holding my baby beardie

[averyhanna_]

so i got my baby beardie (i’m estimating he’s three months old) on friday, and he seems to be adjusting well. he was glass surfing a little on the first day but he’s stopped. he’s eating well (crickets dusted w calcium/ multivitamin and working on veggies) and he’s been having good frequent poops. he lets me pet him and closes his eyes and blinks when i do so. he doesn’t run away from me at all. however when i try to handle him (i do one finger starting under his chin and try to slide it under his belly) he starts to open his mouth? whenever he does this i back up and wait a few minutes to try again but he keeps doing it. i know bearded dragons gape when they try to regulate their temperature but he never does this unless i’m trying to hold him. i want him to grow up comfortable with handling but i don’t know what i’m doing wrong. any ideas? thanks

oh and here’s a picture of him because he’s adorable!

 

[averyhanna_]

i thought i’d add more pictures so you guys can see how he normally looks. i don’t think he appears stressed in my presence. i cant tell if he has stress marks on his belly or if that’s just his natural markings.

 

[Silver dragons]

It's a natural thing for bearded dragons to sometimes do. It's a defense mechanism so that creatures don't try to hurt it. I would suggest trying to hold him in a different way.

 

[Crabs Mcjones]

Agree with @Silver dragons however when he does the opening of the mouth, don't pull back, that teaches the dragon that doing that works. By not pulling your hand back they learn that they cannot intimidate you. Their bites don't hurt, especially at that size

 

[averyhanna_]

It's a natural thing for bearded dragons to sometimes do. It's a defense mechanism so that creatures don't try to hurt it. I would suggest trying to hold him in a different way.

thank you! what other ways can i pick him up? i don’t want to hurt him at all

 

[averyhanna_]

Agree with @Silver dragons however when he does the opening of the mouth, don't pull back, that teaches the dragon that doing that works. By not pulling your hand back they learn that they cannot intimidate you. Their bites don't hurt, especially at that size

thanks! i need to discipline him but he’s just so cute lol! i’m the same way with my dogs and now i have two spoiled pitbulls

 

[Crabs Mcjones]

thank you! what other ways can i pick him up? i don’t want to hurt him at all

start at the front of his body and gently slide your hands underneath him. Go with the scales. Should be fine

 

[averyhanna_]

start at the front of his body and gently slide your hands underneath him. Go with the scales. Should be fine

thank you!! i’ll try that after he’s digested his lunch a little more

 

[N W]

I still feel like I'm not good at picking ours up. My daughter is better at it. She watched a YT video. Lol

 

[averyhanna_]

I still feel like I'm not good at picking ours up. My daughter is better at it. She watched a YT video. Lol

i’ve watched so many videos about it! i’m a worrier and i don’t wanna do anything to harm the little guy!

 

[averyhanna_]

i tried picking him up again and it went well! i didn’t back down when he opened his mouth (he never actually tried to bite me) and got the front half of his body holding my finger. at that moment he decided “you know even though i’ve never eaten my veggies on my own i want to right now!” and hopped on my finger to grab some collard greens. baby steps lol