Id like some info to help me help Justus

[crypticdragons]

So Justus purchased a female from me 2 weeks ago (or it will be two weeks on the 5th). I have gone over everything I can think of with him on why she is acting the way she is acting. I have had him cover the sides of her cage, change the substrate from repticarpet to newspaper (what she is used to), block her view of his big male rex, and adjust the way he picks her up. Yet she is still overly tank aggressive. I know it is likely part of her acclimating to her new surroundings, but when she left me she was an very calm and completely non-aggressive dragon. Now whenever justus comes near her she will hiss and attempt to bite him. I am at a loss of ways to help him and need yall's input on what it could be.

He has the appropriate lighting and heat setup in place, offers her salad daily and live insects multiple times daily. She was already used to a top open tank (as my babies are kept in large sterilite bins) so the tank difference is low. As I said he is adjusting the substrate and has attempted to get her used to him. Once she is out of the tank things are fine but while in the tank she has "tank aggression". I am unsure how to help this any further or if there is anything I can do. He is unhappy with the purchase because of this and I do not blame him. I just do not want him to rehome her because of something that I can not figure out. Thanks.

Brian.

 

[Pogie]

Well I dont know much about babies. But could it still be relo stress like you said?
Has Justus tried the used t-shirt trick? Ive heard it does work with some beardeds.
But thats about all I can suggest since the husbandry issues are fine.
Hope its just relo stress and she comes around really soon.

 

[crystal9534]

m'lynn used to be like that...he would open his mouth at me and flinch back. i was at the point where i never wanted to take him out because i was afraid he'd bite me. he grew out of it and is fine whenever you stick a hand in his tank. this was only a few months ago, as he's still not even a year old. i know this doesn't help, but just saying that my boy did that and is fine now. *shrugs*

 

[crypticdragons]

Yeah he is highly dissapointed only because she was so calm and tame. I guess it was not expected that relocation stress would cause her to become as aggressive as she is. he plans to give it another 2 weeks and then plans to find her a new home. I am sad about that but if its what he feels is best its what is best. I ran out of tips for him to make her new home more "familiar" to her.

 

[Justus85]

I may relent on that in the future but it truly is testing my patience because as Brian has attested I have tried near everything to include the t shirt trick monique brought up. My experience with rex was soo different; to this day he hasnt hissed at me one time.

 

[Red Ink AUS]

A month of agression in a new environment does not atest to relocation IMO ( bit drastic really). At the end on the day they are reptiles and should not be expected to behave like puppies. Time and patience is all that is needed, there's new surroundings, new smells, new environmental factors, new humans, new everything.... TIME and PATIENCE.

Bri wahat hand soap do you use???
Same brand may elicit a different reaction.

 

[staylor]

Piggy was the same way. I hand fed her when she would let me and just gave her time. It took a couple of months but she came around to me and now she is my little baby who cuddles with me on the sofa. Time and Patients is all it took.

 

[crypticdragons]

francis he hasnt had her a month (he has had her two weeks on tuesday). I use dawn anti-bacterial dish soap and then hand sanitizer.

 

[Red Ink AUS]

francis he hasnt had her a month (he has had her two weeks on tuesday). I use dawn anti-bacterial dish soap and then hand sanitizer.

Might be worth a shot trying the same soap Justin.

 

[Justus85]

Trust me I've considered this being a matter of patience. They really react to your hand soap like that? Shoot I'll try it. One thing you have to understand though Red is that my expectations of bearded dragon behavior stems from stories I have heard and how Rex has behaved (admittedly limited). I have heard of dragons needing a little time to get used to their surroundings. Ok, I did that. But the situation worsened, the exact cause I can not attest to as several remedies have been attempted with little to no affect. My major concern was doubt in my own level of handling ability if I was unable to make her comfortable with my presence maybe I'm just not cut out to handle the needs of this particular dragon. Combine that with the notion a having a pet that bows up at you on site even when you are merely placing the food dish inside..... It may be a bit drastic to relo any time soon, but I definitely plan to let over a month go by before finalizing my decision. My hopes are that she will calm down once she realizes I am not out to get her. Seems others have similar experiences. Maybe I was just spoiled by Rex who has been well behaved aside from driving me crazy with his pickyness and pooping on me/my bed/wherever he is standing at that time. Problem though is that a while back he was soo inactive I felt like I owned a statue with scales and it took us a while to finally bond. Now I love the little guy and couldn't be without him. I am truly hoping the same happens with Tink.

 

[ladyknite]

Although I think logically you're right, you've got a conflict you might be able to resolve until she can settle in some more.

She was already used to a top open tank (as my babies are kept in large sterilite bins)

But glass is a different story. Switch her back to a Sterilite temporarily until you can overcome this aggression issue and be patient as Francis explained.

 

[Gail]

I really thing its a combo of relocation stress and fear. Even if she can't see rex, she is aware of a strange dragon. My Nyx from Brian is also having unusually severe relocation stress but thankfully isn't aggressive.
I know its really disappointing to have a pet try to bit you but she will come around, she is just very scared right now.
I personally believe in letting aggressive babies bite all they want, it won't hurt you and she'll learn that you don't scare away. Handle her daily if she likes it or not, she need to learn that your aren't scary and that she doesn't control the situation.

 

[crypticdragons]

I really thing its a combo of relocation stress and fear. Even if she can't see rex, she is aware of a strange dragon. My Nyx from Brian is also having unusually severe relocation stress but thankfully isn't aggressive.
I know its really disappointing to have a pet try to bit you but she will come around, she is just very scared right now.
I personally believe in letting aggressive babies bite all they want, it won't hurt you and she'll learn that you don't scare away. Handle her daily if she likes it or not, she need to learn that your aren't scary and that she doesn't control the situation.

yours isnt severe its just sporatic eating and hiding.

Though im unsure as to why both of you are having issues like this. They are handled all the time here, fed well, moved oftenm and cared for well. Im so confused by all this. Its enough to make me want to throw in the towel on this.

 

[Justus85]

Hmm, I can definitely understand your frustration. Now I want you to know Brian I don't think this reflects badly on you as a breeder whatsoever. They are both still young. It is probably more my inexperience than anything that has made this a little more difficult than it should be. I have no doubt in my mind that these two were very well cared for by you, thats why I went out of my way to do business with you as I had perfect confidence in your abilities as a breeder. Tink is getting better daily and I am learning better handling along the way as well. She still puffs and opens her mouth but in the last couple of days she hasn't tried to run from me much at all and hasn't been hiding a lot like she used to. Despite the aggression she hasn't actually bitten me yet, there have been close calls but thats it.

 

[Gail]

Don't feel bad Brian, some babies are just more prone to stress then others. Sounds like both the girls are starting to come around more and they will be fine soon.
We've talked about how being raised away from daily activity of a normal household might have caused some of the issues. I've been thinking about that and wonder if you could put a small TV in the reptile room during the day, maybe it would help them get used to noise and movement outside the cages.
Justus, a few months back I got a baby blue tongue skink, he was so sweet and gentle the first couple weeks then he turned into a nasty, lunging beasty that constantly tried to bite. I too was on the verge of rehoming but I decided to stick it out and now he is quite easy to handle. In normal skink behavior, he still puffs and hisses but never opens his mouth or lunges. It took some time but now he is a normal skink, as friendly as they ever get.

 

[staylor]

Have you thought about having them in 2 different rooms? I can not have my 2 dragons in the same room as each other. If they even hear the other they both get aggressive towards me and everything around them. I have one in my dining room and the other in my bedroom. I had them in the same room for about a week and while they could not see each other they could hear each other and were stressed. Once they were put in 2 different rooms things went back to normal within an hour.