Tank placement?

[lonzo2020]

Hi all,

Right now we have our baby dragon in our son’s room. My wife works from home and goes to say hi to him periodically throughout the day, but apart from feeding him in the morning and afternoon, and taking him out for a run around the room every few days, it’s pretty quiet with nothing going on. We are thinking of moving him into the family room where there will be more going on for him to see and hopefully get more used to us. We’ve only had him a little less than a month and he’s still pretty skittish when we try handle him. Would the lights and TV disturb his sleep pattern or is it that once the heat and UV are turned off he’ll automatically just go into sleep mode? Thanks.

 

[Skybug]

Hi all,

Right now we have our baby dragon in our son’s room. My wife works from home and goes to say hi to him periodically throughout the day, but apart from feeding him in the morning and afternoon, and taking him out for a run around the room every few days, it’s pretty quiet with nothing going on. We are thinking of moving him into the family room where there will be more going on for him to see and hopefully get more used to us. We’ve only had him a little less than a month and he’s still pretty skittish when we try handle him. Would the lights and TV disturb his sleep pattern or is it that once the heat and UV are turned off he’ll automatically just go into sleep mode? Thanks.

How long do u guys watch tv at night? I usually put my beardie in her den around 5-6 and i put a big towel over the enclosure to drown out sound and light , I usually watch tv from 8-11 then go to bed, if hes getting moved make shure you have some of the sides of his enclosure covered, with the new lighting he’ll definitely be seeing his reflection more.

 

[lonzo2020]

His lights go off at 7. We normally turn the tv off around 930. Thanks for the tip.

 

[lonzo2020]

How long do u guys watch tv at night? I usually put my beardie in her den around 5-6 and i put a big towel over the enclosure to drown out sound and light , I usually watch tv from 8-11 then go to bed, if hes getting moved make shure you have some of the sides of his enclosure covered, with the new lighting he’ll definitely be seeing his reflection more.

If I can ask you another question...did you get your bearded as a baby? If so, how long did it take for it to not be so skittish? I see pictures of young dragons sleeping on people’s chests, but I feel if I tried that with ours it would take off. He’s not a fan of being handled and will only sit in my had for 30 seconds or so before taking off when we let him out of the tank.

 

[Skybug]

If I can ask you another question...did you get your bearded as a baby? If so, how long did it take for it to not be so skittish? I see pictures of young dragons sleeping on people’s chests, but I feel if I tried that with ours it would take off. He’s not a fan of being handled and will only sit in my had for 30 seconds or so before taking off when we let him out of the tank.

I indeed got mine as a baby, she was a petsmart rescue , i normally wouldn’t support them as a business, but when i saw her she was so small(way younger than they should be selling them) she was skinny and glass surfing like crazy, i knew she wouldn’t make it long there or at a childs house (most parents arnt as involved with reptiles) she was extremely skittish for about 2 months really didn’t like to be held eventually when she was no longer dealing with relocation stress (about 2 weeks to a month is a good time frame) then i started some light handling INSIDE the tank (if she wanted out of my hands id let her) she maybe ran for another week and a half and realized I wasn’t a threat , i started hand feeding her at this point, that’ll probably be your best way to your beardies heart, once your dragon is no longer running from you then id take her out of the enclosure and let it be in your lap (preferably you sitting on the ground) any jump thats higher than 3-5 foot is almost a death sentence(i see lots of peoples beardie on their shoulders, on top of their hats, etc. its just not smart , if they see a bird they’ll take off real quick,) if you intend to put ur beardie on ur shoulder I highly recommend having a leash or string around its chest, if your to the point of wanting to take the bearded dragon out I recommend turning off all the fans in the room(mine was started by fans) possibly close the windows (seeing outside light makes them want to flee towards that) turn off any extra jarring noise(or even put on some calm music?) Beardies have great eyesight, good hearing, and a really good sense of smell) and just be calm talk to the beardie , handling them by the chest is the best way to pick them up (i had a top opening enclosure and never had a problem from coming from above, but you might) you may have to deploy some tough love and force handling ,you need it to be “hand tame” by the time its an adult, or else they will shred your arms and hands wanting to get down (my beardie gets excited to go outside sometimes and really scratches the crud out of me on the way to our backyard) and yes it’ll be stressful, but the beardie does need to recognize you arnt a threat, end any handling with bugs or fruit, always make it a positive experience

 

[lonzo2020]

Awesome. Thank you for the tips. I forgot to mention that we have 2 dogs, a 6 year old son and an 11 month old daughter so needless to say there’s always a bit of commotion when everyone is home. I’m sure that is adding to Taco’s uneasiness.

 

[Skybug]

Awesome. Thank you for the tips. I forgot to mention that we have 2 dogs, a 6 year old son and an 11 month old daughter so needless to say there’s always a bit of commotion when everyone is home. I’m sure that is adding to Taco’s uneasiness.

If i may ask , hows the boys interaction with the lizard? I dont think the dogs or the baby crying could contribute to the behavior your seeing, it’s important for children to learn proper small animal handling and Etiquette, never moving fast , making the beardie do something it doesn’t want to, im shure with how watching the situation it’ll be fine in due time idk if i or someone has already recommend to you about putting a dish cloth in the enclosure where he sleeps with your scent on it, it really does help ive found, my beardie wont sleep in her den unless she has her cloth

 

[lonzo2020]

He’s pretty good about it. He’s held snakes and reptiles before. He’s obviously really excited to have one and we’re working on building trust with Taco by not forcing things too much. Taco has eaten out of his hands a few times so it’s not that he’s afraid of him or anything, I just think he wants to explore things once he’s out of the tank. I have been told to put something with our scent in the tank but haven’t done it yet. Right now Taco doesn’t use his hides at all. He’s always basking or sitting on his log under a leaf at night. If I feel that we aren’t making progress I’ll try the dish towel thing