Suddenly Aggressive Dragon

[Beertruck]

Hi all!
I'm hoping someone out there has some good advice for me on my little guy Utini. He has suddenly become very aggressive and have no idea why. Its been about a month or so that I noticed he'd become rather moody. I thought he just didn't wanna be bothered so I backed off a little. Today as I was feeding my Uromastyx, I rested my hand on the front of Utini's enclosure with the glass door closed, and he went to attack my hand through the glass. I have never had one do this to me before, and I have had a few dragons over he years. Anyone ever heard of this behavior happening all of a sudden?

 

[Janelle]

He looks very regal. Is there something new about his environment? What are the temps and how are they measured? What uvb light do you have and how old is it? What is his diet? Is he pooping ok? Eating? Often times, when they suddenly change like that, there’s something wrong in their environment, and they have no other way to let you know.

 

[Beertruck]

Thank you! Yes he is a regal little fellow.
His environment is pretty much text book. 110 on one side and about 80 on the other. The bulb is a Reptisun 10.0 UVB (I just put a freshy in a couple of weeks ago) and change it every 6 months. His diet is greens and worms. Greens every day and worms every other day.He does poop fine, and usually eats fine. He hasnt had much of an appetite the last week though. I chalked it up to being winter time. That make sense?

 

[Janelle]

How old is he? You might want to bump down the temp a bit. Babies like it close to 110*, but he looks adult, and they like it closer to 95*. Other than that, I have no idea—and that doesn’t seem like it would cause aggression, especially if that’s what he’s used to. Are any of the other pets new? Can he see a female from his tank? I hope everything’s ok with him. You don’t see any injuries or limping or anything like that? ((

 

[Beertruck]

He's about 3 years old now, and I have taken very, very good care of him. I just got a Uromastyx about 2 weeks ago. No other animal I have is in his view. The Uro is in a separate enclosure under his. He's not limping or showing any signs of being injured. Physically he seems 100%. He just has a shitty attitude all of a sudden.
I'll try lowering his temp and see where it goes from there. but I can't imagine that being an issue as it is winter time here and even though I am in southern California, the temp does dip down at night when his lights and heat go off.
Oh, he is also suddenly spending alot of time under his hammock, which I have suspended from the walls of his enclosure. Its on the cooler side, and he also tried to get under his Reptimat too.

 

[Janelle]

SO jealous of your uromastyx! But then, this would have started before you brought it home, right? Maybe it’s just a mating season thing? Weird that he’s trying to get under his mat. You’re sure it’s a boy? Hopefully the pros will be online this weekend. They’ll probably have more ideas for you.

 

[Beertruck]

The grumpyness started before I got a Uro. I'm pretty sure he's a boy. I got him from a great breeder, Optimum Reptiles, and they sexted him when I got him. It did cross my mind that he might be a she, but have seen no evidence of him being a her. I would sex him/her now but he/she won't let me get near him/her.

 

[Beertruck]

Thank you for your help Janelle!

 

[KrissyLeigh]

I have had my boy over 3 years now and he definitely goes through moody / grumpy phases - has never actually attacked me but will randomly decide to be a jerk for a few weeks, with the hissing and the beard flaring. He is normally a TOTAL SWEETHEART so I was pretty freaked out the first time he went psycho on me. But I've noticed its just one of those things. Definitely if he is about to shed, and the moodiness seems to happen more when the seasons change... I feel that I've also heard about these issues more with male dragons. Perhaps because they get sex-starved angry.

My theory is that sometimes caged animals just get a little psychotic. No matter how well you take care of them, its putting a wild animal in a small box (compared to the native habitat). I let mine out for exercise which seems to help, but other than that I just wait it out. I have had a whole menagerie and I have also noticed it with other animals. Or maybe I'm just projecting, who knows. It's a thought, anyway.

 

[BeardedHippy]

Yeah, its probably just a personality thing I bet. They can get funny about the most simple things, some change in their environment (inside or out), new perfume or cologne or even you wearing a particular colour shirt. I often wonder if when I wear a black t-shirt if mine think I'm black bearding them or see as a sign of aggression on my part.
If you need to handle your dragon for any reason and cant get near, do it just after lights out or first thing in the morning, they are much more compliant at these times. I think Patsy trims her beardies nails while they are asleep even lol

 

[Squishy]

From what I have read and understand during this season if it is a male he may be getting ready for breeding season so his testosterone levels kick up and such so they get a little weird and can be more aggressive and would be normal behavior. When I have a feisty reptile I use the palm if my hand keep it flat and use it as sort of a wall to limit biting access so I can continue to do what I need to do with these guys then I can cup them and check, move, bathe them etc. My male has been a little more aggressive the last couple weeks as well. Talked to a 20 year breeder and they pretty much agreed that he is just getting ready for mating season and such.

 

[OHnatalie]

A couple ideas.... First, I definitely would encourage out of the cage more, but only if your critter really wants down to run (sometimes my girl only wants to sit on my shoulder.) Sorry, mine is a girl, yet I've notice when she is getting ready to shed, or thinking of hibernation cuz of the winter light, she does have changes in personality and mood. Secondly, when my girl is in one of her "moody stages", she too doesn't seem to want to eat so my vet recommended a supplement (Emeraid Systems, for exotice animal critical care - life saving nutrition, Emeraid.com) that I feed her by syringe...to keep her weight up. Keeping up the nutrition aspect insures whatever she is going thru she is healthy. (I tend to mix this with either veggie water I've made, or the emeraid powder mixed with cooked sweet potato/acorn squash and water) and boy does she LOVE that mix!!!!
Third, I have been using essential oils on my animals (cats and dogs) via Dr. Melissa Shelton AnimalEO.com who has been treating/practicing for over 20 years on all types of critters. Recently I've gotten serious since my cat with feline aids has been having issues. By researching dr shelton's on-line site I have learned I can use these on the dragon...and I've notice a difference with her too. You may want to research these oils, especially..kittyboast I've learned you can take a drop, rub it in your hands and then lightly hold your critter. Been giving my beardie the pick-me-up boast she's needed. Another you might consider is open air if your noticing any type of respiratory issues...I've been lightly diffusing this in our house and see it helping all of us...both critters and humans. If you are on Facebook, AnimalEO has a group you can join. You can learn lots there as well as ask questions.
These are just suggestions. Be sure to research all before you decide in any direction. Just hope one of these avenues helps you to take care of that special little guy

 

[Elle]

Hi all!
I'm hoping someone out there has some good advice for me on my little guy Utini. He has suddenly become very aggressive and have no idea why. Its been about a month or so that I noticed he'd become rather moody. I thought he just didn't wanna be bothered so I backed off a little. Today as I was feeding my Uromastyx, I rested my hand on the front of Utini's enclosure with the glass door closed, and he went to attack my hand through the glass. I have never had one do this to me before, and I have had a few dragons over he years. Anyone ever heard of this behavior happening all of a sudden?

 

[Elle]

My bearded dragon is very sweet, docile, lil man. Godzilla, He's been getting mean, shaking his head at me, being rude. I realized why today. Shedding...

 

[Virginia]

or he could be in pain....check for ticks, sores or cuts. Being in pain definitely makes any animal mean because it's the only way they can vocalize. Just a thought

 

[AnandaTheDragon]

Someone above mentioned more out of cage time. My current beardie really loves getting out of his cage. If, for whatever reason, I can't let him out as often as he would like... he gets a little pissy. But he gets over it after I let him out for a couple of hours. My cage is large, but I think they get a little stir crazy even with plenty of space.

 

[Galapoodle]

Hey, I recently saw a thread elsewhere about a suddenly aggressive male just under a year old. They chalked it up to puberty and I think hormones is a reasonable deduction here since he's 3. One of the great ideas they had for coping was to have a piece of greens in your hand every time you put your hand in, that way if he aggresses you can just put it in his angry open mouth, using a firm tone of voice even though it's terrifying. Then he may start to re-recognise you better as a person with food for him. Maybe you have already tried it, i think it's a brilliant idea. The other thing was to immediately stand up to him because he is testing to see if he can dominate you. In the case I read about the woman couldn't even pick it up because of the aggression, but after the advice she said she just marched up to him and picked him up and put him on the floor to run around and he immediately was happy (lightened up). I don't think you said how much you have your dragon out but when mine (a girl) is spring frisky she has like crazy energy to burn and her tank is not enough space for the amount of climbing and running she does. It's like running around after a toddler.

 

[Tabasco]

My zero Iceberg attacks the glass when he sees me. He just wants out, to be held. Once out he is a cupcake, often falls asleep in my hand. Once out he does not want to go back in, hangs on to my hand, will not get off. Just wants attention.

 

[averic]

sometimes morty will become aggressive when he's hungry and leo gets grumpy when he's tired but ive had them for a couple years with no issue

 

[OHnatalie]

Our princess....oh, I mean beardie....well, if she doesn't get out regularly is not a happy camper. She lives in our family room where she gets plenty of activity...both in the cage and out. We also play the tv /or radio (on low) for her and the dogs when we are gone. Gives them something to listen to, keep their mind active. (Learned this many years ago when I volunteered at a science lab...they had room after room of rats in very small cages and the lab played the radio - it gave them something to hear/listen to to keep from going stir crazy. Now, in our case, we had been letting our beardie out for too long a period and she would get too chilled and eventually became sickly with parasites, etc. That is why the trip to the vets and the Emeraid (see article above). Now, our beardie has sorta learned the term "go warm up" and you can come back out when warm. So, she runs around ...maybe up to half an hour (we have under the floor heat) then she knows she goes back in to warm up so she can come back out and rule the roost and no, she is not nasty, she is a real sweetheart and knows if any of the other pets bother her, "MOM" comes to her rescue so she can do whatever she wants