Why does my beardie hate me ):

[marzipanbaby]

I’ve had my bearded dragon for a little over four months now, and he still tries to bite my hand everytime I stick it in his cage unless I have a worm in my hand. (In which case he will speedily grab it out of my hand and then run away.) I thought beardies were supposed to be slow, but he is super fast. Whenever I hold him he runs away super fast - one time he even ran inside the radiator which was super scary because it took me around 30 minutes to get him out. He hisses at me and then lunges at my hand in an attempt to bite me whenever I try to touch him, or he runs all around his cage, flailing around and seemingly trying to climb up the glass walls. I thought by now he would be at least a little used to me. Is this normal?? I interact with him every single day, picking him up most days - even though he normally fights me on picking him up. Advice??? He’s starting to get big and I can tell he is a boy now.

 

[marzipanbaby]

I also even got him a new cage about a month ago that has doors that open in the front, so my hand doesn’t come from above and seem like a threat to him.

 

[Sadie]

I also even got him a new cage about a month ago that has doors that open in the front, so my hand doesn’t come from above and seem like a threat to him.

Your dragon is going thru relocation stress- it's good your hand feeding- you need to build trust which is what your doing w/ the hand feeding-- patience is key here-- get a piece of clothing w/ your scent on it place in his hide so he gets the smell of you and will get used to you faster and learn trust- my youngest was terrible doing the same as yours- took me months to get him hand tamed- get some BSFL and use those as hand taming-- I did this every morning I hand feed him the BSFL a couple then added them to the tops of his salads - he got used to the routine and finally he was waiting every morning on his log where I set the bowl down in front of him-- I did not bring him out of his tank to run I would hold him in his tank or just out side of it so when he squirmed I would put him back in-- keep working w/ him if you haft to put a glove on work w/ him everyday and build the trust- remember he's little and he sees this huge hand coming for him--

 

[marzipanbaby]

I’ve had my bearded dragon for a little over four months now, and he still tries to bite my hand everytime I stick it in his cage unless I have a worm in my hand. (In which case he will speedily grab it out of my hand and then run away.) I thought beardies were supposed to be slow, but he is super fast. Whenever I hold him he runs away super fast - one time he even ran inside the radiator which was super scary because it took me around 30 minutes to get him out. He hisses at me and then lunges at my hand in an attempt to bite me whenever I try to touch him, or he runs all around his cage, flailing around and seemingly trying to climb up the glass walls. I thought by now he would be at least a little used to me. Is this normal?? I interact with him every single day, picking him up most days - even though he normally fights me on picking him up. Advice??? He’s starting to get big and I can tell he is a boy now.

update: today he attacked me. ive never been so scared of him! its been 2 weeks since ive cleaned his tank since he refuses to come out, so i was trying to take him out and when i finally picked him up it looked like he unhinged his jaw- it was open so wide and he was swinging his head from side to side violently tryinf to bite my (gloved) hand. he was scratching and ive never seen him do this but he stuck his tongue out all the way - it looked very scary. he also has reccently grown his beard so that was obviously being flared. it may not sound that bad but i was very horrified! and this was only minutes after i hand fed him BSFL as well as putting some on his salad.

 

[marzipanbaby]

update: today he attacked me. ive never been so scared of him! its been 2 weeks since ive cleaned his tank since he refuses to come out, so i was trying to take him out and when i finally picked him up it looked like he unhinged his jaw- it was open so wide and he was swinging his head from side to side violently tryinf to bite my (gloved) hand. he was scratching and ive never seen him do this but he stuck his tongue out all the way - it looked very scary. he also has reccently grown his beard so that was obviously being flared. it may not sound that bad but i was very horrified! and this was only minutes after i hand fed him BSFL as well as putting some on his salad.

i was really hoping my bearded dragon would be a docile pet that i could hold and hang out with a lot, but he has never permitted this. ): . im wondering how much more of this i can take.

 

[Sadie]

i was really hoping my bearded dragon would be a docile pet that i could hold and hang out with a lot, but he has never permitted this. ): . im wondering how much more of this i can take.

Patience- please post pics of the tank and lighting- I want to see it to see if I have missed something - how old is he?

 

[marzipanbaby]

Patience- please post pics of the tank and lighting- I want to see it to see if I have missed something - how old is he?

heres another pic of the tank. i got him about 4 and a half months ago and i believe he is 5-6 months old.

 

[Sadie]

heres another pic of the tank. i got him about 4 and a half months ago and i believe he is 5-6 months old.

The UVB is a T 8 or a T 5?

 

[marzipanbaby]

T 5.

 

[Sadie]

heres another pic of the tank. i got him about 4 and a half months ago and i believe he is 5-6 months old.

Ok what is the distance from the UVB to the log underneath--- it looks farther than 15" --- I see him hanging off the back wall there --- does he sit under the UVB? To me it looks like hes trying to get closer to the UVB --- please get a piece of decor higher than the log and set it under the UVB -- see if his behavior calms down some -- aggressiveness can be caused by lighting UVB and temp issues --- we need to see if this does not fix some of the aggressiveness

 

[marzipanbaby]

Ok what is the distance from the UVB to the log underneath--- it looks farther than 15" --- I see him hanging off the back wall there --- does he sit under the UVB? To me it looks like hes trying to get closer to the UVB --- please get a piece of decor higher than the log and set it under the UVB -- see if his behavior calms down some -- aggressiveness can be caused by lighting UVB and temp issues --- we need to see if this does not fix some of the aggressiveness

if you can see it that hammock is underneath the light and he often climbs up there and sits. i can try a new decor tho to put it completely underneath rather than partially

 

[Sadie]

if you can see it that hammock is underneath the light and he often climbs up there and sits. i can try a new decor tho to put it completely underneath rather than partially

Yes no partial you want full access to the rays -- we did some adjustments on another poster where she had hers only part way and she fixed it so he had full exposure and his behavior changed -- hers was not eating and now hes full on eating great

 

[marzipanbaby]

Yes no partial you want full access to the rays -- we did some adjustments on another poster where she had hers only part way and she fixed it so he had full exposure and his behavior changed -- hers was not eating and now hes full on eating great

thats good to hear! what do you think of this: its 15cm tall.
Balacoo Reptile Platform Turtle Climb Stone Habitat Ornament Artificial Resin Platform Stairs Fish Tank Aquarium Decor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZNGH679/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_i_DGEaGbHJNSEYN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Sadie]

thats good to hear! what do you think of this: its 15cm tall.
Balacoo Reptile Platform Turtle Climb Stone Habitat Ornament Artificial Resin Platform Stairs Fish Tank Aquarium Decor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZNGH679/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_i_DGEaGbHJNSEYN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Keep looking you want something flat er on top so he can bask look at Petsmart they have great decor for dragons

 

[Skybug]

It might be wise to get full backgrounds as it seems like ur in a city and outside stimulation might be stressing him aswell, any reflection will make him think there’s another dragon there

 

[marzipanbaby]

It might be wise to get full backgrounds as it seems like ur in a city and outside stimulation might be stressing him aswell, any reflection will make him think there’s another dragon there

i was worried about this! he tends to play with his reflection every time the sun sets.

 

[Skybug]

i was worried about this! he tends to play with his reflection every time the sun sets.

Its an easy fix and it should yeild results instantly i did a cork bark wall on one side a green carpet on the other and a sand/rock matt on the side my bearded dragon climbed the most, the rock matts help keep their nails down aswell , if you get one just be carful they’re not eating the rocks that fall off it

 

[marzipanbaby]

Its an easy fix and it should yeild results instantly i did a cork bark wall on one side a green carpet on the other and a sand/rock matt on the side my bearded dragon climbed the most, the rock matts help keep their nails down aswell , if you get one just be carful they’re not eating the rocks that fall off it

could i see a picture?

 

[Skybug]

could i see a picture?

Of course, now my setup isn’t conventional its bio active i have bark chips, sand, cocofiber, and clay substrate, but for my personal experience my dragon has never ever eaten his substrate , and i always offer food in a bowl.

 

[Skybug]

And this is by no means a perfect setup, the bark chips are a big no no if ur bearded dragon were to eat it.