Baby bearded dragon bites…tips on ways to bond with him??

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bluebee

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Hi all, we've had our baby bearded dragon since Jan, so he is 3 months old. My 7 year old son is very used to handling lizards from the wild, and often has had wild lizards i.e. a pink tongue, or baby water dragons hang around with him for hours in a day. We got him this beardy for his birthday. He gets him out of the enclosure every morning and spends half an hour with him - hand feeds him crickets, sits with him in a box on his lap, holds him etc. But he is very bitey, hisses, and doesn't seem to like being handled much at all. Any tips for helping him to bond with a lizard??
 
id say leave it be as it sounds like its stressed out from being handled so much . just explain to your son that the beardy needs some alone time .
 
Definitely reduce the handling to a minimum. I have found that at this age/size they feel really vulnerable. When it is bigger then I would start handling more.
 
By feeding with tongs after a while they learn you arn't a threat, the more you harass them when young the longer it will take them to trust you. With time it will become more tolerant of handling.
 
Definitely reduce the handling to a minimum. I have found that at this age/size they feel really vulnerable. When it is bigger then I would start handling more.

Thanks everyone, I'm so glad I asked, as we were told the complete opposite!!! - That we had to handle him every day so he would get used to it! So we will give the poor little fella a rest. When is a good time to start handling? 6 months old?
 
Use his body language as a gauge - stop persisting when he appears uncomfortable and hisses (there will be more subtle signs of stress that you will learn to see over time and the earlier you stop the more confident he will become).
 
Keep doing stuff in his tank,cleaning,feeding,poop scooping etc.he will get used to the fact that hands go in all the time but are not a threat,as he calms down try patting his back a little bit and work up from there
 
Thanks everyone, I'm so glad I asked, as we were told the complete opposite!!! - That we had to handle him every day so he would get used to it! So we will give the poor little fella a rest. When is a good time to start handling? 6 months old?

Forgot to mention, don't approach from above, put your hand flat on the floor and let him come to you. Putting your hand over him will make him stressed as it looks like a predator.
 
Forgot to mention, don't approach from above, put your hand flat on the floor and let him come to you. Putting your hand over him will make him stressed as it looks like a predator.

Great, thanks!
 
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