Hello from Louisiana!

[MikeC]

Hello everyone!

We are new to the whole bearded dragon world. We got it for my son on Dec 29th 2014 from Petsmart.

We have a pet Squirrel, 2 Boxers, 1 MinPin, and a Dwarf Hamster.

I have TONS of questions about Spike,,,,,,,,or may be a Spikette? Not sure! LOL!

We bought the Bearded Dragon tank set up with everything included for Christmas for my son,,,,,,,then we went got Spike a week after Christmas.

My son does love the animal,,,,,but I do not feel he gives Spike near as much attention as a baby beardie should have so it can get used to humans. The little guy still,,,,,to this day,,,,puffs up as soon as we open his tank lid,,,,and runs from us,,,,,and tonight he bit my sons finger when my son cornered him/her.

Is this normal? I am glad to have found this forum. I want to get my own bearded dragon now that we got spike for my son. He is the COOLEST THING!

 

[PatsyB]

Welcome to the forum!

He needs some time to get used to his new home. It always helps to limit handling of them until they get used to their home. I said "limit", not "don't touch at all". It's impossible not to want to touch them and hold them

There are some things that can be done to help get them comfortable. Some of these things worked for me when I got my grumpy boy Luci. Talk to him ALL the time when he is in his tank, it gets him used to your voice. If you aren't home for long periods of time you could also play a radio (we used to do sports talk radio) this will help him get used to hearing people.

When you pick him up, scoop your hand under his front while supporting his back legs and tail. They have a "third eye" on top of their heads that allows them to see predators that come from overhead. By putting your hand over his head to pick him up, he sees you as a predator.

Put your hands in his tank opposite of where he is and let them linger. When he opens his mouth to bite or hiss don't flinch. This will show him you aren't afraid of him and you are in charge. Since he has bitten your son, I would recommend when you put your hands in to linger have a piece of greens in your hand, when he goes to bite, put the food in his mouth. He'll soon learn that you control the food.

A real good trick that worked for me was I would pet Luci when he settled down for the night to go to bed. He was tired and his defenses were down so he just let me do it. Eventually I worked my way up to picking him up and holding him for a few minutes inside his tank right before bed.

Some other tips are would be to cover 3 sides of his tank so he isn't overwhelmed by what is going on in the room. You can also put a small piece of clothing in his tank that has your son's scent on it so he gets used to how he smells.

Now the other thing that would contribute to attitude problems is something in the tank itself that he doesn't like. Kits are the most misleading product out there. We would think that a reptile company would put out a kit that has all the proper items but unfortunately that is not the truth. Lots of people find themselves having to go out and buy additional items after getting a kit. Things needed would be 2 digital probe thermometers. One to measure the cool side of the tank and the other to measure the temp right on the basking spot. Analog gauges will give you the temp of the glass not the actual spot that the beardie will be sitting. You also need to make sure you have proper UVB. Coil UVB bulbs have been known to cause eye problems. I personally prefer T5 tube style bulbs. Also, with the lighting you do NOT need a red bulb for night time heat! Bearded dragons see lots of things through that 3rd eye, including spectrums of color that we can't see. Any light at night can disrupt their sleep cycle and stress them out. As long as their tank doesn't get below 65 degrees they shouldn't need heat at night. If it does go lower, a CHE is the best bulb because they give off heat without light.

This is all I can think of at the moment. I'm sure some more people will chime in if I've forgotten something. They really are cool! They each have their own personalities. My girl Dexter is 2 and she is the most gentle animal where Luci is 1 and a little more wild. He's gotten used to us holding him and what not but he still has his moments where he is a complete spaz!

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

Welcome to your new addiction

 

[Mushuandcricket]

Welcome!

 

[MikeC]

We have been turning off the white light at night and turning the red one on. We also leave the hood light on that came with the tank setup.

I thought the tank had to be between 100-109?

I also thought you HAD TO handle the little guy as much as possible so he can get used to you.

I am just so nervous that we will end up with a animal in the house that we can look at,,but nothing else because it will bite.

He doesn't hurt now,,,,but I can only imagine what his bite would feel like when he gets bigger.

Thanks for all of that info! If others want to throw some advice (Feeding, bathing, etc) I would be more than happy to accept it. I do give him two baths a week. I do not think he likes it as much as I was told Dragons liked them.

 

[PatsyB]

Daytime basking spot should be 105-110 and cool side should be 75-85. During the night however it is okay for temps to dip, it mimics how the temp gets colder at night outside.

You want to handle them but you don't want to force it. A good thing to do would be maybe 5 minutes a day near bedtime, take him out and talk to him and pet him, then put him back in. Next week do maybe 10 minutes then so on and so on.

Yes, the bite is NOTHING right now! I got bit by Dexter when she was about 18 months, she drew blood! It felt like I got my finger smashed in a door. She did it by accident. I was feeding her strawberries by hand and didn't pull my hand away fast enough. I think it scared her as much as it did me, LOL!

He will get used to baths over time. Dexter loves her baths and will run around the tub and put her head under the shower. Luci is still a little nervous. I hold his front legs with my hand until he is comfortable and then slowly let go and he will either just stand in one spot the whole time or he will get the courage to swim around a bit.

 

[Ryan & rosco]

From my experience a red light is a bad idea. It does mess with them. I bought a light that is suspose to mimic the moon. It's almost purple. But it gives off barley any light. Now these are the cheapest bulbs out there. But at night like pasty B said. It doesn't have to be hot so that should make everything content for him at night. . My little fellas name is rosco. And the easiest way to tell if rosco isn't happy is if at night he completely hides in his hut. But that's just my dragon. He loves to sprawl out and sleep in the open. But that's just my dragon and my personal experience.

 

[MikeC]

Thanks for the warm welcomes! Not sure if I am going to have to break the border of "It's my sons pet and not mine!". But we got him this little guy to enjoy,,,,,and as little as he has handled him in the past month,,,,,this animal is going to grow up freaking out every time we DO go to pick him up.

Not sure what to do here! Any advice? I do not want a animal that all it does it sits in a tank and gets fed cause no one can hold it,,,,,or take it out and let it run about the house.

Thanks Again!

 

[Zilladragon23]

Thanks for the warm welcomes! Not sure if I am going to have to break the border of "It's my sons pet and not mine!". But we got him this little guy to enjoy,,,,,and as little as he has handled him in the past month,,,,,this animal is going to grow up freaking out every time we DO go to pick him up.

Not sure what to do here! Any advice? I do not want a animal that all it does it sits in a tank and gets fed cause no one can hold it,,,,,or take it out and let it run about the house.

Thanks Again!

I know exactly how you feel! My mom got my son 2 juvenile females for his twelfth birthday, luckily they had been raised by a breeder who handled them from birth, so they are very sweet and easy going. Aside from the first couple of days, my son has had little to no interest in holding them, feeding them or cleaning up after them. I, on the other hand, have become completely obsessed with them, lol. I absolutely LOVE these girls and am doing everything I can to ensure their health and happiness. They now know my voice and usually come to me when I open the terrarium If your son isn't going to put the time and effort in, then you'll have to! Good luck to you and Spike