Skittish dragon

[Cch9413]

One of my dragons is about 8 months old and he is very skittish if I try to hold him. He doesn’t see very well for some reason so he can’t hunt because he misses the bugs so I hand feed him daily. He eats greens from my hands and bugs from tongs. He’s a healthy eater but not interested in being held at all. He puffs out his beard at me and opens his mouth when he sees that I’m trying to pick him up. I try to respect his space and I’ll just pet him on his hammock until he does that little hiss sound and runs away. Any tips on how I can gain his affections?

 

[Sadie]

One of my dragons is about 8 months old and he is very skittish if I try to hold him. He doesn’t see very well for some reason so he can’t hunt because he misses the bugs so I hand feed him daily. He eats greens from my hands and bugs from tongs. He’s a healthy eater but not interested in being held at all. He puffs out his beard at me and opens his mouth when he sees that I’m trying to pick him up. I try to respect his space and I’ll just pet him on his hammock until he does that little hiss sound and runs away. Any tips on how I can gain his affections?

You got the hand feeding down - approach him from the side not above he will think your a predator- put a piece of clothing or fleece blanket in his hide w/ your smell on it so he's used to your smell - he probably is already but do that and get a glove and pick him up- keep doing that 5 minutes at a time every day couple times a day - he will eventually calm down - he knows he can get away w/the hissing etc--

 

[Cch9413]

Thanks! Can I ask, why wear a glove? Also when I try to hold him he just runs and squirms away so I usually don’t try to push it and just leave him be. I just don’t want him to get to stressed, you know? My other dragon is super affectionate and handles well. I gues touch just is not his love language.

 

[Skybug]

Tough love is needed sometimes, sounds like hes a brat to me lol, all this nice stuff and he’s being naughty still, I wouldn’t do a glove, that’ll just be another foreign object for him (unless u need it cause hes scratching up ur hand) , id just take him out constantly, 3 times a day even, his past experiences may have been loud fast moving children, he needs to see u as calm and not a threat, also it looks like he has stuck shed in his nose canal, that needs to come out

 

[Skybug]

Also “sand dune” looking wrinkles are a sign of hes thirsty, if he opens his mouth and u see strands of saliva thats a sign of dehydration aswell. (I Hope im not coming off as judgmental, apologies if i am)

 

[Cch9413]

So he did have a huge snot bubble when I tried to pick him up yesterday. He IS a total brat. He was very very sick shortly after we got him and learned he was impacted, turns out it was from mealworms, he didn’t eat for almost 2 weeks so I’ve spent a lot of time hand feeding him. I did notice the saliva strands when he puffed out and blew a snot bubble at me. I’ll give him a good soak today and mist him a little more often. He soaks in his bowl occasionally but gets most of his hydration from his greens (he is a very eager green eater) I give him a mixture of bok choy, a little bit of kale (it’s his favorite but i know it doesn’t hold high nutrition), collard greens, arugula, endive and parsley. I buy fresh once a week and chop it all up, Mix it all together and feed my dragons throughout the week. You are coming off as informative and genuine, not judgmental at all. I very much appreciate your help.
He did just go through a shed and has been rubbing his face against the carpet a lot so I imagine he really got that in his nose canal good. I’ll get it out.

 

[Skybug]

So he did have a huge snot bubble when I tried to pick him up yesterday. He IS a total brat. He was very very sick shortly after we got him and learned he was impacted, turns out it was from mealworms, he didn’t eat for almost 2 weeks so I’ve spent a lot of time hand feeding him. I did notice the saliva strands when he puffed out and blew a snot bubble at me. I’ll give him a good soak today and mist him a little more often. He soaks in his bowl occasionally but gets most of his hydration from his greens (he is a very eager green eater) I give him a mixture of bok choy, a little bit of kale (it’s his favorite but i know it doesn’t hold high nutrition), collard greens, arugula, endive and parsley. I buy fresh once a week and chop it all up, Mix it all together and feed my dragons throughout the week. You are coming off as informative and genuine, not judgmental at all. I very much appreciate your help.
He did just go through a shed and has been rubbing his face against the carpet a lot so I imagine he really got that in his nose canal good. I’ll get it out.

Just be gentle when “helping” with shed, if it doesn’t budge its not ready, lots of people say you shouldn’t help with shed, and in most cases they’re right, but in my opinion you should always “help” with tail tips , toes , nose caps (aka the mushroom) and any other scale that has been completely dead any longer than a month, some bearded dragons go through “bad sheds” and it takes them longer. My bearded dragon shed its tail tip for like two months in the winter.