• Hello guest! Are you a Bearded Dragon enthusiast? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Beardie enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your dragons and enclosures and have a great time with other Bearded Dragon enthusiasts. Sign up today!

My baby freaked out!

heatherboo73

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
9
So my baby beardy is 2 months old. I’ve had her for 2 wks now and we were doing good until I had company over on Sunday. She was went crazy in her habitat. My guests were very respectful and not rambunctious, and we didn’t even take her out.
I can see now that we have to rebuild trust.
can anyone tell me why this happened?
 

Crabs Mcjones

Juvenile Dragon
Messages
219
Possibly because of the uptick in activity in the house? You mentioned they wern't rambunctious, but the increased activity may have made him nervous.
 

heatherboo73

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
9
I think so too. We’re back to square one now with our bonding though it seems. So I’ve had to give her the week to calm down and I think I’ll start handling her again on Monday. I want to be able to hold her and sit with her.
 

The Lizard Lady

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
20
Location
Chandler, AZ
Dragons can pick up on changes fairly easily. They also grow to recognize the humans that interact with them. If you doubt that your guests would have caused the behavior, it could be due to anything such as their clothing, belongings, etc. I have some guys that will glass surf whenever someone wears purple or orange!
 

heatherboo73

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
9
Dragons can pick up on changes fairly easily. They also grow to recognize the humans that interact with them. If you doubt that your guests would have caused the behavior, it could be due to anything such as their clothing, belongings, etc. I have some guys that will glass surf whenever someone wears purple or orange!
Oh! Interesting. I can see how that would be the case in this situation. These three that came Ofer are significantly larger than myself and have a smell from their own pets.
Another question. How long should it take for the stress lines to stop happening?? I’ve had her for two weeks and she still stripes up every day
 

The Lizard Lady

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
20
Location
Chandler, AZ
The dark marks you see aren't always associated with stress- They could be due to environmental changes, or simply trying to absorb more heat. If you are worried about them, you could try offering more hiding places or bumping up heat a bit. What are your current temps? Are you using UVB?
 

heatherboo73

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
9
The dark marks you see aren't always associated with stress- They could be due to environmental changes, or simply trying to absorb more heat. If you are worried about them, you could try offering more hiding places or bumping up heat a bit. What are your current temps? Are you using UVB?
I have a uvb and a heat lamp. Hot side is around 100-105 and cool side is at about 80. Im in WA and baby was shipped from TX two weeks ago.
 

Iwantabeardie

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
43
I have a baby beardie and I take him out every day near my whole family, and he seems to be used to everything. Sometimes he will get dark lines if he is hiding under a towel or blanket. Do you know why that is?
 

Julee1971

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
773
So my baby beardy is 2 months old. I’ve had her for 2 wks now and we were doing good until I had company over on Sunday. She was went crazy in her habitat. My guests were very respectful and not rambunctious, and we didn’t even take her out.
I can see now that we have to rebuild trust.
can anyone tell me why this happened?
Hi Heather,
Beardies Hate loud noise. Have your Alexa play meditation music or James Blunt. It’s vwry mellow and relaxing and ensures that they are safe. I play it all day for mine and she loves it especially if neighbors are loud or I’m cooking or gone for a few hours. Also at night they like pure dark!!! Close blinds And DONOT use any coil or colored lights at nite or during the day for that matter!! It burns their eyes. Reptisun long tube 10.0 T5 only and the ZooMed basking light both on 12-14 hours per day!! Baths 2 times per week minimum more if u want but twice a week for 15min or more never leave him unattended. Water needs to be chlorine free if not buy “Reptisafe” it’s 2drips for every cup of water. Drinking and bathing has to be chlorine free, so bottled or filtered water. Train him now to drink from his water dish and feed him staple greens/veggies twice per day and crickets dusted in calcium small ones 2-3 times a day along with dubia roaches too!! Fruits as a snack/treat mangoes, papayas, Blue/strawberries. Do not feed dead or dried fake food from the pet stores & No worms!! When he turns 2years old u can include superwroms as treats; If u have questions call me!! Also temps and humidity need to be set right his hot side should be 105-110 and the humidity always 30-40prcnt!! At nite 70 degrees or higher it should never drop below 70. Make sure he has a hideaway the logs are best because the sleep strait not all curled up!! Most people know Zero about dragons!! Pet stores are ignorant and abusing!! Substrate: NO sand or coconut substrate!! Best flooring is smooth shelf liner get it from target or wallmart or order it online $10. Don’t get black it will burn them from the heat. It’s like a padded placemat!’ Awesome & easy to clean. Questions email me
 

GojiraMama

Hatchling Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
30
So my baby beardy is 2 months old. I’ve had her for 2 wks now and we were doing good until I had company over on Sunday. She was went crazy in her habitat. My guests were very respectful and not rambunctious, and we didn’t even take her out.
I can see now that we have to rebuild trust.
can anyone tell me why this happened?

At that age their tiny brains are still very instinct-driven. They haven't had time to learn much about their worlds. I read a lot about babies under 6 months often being skittish & requiring very gentle handling; I'd be afraid to break one that tiny which is why I adopted a 4-yr-old male. He was plunged from his only home into rescue, then foster care, then my custody which started with a 7-hour return trip featuring his first exposure to a harness, a soft carrier, and being able to move around in a vehicle...or any kind of handling AT ALL, he was basically wild.

But they definitely DO get to know "their people" and with some time and repetition your itty bitty girl should get the hang of it all. Several of my social media friends are in the process of gentling down skittish tiny babies, so I see a lot of requests for tips about this. The answers always come down to patience, repetition, and very careful handling when they're super tiny.
 

GojiraMama

Hatchling Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
30
Hi Heather,
Beardies Hate loud noise. Have your Alexa play meditation music or James Blunt. It’s vwry mellow and relaxing and ensures that they are safe. I play it all day for mine and she loves it especially if neighbors are loud or I’m cooking or gone for a few hours. Also at night they like pure dark!!! Close blinds And DONOT use any coil or colored lights at nite or during the day for that matter!! It burns their eyes. Reptisun long tube 10.0 T5 only and the ZooMed basking light both on 12-14 hours per day!! Baths 2 times per week minimum more if u want but twice a week for 15min or more never leave him unattended. Water needs to be chlorine free if not buy “Reptisafe” it’s 2drips for every cup of water. Drinking and bathing has to be chlorine free, so bottled or filtered water. Train him now to drink from his water dish and feed him staple greens/veggies twice per day and crickets dusted in calcium small ones 2-3 times a day along with dubia roaches too!! Fruits as a snack/treat mangoes, papayas, Blue/strawberries. Do not feed dead or dried fake food from the pet stores & No worms!! When he turns 2years old u can include superwroms as treats; If u have questions call me!! Also temps and humidity need to be set right his hot side should be 105-110 and the humidity always 30-40prcnt!! At nite 70 degrees or higher it should never drop below 70. Make sure he has a hideaway the logs are best because the sleep strait not all curled up!! Most people know Zero about dragons!! Pet stores are ignorant and abusing!! Substrate: NO sand or coconut substrate!! Best flooring is smooth shelf liner get it from target or wallmart or order it online $10. Don’t get black it will burn them from the heat. It’s like a padded placemat!’ Awesome & easy to clean. Questions email me
Thank you for this AWESOME post, I hope a lot of newcomers & potential future beardie owners read this!

My guy does have a nighttime heat lamp, but he sleeps in a completely darkened area after I found out about eye damage being a possibility. He was left by his original people to sleep flat out on the bottom of his tank (which does not have loose substrate & thankfully never did, they went with linoleum) & sometimes it seems like he has trouble aiming at moving food items. His UV lighting is good, we've been over it with his vet. His day & night temps & tank humidity are as you're recommending & he thrives on it!

I did not know about the water conditioner & have just bought him a several-year supply that will be here next week. It'll be for baths; he doesn't drink standing water but occasionally gets water-based treats (filtered water only) from a syringe.

I do advise owners of young adult & older dragons to look into a thing called a Nap Shack, which is made for parrots. It's like a nylon pup tent with a plush lining (which doesn't shed fibers a lot) and Gojira LOVES his, curls up in it every night to sleep soundly in darkness & comfort where he used to just jam his face into the darkest corner he could find.

Maybe it comes with age, but my boy hasn't really reacted to loud, rowdy music--though in general he is highly sound-responsive. He does do a lot less glass surfing if I keep the TV running in his line of sight. Cartoons and action movies seem to hold his attention the longest. He rides in the truck with us all the time, which is where he encounters loud music from time to time (it's not constant, we like breaks from the bass too).

Another thing I find incredibly helpful with him is having a mandoline slicer in the kitchen. It can be tricky & dangerous to use, but the "instant fresh thin-sliced raw veggies" access has more than made up for that around here. I use mine for both of us, and am sure to clean it thoroughly every time so nothing toxic (garlic, onions) gets mixed with his food from prepping mine.
 
Top