Bearded Dragon advise please

Question
Hi Mick, I have a 9 month old female dragon, I have had her for 5 months now, She gets handeled enough, n hour n day at the least (meaning allowing her to take a swim in luke warem water, giving her worms out of my hands, walking around with her or stitting in the sun) she started biting about two weeks ago, there is no male with her in the cage, and she has the correct lighting. i do not understand why she is doing this, i had her at a vet and she is not sick (no signs of hurting or being sick) she is eating very well. Can you please let me know what i can do. Thank you for the time.

Answer
I don't know what "correct lighting" means, or what your other conditions are, such as habitat and environment. This may have something to do with the behavior. I would consider "correct lighting" for a Bearded Dragon to be a mercury vapor lamp.

Constant handling is not the key to a healthy or well adjusted reptile. Reptiles, no matter how docile, are stressed when handled. Reptiles are for observing more than handling, and the most successful and experienced reptile keepers handle their reptiles only occasionally or as needed. Reptiles are not toys and they are not cats and dogs. They are not for cuddling with, even as much as it makes you feel closer to them. They would prefer not to cuddle. Stress can have adverse effects on the health of a reptile by depressing the immune system.   

The biting is more than likely a stress induced reaction to you as your Beardie matures and gets more confident. It could have been that she was simply too afraid to challenge you before. Alternatively, if she is biting just the fingers, you may have conditioned her to bite you by hand feeding. She may now associate your hand with food and bite anytime she sees a hand.  

My advice is to handle less often, and feed in a specific place in her enclosure. Also make sure you are offering the proper diet, proper size habitat for a Beardie, and a hide spot for her to retreat to if she wishes. I would also make doubly sure you have a female rather than male.

If her biting behavior is accompanied by hissing, a mouth agape threat to bite, flattening or inflating of the body, extending of the dewlap, or darkened skin color: then the biting is definitely her way of telling you to back off.
If the biting is not accompanied these other behaviors, AND she bites only your fingers or hand and quickly lets go: then the behavior MAY be merely a conditioned feeding response.  

Additionally I would also mention that you should not use sand or other natural substrate with young Beardies, as it poses an impaction hazard ( especially NO Calci-Sand ). And use only the smallest and freshly shed mealworms with young Beardies, or none at all. They pose an impaction hazard as well and are not very healthy at all, so should be used in moderation. Crickets and waxworms are much better, but again use appropriate size, as anything too large poses the same kind of hazard.

http://www.beardeddragon.org
http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html
http://www.sundialreptile.com/care%20sheet--bearded%20dragon.htm