). It was taking up space and he didn't use it. I got a smaller food dish for him and took out the other. Would these small changes make a difference? Also, should I be putting something on the sides of the tank as well so that he cannot see his reflection?
Will the encounter with my cat terrify him of ever coming out of his viv again? Or is it something he will get over.

Ooops! Sorry. Forgot to mention that I put a new bulb in for night time a few days earlier. Normally, I would leave the lights off. But my room is in the basement of my home so it gets a lot colder at night than it would on the upper level of the house. Especially with winter approaching. I bought a black bulb for night. I was worried about him getting too cold. It is a very dim light, I can hardly even see it. Would this change affect him?

 

[khaleesi]

Nooo it's probably just spooked him a bit.

Possibly the small changes have added to his behavior but I would just let him be today and tomorrow if he still isn't any better consider your options. If the cat has constant access to the room I would consider adding the same scene to the sides but tbh I imagine they will get used to each other soon enough and basically ignore their presence my babies don't bother when they see the dog and the dog just has a little look and walks away. They've not met outside of the controlled situation of the dog outside and the lizards inside of the glass nor do I intend to ever change that fact.

Here is what I would do...Dull head and tail has always meant shed time nothing will change that all you can do it encourage it to be quick. I would fix him a bath tomorrow 10-15 mins, not splashing him but making sure he gets wet all over. Towel dry and let him be in his viv the rest of the day. I generally have dinner done clean the enclosure put the dinner in after you've taken him out bath ready at this point and straight into the water. He will have dinner ready when he goes back in and some quiet time, this I feel would be most beneficial to him.

 

[khaleesi]

Ooops! Sorry. Forgot to mention that I put a new bulb in for night time a few days earlier. Normally, I would leave the lights off. But my room is in the basement of my home so it gets a lot colder at night than it would on the upper level of the house. Especially with winter approaching. I bought a black bulb for night. I was worried about him getting too cold. It is a very dim light, I can hardly even see it. Would this change affect him?

A light over night will disturb his sleep I would remove it and get a heat mat, attach it under the viv not in the viv he could cook himself if he sleep on it all night, I have a 5w heat mat and that generally maintains temps when we have frosty nights.

 

[NorbertTheDragon]

A light over night will disturb his sleep I would remove it and get a heat mat, attach it under the viv not in the viv he could cook himself if he sleep on it all night, I have a 5w heat mat and that generally maintains temps when we have frosty nights.

Okay. And I had heard many different things about the night lights. I will ditch that and get a heating mat to put under his viv. Any specific brands I should look at buying that would work better than most others? I'm a new beardie mom, so of course I worry about every little thing. LOL. Hopefully his sassy behavior goes away by tomorrow and we can spend some quality time together.

 

[Germ]

In my opinion covering the sides on the outside accentuates the reflective quality of the glass. Think about it, when you gaze at a picture framed with standard glass, quite often you see a serious reflection, yet when you look directly out of a window, you see right through it, generally with very little, if any, reflection. We see reflections quite often in the enclosures, because we are looking at the glass at an angle & not directly through it, as they would be, like when we are looking in from the front from the outside there is little reflection in most lighting. I have always only covered the back of my glass enclosures & that is more for aesthetics & to cover the unsightly wires, than any other reason. Covering the inside of an enclosure is not very practical, as the BD & feeders may be able to climb the covering surface.

Personally, the only purpose\reason for covering the enclosure sides would be to block the view of other animals or things in the room that may be stressers & can't otherwise be removed.

Just leave him be & don't stress over it, it's only just happened, you have no idea if this will be an ongoing thing or not. Shed is a very high possibility as being the cause of the issue, mood change. Keep the cat away & out of sight as that could be a high stresser to some BDs, having this furry predator sizing them up for lunch, with no avenue of escape.

 

[khaleesi]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001UFIKG0/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&smid=A2L6NM4890GL2E

^^ This is the one I have cheap but effective

That's just like me I worry more about my babies more than anything else. Christmas this year is partially postponed lol only important people are getting gifts ON the big day this year I spent and spent like crazy getting their vivs setup how I wanted them not really caring how bad out financial situation was/is but as long as the kids (lizards) have their every whim answered I'm happy I hope Norbert calms down for you I hate it when YOU want cuddles but they don't. Us lizard mamas have to stick together only we understand how another thinks

 

[khaleesi]

Germ makes great points

 

[NorbertTheDragon]

In my opinion covering the sides on the outside accentuates the reflective quality of the glass. Think about it, when you gaze at a picture framed with standard glass, quite often you see a serious reflection, yet when you look directly out of a window, you see right through it, generally with very little, if any, reflection. We see reflections quite often in the enclosures, because we are looking at the glass at an angle & not directly through it, as they would be, like when we are looking in from the front from the outside there is little reflection in most lighting. I have always only covered the back of my glass enclosures & that is more for aesthetics & to cover the unsightly wires, than any other reason. Covering the inside of an enclosure is not very practical, as the BD & feeders may be able to climb the covering surface.

Personally, the only purpose\reason for covering the enclosure sides would be to block the view of other animals or things in the room that may be stressers & can't otherwise be removed.

Just leave him be & don't stress over it, it's only just happened, you have no idea if this will be an ongoing thing or not. Shed is a very high possibility as been the cause of the issue, mood change. Keep the cat away & out of sight as that could be a high stresser to some BDs, having this furry predator sizing them up for lunch, with no avenue of escape.

You are right. I have not thought of it that way. Thank you. I appreciate your help!

 

[NorbertTheDragon]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001UFIKG0/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&smid=A2L6NM4890GL2E

^^ This is the one I have cheap but effective

That's just like me I worry more about my babies more than anything else. Christmas this year is partially postponed lol only important people are getting gifts ON the big day this year I spent and spent like crazy getting their vivs setup how I wanted them not really caring how bad out financial situation was/is but as long as the kids (lizards) have their every whim answered I'm happy I hope Norbert calms down for you I hate it when YOU want cuddles but they don't. Us lizard mamas have to stick together only we understand how another thinks

Awesome! Thank you for the link, I will most definitely be ordering one for him! And I agree. Christmas is going to be a little tight for me too. I'm constantly asking questions and making sure that he gets everything that he needs. Breaking my bank, but he's worth every penny that I have. <3

 

[khaleesi]

<3 much love to the sweet little angels bringing light into our lives everyday life without them would not be the same <3

 

[Germ]

A light over night will disturb his sleep I would remove it and get a heat mat, attach it under the viv not in the viv he could cook himself if he sleep on it all night, I have a 5w heat mat and that generally maintains temps when we have frosty nights.

A low Wattage (40-60W) CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter)

on an inline dimmer or thermostat, is a much better choice to use for night heat, just enough to take the edge off. Night heat is not necessary, needed or even wanted, unless your ambient room temps drop below the mid to low 60s F at night. BDs should be allowed to cool at night, it slows their metabolism down for a good nights rest. Yes Night 'Lights' of any color will bother most BDs sleep & possibly change their demeanor & make them irritable.

I never recommend UTHs (Under The tank Heater) or heat pads for night heat & if they are used, should be thermostatically controlled to prevent\protect from overheating in case of malfunction which is a periodic problem\happening with them.