water dragon i need advice

Question
I have a water dragon which my nephew baught for my daughters 1 1/2 months ago it is 3 months old doing really well eating up 10-15 crickets a day. the only problem myself and my husband have is everytime we put our hand in his vivarium he opens his mouth as though he is warning us off he is very flighty when he is being handled as expected would you advise us on how we can overcome his behaviour i have all the necessary lighting heat mat and basking ligh uva lighting in his vivarim

Answer
Hi Shaleen,
He is still nervous and scared of you, I am sure you realize this is perfectly normal. However if you do want him to warm up to you a little bit more it is possible but wont always happen. Sometimes a dragon will never warm up to you others will as soon as you get them. You want to be sure there are no loud noises like TV, steroe, etc. And be sure that washers and dryers heaters are off, anything that would make vibrations that could travel to him. You want everything peaceful and quiet. Talk in calm voices and work slowly. Just start with him getting to know that your hand wont kill him and that you are friendly. Dont go anywhere near him. Just put your hand somewhere in his viv. Once he gets used to that idea try working your hand closer towards him. This may take a couple days to several weeks and it might never happen but keep trying but dont push it too hard as he might get stressed. The opening of his mouth is definately a "back off or I will bite you" type of warning. As for handling him, it shouldnt be done too often or it can cause stress but same as getting him used to you. If you really need to hold him to clean his cage or give him a bath etc. then turn off his heat lamp shortly. Making sure the temp stays room temperature and turn off his basking light for 15 minutes or so. This will not harm him. Now when you try to hold him he will be stubborn but might allow you to because your body temperature is 98.6 degrees F after doing this to my water dragons they wont want to get off of me and dig their claws into my skin if I try to remove them so don't say I didn't warn you.

The heat mat you say you have isn't really needed as they get their heat from basking and overhead lighting. That and because they spend most of their time up high and in trees/branches etc. They rarely stay on the ground anyway.

Hope that helped, Good luck