Various pets respond differently when being petted or held. Dogs wag their tails when their bellies are rubbed. Other animals like Cats trill, chirp, and mew when the ears or under chins are massaged. Even animals like hamsters and rabbits have unique ways of showing affection to their owners. The bugging question for many is, do bearded dragons like to be held?
Do these cute and docile friends like being handled? And do they enjoy being touched or petted by their owners? Although beardies are solitary animals used to living alone in the desert, they get accustomed to human interaction when brought into captivity.
When bearded dragons are domesticated, they slowly get used to being handled and even begin to cherish, recognize, and yearn for their owner’s touch. Although it can be pretty intimidating for these scaly friends to get used to being held or touched, they eventually get comfortable once they are handled correctly.
This guide will discuss everything about handling and petting bearded dragons. Please keep reading to understand whether bearded dragons like being held or cuddled, how should you handle your adult bearded dragons and juvenile bearded dragons? how often they need to be stroked and the best handling tips.
Do Bearded Dragons Like to be Cuddled?
Bearded dragons are known to give cuddles that often melt our hearts. They climb on our hands, move up the shoulders and even give us curious looks when moving and brushing around our feet. However, do these creatures really enjoy cuddling?
It is easy to know when your cat or dog wants to cuddle. However, it can be challenging to recognize when these cute reptiles are yearning for company. Although different beardies have different personalities, many bearded dragons learn how to show affection to their owners.
According to recent research, bearded dragons are sentient beings. This means that they are capable of feeling, perceiving, and experiencing affection and touch subjectively. However, it’s up to the pet owners to learn how to bond with their beardies and quickly recognize their behaviors when seeking attention.
Like cats and dogs, bearded dragons will seek to cuddle by snuggling up to you and seeking a gentle touch around their head. However, it can be challenging to they enjoy being petted or not without any characteristic sound or expression.
However, beardie owners around the world have contrasting opinions. Some bearded dragon owners claim that their bearded dragons love staying around them and would exhibit certain behaviors that show that they are affectionate.
On the other hand, another group is convinced that the relationship between humans and bearded dragons is more of a survival tactic. They claim that our little pet friends forge a relationship with owners because they get adequate food supply and are provided with other essential needs.
However, it doesn’t matter whether beardies show affection out of their free will or because they get food and other benefits. They enjoy having a relationship with human beings and show signs of wanting to be held or petted, which is enough.
Signs That Your Bearded Dragon is Enjoying The Cuddles
- The bearded dragon starts to plop down on you.
- It stays relaxed when you’re near it.
- Closing its eyes as you stroke its back, scratch the region around the ears, or massage its legs.
- Moving to your hands as you pet it.
- Climbing up on your should via your hand and snuggling against your neck.
How Often and Long Should I Hold My Bearded Dragon?
Some people claim that bearded dragons don’t like to be held. However, according to herpetologists, this is further from the truth. Beardies tolerate handling better than the rest of the lizards. They need to be handled regularly to get familiar with human beings and stay calm during routine maintenances, such as tank cleaning, bathing, and veterinary inspections.
Before taking the beardie out of its enclosure, you need to remember that it needs at least one hour to warm up before the food arrives and three hours after eating to digest food as it absorbs heat and UVB. Once you ensure that they have adequate time before and after eating, you can take your cute friend out of the tank for as long as you want.
However, to ensure your safety and that of the bearded dragon, you should start holding it for a few minutes and extend the time as the lizard gets comfortable. You can handle bearded dragons for fifteen minutes every day or more if they seem to enjoy it. However, a bearded dragon should be held for more than 2hrs, especially if the outdoor conditions don’t favor them. Keeping your dragon out for too long can make them cold.
The rule of the thumb is to ensure that you respect what your bearded dragon wants. While some beardies like to be held for hours, some don’t enjoy being handled too long or multiple times a day and will get antsy after a few minutes. Look for signs that indicate whether your cute, scaly friend is enjoying being held or not.
How to Handle a Bearded Dragon like a Pro?
Although bearded dragons aren’t social animals, they like being petted and handled in the right way. An honest mistake can lead to severe injuries when cuddling or holding these creatures. Follow these steps when handling your bearded dragon:
Step 1: Wash your hands and read the body language of the dragon
Before you approach your bearded dragon, check out for behaviors that show it’s ready for petting. If your bearded dragon is in discomfort, it will react negatively to any of your advances.
Your bearded dragon will be in high moods if it gets the proper diet and conducive habitat. Some of the calm behaviors you should look out for include:
- Gazing at you
- Relaxing in the basking spot
- Climbing on hammocks
- Taking a stroll around the tank
- Dipping itself in the water bowl
If you observe these behaviors, your little lizard is ready to be petted.
Sometimes, the bearded dragon may display stress signals when it doesn’t want to be touched. These include:
- Closing its eyes as you get close
- Gaping its mouth
- Puffing up
- Hissing
- Glass surfing
- Leg waving
- Expanding its beard
Rinse your hands thoroughly with plenty of warm water as you inspect the bearded dragon’s behavior. This will ensure that you don’t transmit germs or bacteria to your bearded dragon. Some people prefer wearing gloves when they want to pet their lizards.
Once you clean your hands and ascertain that your beardie wants to be handled, you can now move to the next step.
Step 2: Approach the beardie slowly and calmly from the front
Bearded dragons don’t react well to sudden or abrupt movements. Once the reptile shows a calming behavior, move closer deliberately and slowly extend your hand from the front.
As you edge closer, make sure that the dragon can see your hand to avoid getting it startled. Keep moving your hand until you almost touch the head and watch how the bearded dragon reacts. If it responds aggressively or starts to hiss, it’s not ready to be touched. You’ll need to give it time to cool down.
However, if the bearded dragon moves toward your hand, it is ready to be held. Usually, beardies are calm and won’t be aggressive as long as you move slowly and make sure they can see you.
Strong Warning!
Never try to approach a bearded dragon directly from above its head. These creatures have powerful sensory receptors on top of their heads that detect a change in lighting when a predator is about to attack.
If you try to hold your bearded dragon from above, they will sense the changes in shadow and interpret it as a predatory attack and try to defend themselves.
Step 3: Carefully make gentle contact and stroke the bearded dragon’s face and head before trying to pick it up
Now that you have established a bond with the bearded dragon, it’s time to make it get comfortable before hoisting it up. To create more rapport with the cute friend, you need to give it some light, non-threatening strokes.
You can touch your beardie gently around the face with one or two fingers and then move up to its head. Again, it would be best to watch for any signs of discomfort or stress as you stroke the bearded dragon’s head.
Please don’t touch your beardie directly in its mouth. Although some love to be petted around the mouth and the chin area, some don’t like it quite as much.
An insightful tip:
If you’re yet to bond with your bearded dragon, you can try feeding it from your hand.
Step 4: Pick up the dragon by supporting the front and hind legs
You can now lift the bearded dragon off the ground if petting is going on well. When picking up the bearded dragon, you need to ensure the front legs, the back legs, and the base of the tail are supported. If one of these parts is not supported, the pet will feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
Once the bearded dragon accepts to be petted, place your hand underneath the front legs and let it climb up. You can gently hoist the front part of the bearded dragon to help it climb and lay on the palm. Quick steps of picking up your bearded dragon:
- Place your hand under the dragon’s body from the front part.
- You need to lift the bearded dragon with one hand and support it with the other hand.
- Ensure that the lizard’s entire body is fully supported.
A tip:
You might notice a slight wiggle when picking bearded dragons. Hold the bearded dragon’s body firmly with the other hand if you think the reptile will fall. However, do it gently to avoid injuring the pet.
Step 5: Adjust the position of the bearded dragon
Once the beardie rests on your hands, you can reposition it to a more comfortable position. You can let the lizard use its entire forearm as a cradle for its whole body. Some people hold the bearded dragon close to their body, mainly on the chest, to make them feel more secure.
Others let the bearded dragon rest on their shoulders. Putting the creature close to your body also helps it get warm from the heat generated by your body. Being close also helps the dragon master your scent and feel secure when handling them.
Step 6: Place the bearded dragon down
After stroking and cuddling your scaly friend to satisfaction, you need to put it down carefully. Letting the reptile friend go is not as easy as placing the kitten or puppy down. Be extra cautious not to you don’t injure the creature or drop it abruptly.
You don’t want to make your bearded dragon feel unnecessarily worried or fear being close to you. Again, it would be best to do everything slowly since these cute friends don’t like sudden movements.
First, you need to support the dragon with one hand and lower the other hand until it rests flat on the tank’s floor. Then, gently tilt your hand at the wrist and give the bearded dragon a slight nudge using the other hand. It will slowly get off your hand and get into its enclosure.
Step 7: Wash Your Hands
The last step is to clean your hands with water and antiseptic soap. Bearded dragons and a few reptiles carry the salmonella, which can cause lead to stomach and digestive ailments in humans.
While this bacteria is isn’t harmful to bearded dragons, it causes serious health complications, especially in kids and the elderly. This is why it’s crucial to wash your hands after holding or massaging a bearded dragon.
Which are The Best Parts to Stroke or Pet Your Bearded Dragon?
Just because your bearded dragon appreciates being stroked, it doesn’t mean that you can pet its entire body. The beardie will enjoy being touched in specific parts and react negatively or aggressively if you pet other places.
Some of the good places to stroke your bearded dragon include:
- Head
- Sides of the face
- Tail
- Legs
- Sides
- Toes
- Sides
However, these are the places you should not pet the bearded dragon:
- Under the tail
- Starting from the top of the beardie’s head
- Belly
- Under the tail
How to Bond with Your Bearded Dragon? 5 Steps
At times your beardie may not show signs of wanting to be petted or held, and you may start to worry whether there’s a way you could forge a long-lasting bond. Luckily, you can help your beardie to begin showing affection if you do these things:
1. Feed Your Bearded Dragon Yourself
It’s not a secret that beardies love food. Therefore, one of the best ways to create a relationship with them is to provide adequate and highly nutritious food. More importantly, you need to deliver the food personally so that it starts to recognize you.
Once they determine that you’re the one who gives them food, they’ll start associating you with a positive memory. The more the food, the more they’ll feel comfortable around you.
To ensure that the relationship becomes more intimate, try to feed your bearded dragon with your hands. As time goes by, you’ll notice the little scaly friend is starting to be relaxed and comfortable around you.
2. Handle Your Pet Regularly
If your bearded dragon refuses to cooperate when you try to hold it, you might decide to give up and let it be. However, you should just let it cool down and then try again. If you don’t spend your time holding them, they won’t get accustomed to being hoisted off the ground.
If you don’t show your face regularly to bearded dragons, they won’t be comfortable around you, and you must have difficulty calming them down. However, as you try to pet or catch your beardie, they’ll get used to it and get comfortable around you. Before you notice, you’ll be walking with your cute friend resting on your shoulder.
3. Stroke and Massage Your Bearded Dragon
One of the best ways to express and invite affection from a pet is physical touch. Most bearded dragons like to be petted, which makes them feel secure and relaxed.
As soon as you get closer, gently pet them on the head, sides of the face, and the back. Although they might seem uninterested at first, they’ll get comfortable and start responding positively to touch.
4. Reward Them with Treats
Human beings are not the sole creatures that appreciate special treats. Bearded dragons also love special treats now and then. You can create a long-lasting bond with your beardie by rewarding its good behavior towards you.
You should come bearing treats when visiting the Bearded Dragon’s cage. Once the pet accomplishes something positive, gift it with a sweet treat. They’ll always associate you with the precious things they are used to seeing you give them. If you’re lucky, they can even master your scent.
5. Let the Beardie Walk on You
If you want your beardies to trust you, you must also show that you trust them on your side. One way of showing bearded dragons that you trust them is to let them walk on you. You can let them climb your body from the arms through to the shoulders.
Letting beardies walk all over your body allows them to pick your scent and hopefully establish a stronger bond.
Takeaways
It’s crucial to understand that beardie’s affection increases with age. Therefore, if you brought baby bearded dragon into captivity, you shouldn’t expect them to display their affection right away.
You need to give them time to know you and familiarize themselves with life in captivity. The more activities you do with your bearded dragon, the higher the probability of it responding and developing some attachment towards you.
However, you must understand that not all bearded dragons are created the same. While some will show affection after doing the activities mentioned above a few times, other bearded dragons will take months before they get comfortable enough to allow you to touch them.
Hopefully, after it all, you’ll create a strong bond that will enable you to identify when your bearded dragon is stressed and when it’s elated.
How to Know that Your Bearded Dragon Has Some Affection Towards You?
If you successfully create a bond with your bearded dragon, you should be able to recognize some clear signs of affection. These will help you know when to hold or pet your little lizard and shed some light on its health.
Here are seven indicators that your bearded dragon is affectionate towards you:
1. Closing its eyes when around you
Bearded dragons are used to a hostile desert environment where there are a lot of predators trying to hunt them down. For this reason, they don’t close their eyes often and are always alert in case of any impending danger.
For a bearded dragon to shut its eyes around you, it is clear that it trusts you. When the little lizard closes as it lays on your shoulder, it doesn’t feel threatened o stressed when near you.
2. The will to play with you
Bearded dragons may be solitary creatures, but they are highly sociable once they get comfortable. If you see the bearded dragon standing on its hind legs and scratching the tank with its forelegs as you approach its enclosure, it may signify that the beardie is yearning to play with you.
If you are used to taking this cute reptile for rides, swimming, or walking, they may start looking to spend time outside the tank. Making such signals in the tank means that they love being in your presence and enjoy your company.
3. Coming towards you or following you
When bearded dragons come to meet you when you approach them or start following you once you get them out of their terrarium, this is a sign that they like you. When you develop a solid routine with these scaly creatures, they may start to come to you when they see you bringing them food or water.
When they become accustomed to your presence, they feel more relaxed and even try to follow you around. When you win the beardies’ trust, you can even train them how to communicate.
4. Allowing you to pick it up
Bearded dragons don’t just warm up to stroking and handling immediately. They take their time before they allow anyone to catch or hold them. So, if they reach a point where they don’t mind you lifting them, you have certainly created an excellent bond with them.
If you have handled the bearded dragon safely several times, it gets to a point where they will be looking forward to being hoisted off the ground.
As long as you don’t approach the little lizard or try to catch it from above its head, they won’t show any aggression when you want to hold them unless they’re stressed.
5. Staying close to you when out of the cage
Being solitary creatures, it’s uncommon for beardies to stay close to their owners. However, when you connect with them, they will always remain close to you and won’t roam even if you have released them from their enclosure.
Additionally, they may also start rubbing themselves against you, cuddling with you, or coming to you when they see you approaching. These creatures don’t go near large, threatening figures in the wild.
They keep their distance from anything that makes them threatened. If the creatures stay bubbly and cuddly near you, they trust you and are comfortable by your side.
6. Sleeping on your palms or shoulder
When bearded dragons sleep, they risk being turned into food by predators. Sleep is one of their most vulnerable states. Therefore, if it gets to the extent that beardies lay or doze off when relaxing on your palm or shoulder, they have complete trust in you.
The simple act of falling asleep on your body means that beardies don’t perceive you as a threat. More importantly, they already enjoy your scent and your body’s warmth.
7. Licking you
Although this doesn’t happen often, these scaly friends may surprise you with a light lick when you bring them close to your body. If beardies occasionally lick you, it’s enough proof that they recognize your scent and are comfortable enough to interact with you.
Things to Avoid When Handling Your Bearded Dragon
After focusing so much on what you need to do when handling your bearded dragon, now we turn our attention to the don’ts when petting or holding your bearded dragon. Here are things that might make beardie uncomfortable:
1. Rough Handling
Beardies are sensitive creatures and thus need to be handled with care. If you mishandle or beaggressive,they will get scared and threatened and won’t be held anymore. They might turn into aggressive bearded dragons.
Once you rough them up, they will not be comfortable around you, and your bond will be broken. Never try to hold your bearded dragon abruptly or haphazardly.
2. Don’t hold bearded dragons by the tail
Catching a bearded dragon by its tail is one of the most distressing and uncomfortable things. Holding this lizard’s tail will make it respond aggressively and may never want to be caught by you. If you don’t want to cause your pet discomfort and stress, try to avoid holding its tail.
3. Don’t make loud noises
Like most reptiles, bearded dragons don’t like surprises, loud music, or noise. If you subject these docile creatures to loud music and noise, they will be uncomfortable and won’t respond positively to any form of handling.
You should ensure that this docile bearded dragon’s terrarium should is kept away from the road or noise. Constant loud noises can make your beardie stressed.
4. Don’t let a child near a bearded dragon
As mentioned earlier, bearded dragons carry salmonella in their guts. At times, the salmonella bacteria are latched on the bearded dragon’s skin and can infect those who touch the bearded dragon. And as we all know, kids are highly susceptible to germs and bacteria due to their low immunity.
Once kids hold beardies, they carry the bacteria with their hands, which they can put in the mouth, and contact illnesses that cause severe stomach pains, which can be fatal if not treated soon.
Therefore, kids should not be allowed anywhere near beardies. If they do, they should have supervision and shouldn’t be allowed to touch these reptiles.
5. Avoid placing beardies on high places when they can fall
If you place bearded dragons on top of their tanks on frames or other high areas, they might be tempted to jump. They may end up suffering broken limbs or severe injuries.
Here is an article from PETMD titled Fractured Bone in Reptiles
Health Concern of Handling a Bearded Dragon
Although handling beardies is a safe affair, owners should take a few precautionary measures to stay healthy around these creatures. These include:
- Don’t eat or place your hands in the mouth when handling a beardie.
- Scrub your hands with a bacterial soap and warm water to get rid of salmonella after handling a beardie
- If you sustain any scratches or cuts when holding the beardie, ensure that you disinfect them. Beardies have long claws that can scratch your skin if they feel frightened.
- If you sustain a bite from a beardie (a rare occurrence), ensure that the wound is thoroughly disinfected. If it becomes sore or reddish, please consult a professional doctor.
Do Bearded Dragons Enjoy Human Contact?
It depends, In the wild no, but you can train your bearded dragon to enjoy human contact! It takes time, but with proper handling your beardies it will enjoy contact with you.
Conclusion
Bearded dragons may not be the social pets that warm up to you after a few days of companionship, but they quickly learn to connect and bond with their owners.
Once the creatures become accustomed to their owners, they become easy to handle and always appreciate being petted or stroked.
However, it’s up to you to decipher various signs that bearded dragons exhibit when they want to be held or stroked. Conversely, you need to be conversant with the worrying signs that point to the beardie now wanting to be handled.
Sometimes the signs can be confusing, but it will be much easier to know when your reptile friend is happy or stressed if you have already established a strong bond.
We hope that this guide offers insightful tips to help you bond and handle your bearded dragon safely.