Hi I got my beardie 6 weeks ago and left him alone without picking him up for the first 3 weeks, then I began picking him up to move him inside his enclosure but he gradually didn’t like it and starting running from me, the last week I have been getting him to come onto my hand with worms then bringing him out the tank and letting him roam around the living room for a while before putting him back, the first time we tried this he was great and didn’t run from me when I tried to pick him up but the last few times I’ve had to almost chase him about a little bit to get hold of him, the first day his beard was tiny bit black but not much at all, the last 2 times his beard has really darkened and displayed stress marks, I feel like we’re going backwards with him even tho I’ve given him respect and time before handling any ideas why it could be getting more stressful for him and not less?
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Handling
- Thread starter Eddie
- Start date
Keep working w/ him in the tank and outside but not letting him run- let him get used to you handling him -- sounds like more trust needs to be built on
Ok so don’t put him down right now just keep hold of him for the next few weeks maybe? I just wanted to show him it’s fun outside lol I do feel as if the trust that he may of had with me may go as I had to grab him because he kept running from me
Yes dont put him down on the floor still work w/ the handling -- you probably scared him when trying to catch him the last time he was out --
Ok he will still eat from my hand so all is not lost I guess? I will keep hold of him from now on, he lets me stroke under his beard in his tank sometimes but then he will run off sometimes too
It may take awhile --- dragons have different personalities -- did you get something in the tank w/ your smell on it?
Yh I did but it was an old tee that was in my draw so it was clean does it need to be something that I’ve worn that day ?
No but something w/ your smell on it -- so if its been in the drawer wear it then put it in his hide -- or a piece of it so the smell is on it - that will get him used to your smell --
Hi this is a separate thing but is 80f in the cook end ok? I’ve struggled to get basking spot right but have it spot on with a dimmer stat but the cool end goes up to 80f sometimes 81f I’ve seen that it’s fine but as anything on the internet I’ve seen conflicting opinions so thought you would be the best person for me to ask, hope you don’t mind. Thanks
That's a good temp for cool side
What’s the highest it can safely go?
You want low 80's - 83
Thank you
Hi I have been getting him out daily this week maybe more, when I’m holding him and his beard is black and he has stress marks do I carry on holding him or does he need to go back? I hold him for about 15 mins a day at the moment but I do notice his beard darkening in that time, should I put him back when he starts to darken up or is this part of the process
I would say it has him stressed a little bit --- just keep doing what your doing - does the stress marks and black beard go away after you put him back in his tank ?
Yes not right away but they do eventually, he always seems to have a faint bit of black under his chin to be honest but not stress marks. Maybe he is still not fully comfortable in my home? We have kids who do bang and make noise as you can imagine, although we stop it as soon as we can.. I don’t actually pick him up out of his tank because he runs if I try to but I lure him with a wax worm. He comes onto my hand and I get him out that way. I am very calm with him but he tries every now and then to escape me holding him but I just let him run over my hands and keep hold of him, I have noticed it gets is beard dark and stress marks appear on his chin but I continue until about 15 mins and as long as we been calm for a few min I will then put him back. I just want to make sure this won’t be detrimental to him trusting me
When going to pick him up put your finger in front of his mouth so he can lick you- the dark could be coloring your seeing - some have a dark blackish coloring to them that looks like they have a black beard - post a pic of him so I can see what your talking about-- working w/ him is not going to be detrimental to him as long as your not traumatizing him which I dont think you are --
That’s him now, I have put a worn t shirt in yesterday and I feel he is wary of it today maybe even stressing him a little more than usual but is that to be expected with a new smell in his tank ?
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He looks crabby- the shirt is something new- he will need to get used to it- I see digital thermometers - are you using those for just ambient temps ? You need digital probe ones if you are-
Funnily enough he does look more stressed today than usual so once he has gotten over it I will send another to show you what he usually looks like… I have a digital probe thermometer in the middle of the tank and it reads the same as the round one in his cool end so I thought they were right ? Plus it’s always 10 degrees and 10 % difference humidity in temp from hot end to cool end. So if I trust my probe thermometer then I assumed these are accurate also ?
