attitude

Question
Me and my girlfriend bought a bearded dragon a little less then a week ago. He doesn't seem to be warming up to us and he wont let us handle him at all. I was wondering if there was anything we could do to make him more comfortable with us. Thank you!!

Answer
Hello Teva,

You shouldn't try to handle him within a month of bringing him home. He is still scared and nervous with all the new things going on. He still isn't sure if you are going to hurt him or not. So give him some space.

After a month you can work on handling him, turn off his heat lights 10 minutes prior to handling.
Turn off any TV, Stereo, Heaters, etc. anything that makes vibrations or noises in the house.

Put your hand in the tank at eye level (NEVER FROM ABOVE) and rest your hand on the substrate in front of him. Let him observe you and eventually he will walk onto you. you might have to get up closer to him though. This can take a few weeks before he crawls onto your hand so be patient.

Then only hold him while he is inside the enclosure to prevent too many new things around him. Makes him feel more secure.

Eventually you will be able to introduce him to one room of the hosue at a time.
Take it slow, he is just scared of his new surroundings.

(turning off the heat lights prior to handling him will entice him to seek the warmth of your hand. NO more then 10 minutes prior to handling)

I hope this helps,
Yexalen