Dealing with an aggressive/dominant male

[vanlaz0r]

I have a male beardy I got from a local pet shop a few days ago. He's over a year old and must not have been handled a lot because he does NOT like being picked up. At all. Once he is up, he'll usually calm down and will even close his eyes and relax for a bit if I pet his head. He won't sit still for too long outside his tank without trying to make a run for it. When I bring friends into the room he'll sometimes bob his head or puff out his neck. I know some of this might be because he's in a new environment and needs to adjust but he definitely has an attitude problem. I've been taking him out once a day, holding him until he chills out putting him on my bed with some barriers around him so I have time to catch him if he decides to take off. I clean out his tank, pick him back up, let him calm down, put him back in his tank and feed him. Do you think he's going to ever be a tame couch potato like other beardies? Or did I get to him too late? I know if I really wanted a tame animal I should have gotten a younger one but I'm not sure this big guy would have ever found a home. You guys helped me out so much with my BP and he's doing so well, I figured I'd come to you first.

Also, since I've already typed a paragraph, another problem I'm having with him is he doesn't seem to like crickets. He'll eat super worms, some of his vegetables, and he loves the fluker's diet with the freeze dried bugs but he just won't touch crickets. Any advice on that? Should I be worried?


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[jclaiborne]

I have a male beardy I got from a local pet shop a few days ago. He's over a year old and must not have been handled a lot because he does NOT like being picked up. At all. Once he is up, he'll usually calm down and will even close his eyes and relax for a bit if I pet his head. He won't sit still for too long outside his tank without trying to make a run for it. When I bring friends into the room he'll sometimes bob his head or puff out his neck. I know some of this might be because he's in a new environment and needs to adjust but he definitely has an attitude problem. I've been taking him out once a day, holding him until he chills out putting him on my bed with some barriers around him so I have time to catch him if he decides to take off. I clean out his tank, pick him back up, let him calm down, put him back in his tank and feed him. Do you think he's going to ever be a tame couch potato like other beardies? Or did I get to him too late? I know if I really wanted a tame animal I should have gotten a younger one but I'm not sure this big guy would have ever found a home. You guys helped me out so much with my BP and he's doing so well, I figured I'd come to you first.

Also, since I've already typed a paragraph, another problem I'm having with him is he doesn't seem to like crickets. He'll eat super worms, some of his vegetables, and he loves the fluker's diet with the freeze dried bugs but he just won't touch crickets. Any advice on that? Should I be worried?


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Crickets really aren't that nutritious anyways. If he is taking superworms that is great, I would also try dubias. I don't feed any of my lizards crickets. I feed wax worms, silk worms, super worms, meal worms, and dubias along with their greens and veggies.

As far as calming down. Eyes closed doesn't always mean calm, most of the time it is a method of coping with stress. It is a "if I cant see you, you can't see me" thought process. They generally do it when you are holding them because they realize they aren't getting away from your grip. I hand tamed my beardie like I do with my skinks and tegu. While it may not be necessary I do the trust building method, basically you get the animal use to your presence and hand being in the tank (cleaning, moving wood around, feeding with tongs), but dont pick them up. Once they are use to that you can start petting them, then once they are use to that you can work on picking them up. Try not to come down directly on top of them because that is like a predator comming down, you want to scoop them up supporting their belly and feet. I know this may seem excessive for a beardie because they are generally calm, but I do this with all my lizards because it has worked so well.