Bearded Dragon

[1phillip]

Hi,

My name is Phillip and i am 13 years old.

I am in desperate need of help with my bearded dragon.

I have had her for 4 months now and in the last month she has become aggressive when i put my hand in her tank. She is around 8 months old (we were told she may be a female).

She is eating well and shedding her skin.

When i put my hand in, i am not offering food, so it is not food she is attacking, only me.

I am unable to handle her as she will run from me and if i leave my hand in there and try and get close to her slowly she will just attack me.

Please can anyone give me advice as to how i can rectify this problem.
She is my pet and i want to be able to handle her.

 

[Sami66]

Hi Phillip
Are you able to drop a towel over her and pick her up that way? I've had success doing that with my Black Soils dragon who was a rescue (am a member of Fauna Rescue of SA) and he thinks he's 6 ft tall LOL. I use the towel less often now but sometimes still have to use it depending on his mood. It might help. Just a suggestion.

 

[JasonL]

Some Bearded Dragons will presume you are feeding them and will try to bite at your fingers, esp at this time of year when they are super hungry. Will she still attack you after eating as much insects as she can in one sitting? Will she try and bite you when you are holding her? Does she threat diplay, mouth open, beard puffed out when you are near her?

 

[wranga]

hi phillip
are you sure of the age and that she is female? this time of year is breeding time and they can become aggressive at this time of year. males can tend to be more aggressive than females. but i would expect it to be older than 8 months before it would show this aggression

 

[jimbomma]

beardies tend to have their little mood changes from time to time.
as for picking her up.
-does your vivarium open from the front or the top? beardies hate being approached from the top. in the wild they are they victims of birds of prey. although they can get used to it in time.
-make sure she knows your coming. possibly distract her with one hand in front of her and grab with the other from behind. you can hold her firm enough so she can't move no matter how much she struggles. beardies are very tough. pin her arms so she can't get leverage if she's squirming to hard. you don't have to hold her for long but you do have do it everyday. she'll get used to being handled.
-if she's not too bad just let her sit on you're t-shirt. some will sit there happily but hate being hand held if not supported right.
-make sure her vivarium is set up correctly. she may be stressed.

good luck and have fun with it