Puffing at me!

[ashley7988]

So Draco has been a bit of a punk lately. The last 3 times that I've gone to scoop him up and hold him he puffs his beard at me! Not a black beard or anything just puffs... Then as soon as he's out he's fine. Kinda makes me giggle cuz he knows he's not gonna win. He even hangs out gladly on my shoulder while he's out. (By the way I take him out every other day for about 20-25 minutes)

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

He's more than likely not being a punk at all. There are many reason that dragon's "puff" or flex their bearded.
More than likely he was zoned out when you "scooped" him up and it startled him momentarily. In the wild predators scoop and snatch dragons all the time. I always talk to Mungi before attempting to handle him and make sure he turns and looks at me. Then will touch him so that he knows I am not a predator. Another thing to remember is that you should always reach for them from the front and slide your hand underneath them making sure that their body and tail are supported before lifting them. Dragon's tend to freak out a bit when they don't feel they are on stable footing.
I mentioned he might have been zoned out...Dragons can sleep with their eyes open so don't think that just because they are open he is aware you are there..
Enjoy!!

 

[ashley7988]

Fair enough! He always looks at me before I scoop him up and I do scoop him up from the front but lately he's been showing off that beard! I know he's not being a punk, I just like to call him that sometimes He's actually becoming a bit more dominant. When he would see his reflection I would see him constantly waving but now he bobs his head... Its nice to see that he's not backing down from himself! haha I didn't know they could sleep with their eyes open though, thank you for telling me that! I'll start talking to him before I scoop him and see if that helps!

 

[Augie]

Every now and then mine will puff when she's about to shed. One time she did it and it looked like her eyeballs were poking out of her head. Definitely freaked me out, even though I had read it happens sometimes when they shed. I just wasn't expecting it.