Most beardies are very sweet and social. As juviniles they can be very jittery(defense mechanism) but usually calm down and enjoy being taken out of their cage. Like any animal there is always one in every that is different. My first beardie was so hand tamed(and lazy) that he would eat out of my hand. The problem was he got so lazy that he wouldn't chase crickets anymore and wanted to be hand fed LOL. So don't spoil them. In my opinion most reptile pets tolerate being held but adult beardies enjoy it. As far as the one that had to go back to the pet store, one year is still young for some beardies and they still can come around. In all my years I have only seen one beardie that was a biter, it wasn't mine, I saw him in a pet store. They still handled him but only those that new how he liked to be handled. I had a very rowdy girl that no one would handle because she was wild. So she just stayed in her cage, we figured she was a lost cause. One day I come home from work and my 14 year old daughter is handling her like nothing and she is totaly calm. She just out grew it. I asked my daughter how she did it and she just looked at me and said I have been handling her for weeks, she looked bored in there. Unfortunately she died from being eggbound(unfertile eggs too). So don't write off young ones who seem defensive, they mellow out alot! I think they are the best lizard pet! And easy too. Bright sun and high temps get their energy going so nervous ones will be more nervous when heated up. The only beardie ever to bite me was a week old and it was actually funny not painful at all, she was just scared, can you blame her.