Taming Lizards

[OuZo]

hey guys,

i was just wondering how people go about taming their lizards if they're flighty when you get them. these central netteds i have can be quite flighty at times and the big male hates me ever since i had to pull him out of the cage against his will lol. at the moment i cant trust em out of the cage cos they will just bolt so i've been trying to just kinda pick them up in the cage so they hopefully get used to being handled. does anyone have any ideas as to what i could maybe do to tame them down? i've only had them for 6 days too so i know i'm probably posting a little early anyway lol. the thing is that the big male let me pick him up and walk around with him the day after we got them but then he freaked out that one time and is now really not liking me!

the other thing is that the smaller male doesnt seem to be eating . all the others go mental when the insects go marching in but he's just not interested. i was planning on taking the big male out to see if he would eat when he's not around but he's not being very compliant lol. they are in a smallish cage atm until i can get the new one up and running (probably tomorrow) so maybe he feels he has no personal space

thanx in advance

[Parko]

Perhaps you can tweeser feed the smaller male? Feeding them from tweesers will get them used to having your hands near them, my spinipes are very tame from being hand fed so often. Though central netteds may be a more flighty lizard by nature (can't say from experience sorry).

[jimmy_the_kid]

I had the same problem with my small bearded dragon male. I tried feeding him on his own then putting him in a seperate container with just sum crickets and for the first week he didnt seem intrested at all. He is a little shy about eating when im watching and the bigger female will ussaly eat all the crix before he feels safe to. He has gotton alot more used to me and now he is eating like a little champ just give it a bit more time zoe im sure he will eat when he is hungry. I also leave a bit of vegie and fruit in that the female isnt to intrested in and it seems to get eaten so i know he is getting fed.

[Menagerie]

As you can see from my avi I have an eastern bearded who loves to sit on my shoulder and watch whatever I am doing, she also loves nibbling on earrings, lol...

Anyway, she was SUPER flighty for the first few months, until my husband decided it was time she was tamer. So he started holding her nice and firmly in a position that she could be comfortable in in one hand, then in the other hand he would have bites of her favourite vegies. We would stroke her gently, and over time she just calmed down. Now you pop her on your arm and she runs to your shoulder and sits there quite happily. I think that it took about 2 weeks to get her to this stage.

Hope that helps!

[Simon_Archibald]

Small dragon species, particularly the Ctenophorus genus (to which the Central Netteds belong) have tended to be a lot more flighty than other dragon species such as the beardies, etc. With that said, Central Netteds are known for being a little more cooperative with your handling efforts. Personally I think if you're keen to breed them and enjoy their antics, you'd be best not to handle them unless absolutely necessary.

As for the small male not eating...I'd separate him and house him individually. Pump the heat up for him and see how he goes...give him plenty of hides even on his own.

Daz may know some actual tips on handling your Central Netteds, other than my none-too-helpful "don't". ;-)

Simon Archibald

[OuZo]

Perhaps you can tweeser feed the smaller male? Feeding them from tweesers will get them used to having your hands near them, my spinipes are very tame from being hand fed so often. Though central netteds may be a more flighty lizard by nature (can't say from experience sorry).

he wont eat without me being near him so im guessing he'd be less likely to eat with me holding the food! although i have piked him up and had a roach in my fingers and he wasnt interested . i get the feeling he's kinda nervous in his new home

He has gotton alot more used to me and now he is eating like a little champ just give it a bit more time zoe im sure he will eat when he is hungry. I also leave a bit of vegie and fruit in that the female isnt to intrested in and it seems to get eaten so i know he is getting fed.

thanx jimmy . unfortunately they dont seem very interested in anything non insect atm but i'll keep trying!

So he started holding her nice and firmly in a position that she could be comfortable in in one hand, then in the other hand he would have bites of her favourite vegies. We would stroke her gently, and over time she just calmed down.

i will give that a go! some of the females will eat a roach off my hand when i'm holding them but i just cant seem to even pick this male up without him cracking a wobbly . but that said, he is a PIG and maybe i can try having food ready next time i pick him up

lol simon, hugs had said that they were quite easy to tame and ones that i have handled in pet shops seem to be quite happy being handled...but then again thats a pretty limited number and i'm not gonna pretend i know a lot about the issue! when i say small male, he's actually 2nd biggest out of them all, just the smallest of the 2 boys