The first step of taming a beardie is to make sure it’s comfortable. Then, you can slowly build trust and eventually let them know that you’re not a threat. You’ve come to the right place if you have a bearded dragon at home but don’t know how to tame it. This guide will help pet owners understand everything about taming your bearded dragon.
Bearded dragons are more famous pets than the rest of the lizards because they boast a cute and calm demeanor and have a sweet and patient disposition.
Although they may be aggressive when aggrieved, they’re not quick to bite, scratch or tail-whip.
However, unlike domesticated animals, species that live in the wild, such as bearded dragons, are programmed to keep off from humans and other animals with imposing figures.
For this reason, making this species adapt to living with humans can be quite challenging. Still, pet owners can tame bearded dragons so that they become accustomed to living within the household setting.
Taming a bearded dragon is not a daunting task, but it requires a lot of patience and determination. You must understand that every beardie is different, and the process of taming lizards can differ from one animal to the next.
How Long Does It Take To Tame a Bearded Dragon?
As mentioned in the introduction, bearded dragons have different personalities. Therefore the time it will take to tame a beardie will differ from one lizard to the next. Several variables come into play when taming a bearded dragon.
There are claims that younger bearded dragons are easier to tame than mature beardies. However, the quicker you get your lizard to trust you, the faster you’ll be able to tame it.
The time it takes to make a pet human-friendly will also depend on how the bearded dragon was brought up in its original habitat.
If a lizard was abused or handled inappropriately in its original domicile, it would be hard to trust another human being. However, with consistent care and proper feeding, the beardie will ease up and forge a relationship with its owner.
Initially, a bearded dragon will experience stress when you try to tame them. You must ensure that you persistently get these creatures out of their comfort zone by handling them regularly.
However, remember that stress can lead to various ailments, and thus you should not put your pet through prolonged stress.
5 Ways of Taming a Bearded Dragon:
1. Let a Bearded Dragon Get Comfortable First
Before you approach and try to interact with a bearded dragon, make sure it’s familiar with its new territory.
Although you might be tempted to start massaging or cuddling your bearded dragon immediately it gets to your property, it’s not advisable since it’s yet to determine whether you’re a friend or a predator.
You have to let the beardie establish confidence and learn about its new home before making a move.
Experts recommend giving your bearded dragon 2-3 weeks to get accustomed to the new environment.
For survival, wild animals need to be aware of what is approaching them, assess the threat level, and respond accordingly.
Bearded dragons are inherently wild and perceive any human coming to them as a threat. They will respond by freezing, fighting, or running.
Before you go close to your new bearded dragon, make sure it’s already comfortable and won’t react aggressively to your advances.
Try to spend as much time near the bearded dragon’s tank to let it know that you’re its owner. You can do normal things such as whistling and singing while sitting next to the tank.
2. Let your Bearded Dragon Get Familiar With your Scent
One practical and easy way to tame beardies is to let them familiarize themselves with your scent. Once a bearded dragon knows how you smell, it’ll be relaxed and comfortable anytime you’re around.
You can get a beardie to get used to your scent over time. Here are the steps to follow:
- Take an old shirt or any piece of clothing and clean it thoroughly to remove all perfume scents, soaps, and chemicals.
- Bathe and put on the cloth for hours until it gets your scent.
- Remove the cloth and place it inside the bearded dragon’s enclosure
- Get the piece of cloth out of the tank after one or two days and repeat the process for the next few weeks. Please don’t return it to your wardrobe as it might carry some zoonotic diseases. Ensure that you dispose of the cloth once you get it out of the beardie’s enclosure.
3. Taming the Bearded Dragon with Food
Another easy method to get your bearded dragon to ease up and cozy up to you is through food. Take a systematic approach when feeding your bearded dragon.
Hand-feeding has become a valuable technique for pet owners who want to bond with their newly acquired pets.
However, since beardies can be a little shy or afraid to come close to you in the initial stages, you should drop the food nearby.
Keep reducing the distance between you and the bearded dragon until you feel like they are ready to be fed by hand. Never put your hand in its tank for the first few weeks.
If you’re not sure whether the birdie is comfortable, feed it using a pair of tongs. This will protect your hand in case it tries to bite you.
Once you’re sure that the beardie won’t hurt or attack you, you can discard the tongs, wear some gloves, and feed it directly from your hands. If you’re courageous enough, you can even let the bearded dragon eat from your bare hands.
Feeding roaches and crickets to beardies using tongs or tweezers is the best experience. However, please don’t play the teasing game with food on bearded dragons, as they might bite you.
4. Handling and Touching your Bearded Dragon
After weeks of letting your beardie master your scent and feeding it with your hands, the next step is to touch and stroke the lizard.
After feeding the beardie by hand, you can now try to touch its back gently and cuddle it slowly from above the mouth to the head.
If you’re still worried that the lizard may bite you, you can wear a pair of gloves. However, you’ll be required to leave the gloves in the tank for a few days so that the beardie can pick their scent.
So. It’s best to stroke the beardie with bear hands. Once it accepts to be touched and massaged, you can now try to pick it up.
Remember not to approach the bearded dragon from behind or at the top of its head where it can’t see you.
Approach the lizard from in front so that it can see as your hands come close and so that you can monitor its reaction.
If you hear it hiss or puff its beard when you bring your hand closer, please withdraw as this may be a sign that it doesn’t want to be handled.
Keep touching your beardie until you feel it’s ready to be lifted off the ground. Keep the handling session short to avoid stressing the bearded dragon.
Instead of long sessions, you can touch or massage your bearded dragon multiple times every day.
Once your bearded dragon becomes accustomed to handling, you can even take it with you to enjoy some sunshine.
However, during the initial stages of taming and handling your beardie, please don’t integrate other activities such as bathing.
New things might bring a set of fears and make the beardy refuse even the usual handling.
5. Let the Bearded Dragon Out of the Cage
When your bearded dragon eases up to being touched and handled, you can let it out of the cage and provide pleasurable experiences.
Getting a bearded dragon out of the cage gives it a sense of freedom and allows it to breathe some fresh air.
You can even let it roam in the yard to get sufficient UVB light from the natural sun. Conversely, the outdoor ambiance can stimulate the beardie’s mind.
More importantly, you can use this moment to introduce new activities. One such activity is a little scrub. When your beardie is out of its enclosure, please gently scrub it from head to tail using a toothbrush.
You can also use this moment to introduce your bearded dragon to bathing. Slowly pick up your bearded dragon providing support to all its legs, and dip it in warm water.
Please don’t submerge it in the water since beardies don’t like their noses and eyes being wet.
Tips When Taming Your Bearded Dragon:
1. Stay Calm When Approaching the Bearded Dragon
There’s no doubt that your bearded dragon will be scared and might even take flight when you try to touch it for the first time.
However, this should not make you retreat or feel like it doesn’t want you to hold it. Please avoid shouting at your bearded dragon or try to corner it, as this might intimidate it.
Approach it gently while talking in a gentle tone or even whistling. If it runs away, follow it slowly without being intimidating. Don’t try to touch it from above its head as its senses might signal danger.
2. Never pick up a Bearded Dragon When It’s Upset
Bearded dragons don’t like to be held all the time. If a beardie displays signs such as hissing, puffing up its beard, trying to run, or turning its beard black, don’t try to pick it up until it calms down.
You can help the bearded dragon calm down by simply giving it a treat.
The bearded dragon can respond by inflicting a painful bite or scratching your skin if you try to hoist it up when aggrieved.
The best approach is to wait for several hours until you notice that the signs of aggression have faded away.
3. Persistence and Consistency are Key When it comes to Bearded Dragon Taming
If you want your bearded dragon to get used to handling, you need to persevere and be consistent with the taming process.
Even if it tries to run or starts to squirm when you try to catch it, hold on to it as long as it doesn’t get too aggressive or try to bite.
More importantly, it would help if you regularly interact with your bearded dragon. If you feed it by hand today and then disappear for a week, the beardie will forget you and won’t want to see you close anymore.
Make it a habit to hold and stroke your bearded dragon whenever you have time, but don’t overdo it.
4. Be Gentle When Catching, Stroking, or Setting the Bearded Dragon Down
Approach everything calmly and deliberately when trying to tame your bearded dragon. One of the main reasons most beardies don’t like to interact with human beings is rough handling. When trying to catch the beardie, don’t try to corner it or hold its tail if it tries to escape.
Conversely, don’t be rough when massaging or stroking your bearded dragon. Do it gently using one or two fingers.
Avoid cuddling body parts that might make the bearded dragon aggrieved, such as the stomach, under the tail, and between the legs.
Lastly, don’t toss or drop the bearded dragon even if it’s squirming. Lay the beardie slowly onto the ground. When putting it back into the cage, place one hand inside the enclosure and let it go.
5. Be Patient
Taming a bearded dragon is not something you can do in a day. It’s a process that needs time. First, you need to let the beardie gets accustomed to the new environment.
Then, the bearded dragon needs to get used to you. You also have to familiarize yourself with its personality, habits, and preferences.
Taming a bearded dragon is something you should do consistently day after day. You should spend up to 30 minutes training your bearded dragon to be social every day.
If you can’t spare enough time to tame your bearded dragon, you have no business owning one.
How to Tame a Baby Bearded Dragon?
Baby bearded dragons are easy to tame since they’ve not been exposed to harsh conditions. The best approach is to start interacting with them once they get into your home.
However, you’ll need to give the baby two to three weeks to adjust to the surrounding.
Start lightly by feeding them using tongs and trying to pet the top of their head. You can then try to lower your hands into the enclosure and see how they react. If they retreat to one end or jump towards the hand, this is a sign that they still fear you, and you need to give them more time.
If you put your hand inside the enclosure and the bearded dragon doesn’t react aggressively, you can continue stroking its back and even pick it up.
Once you’re sure that the baby is comfortable being handled, place your hand in its midsection and grab the beardie firmly. You can now lift the bearded dragon from its habitat, ensuring that your grip is firmly but gently.
Keep a consistent routine when handling your baby bearded dragon to build a long-term relationship and avoid ambushing the creature when it’s not expecting you.
If you tame a baby bearded dragon when it’s five months and then stop until when it’s one year old, you’ll have to start over since the bearded dragon would have forgotten everything.
You’ve got to be patient and consistent when taming a baby beardie.
How to Tame an Adult Bearded Dragon?
If a bearded dragon has undergone mistreatment or has never been handled before, it may be resistant to stroking or holding at first. But through determination and patience, the beardie can be tamed and made to establish a great relationship with the owner.
However, like the babies, adult bearded dragons need to be given enough time to learn about their new environment. Then, you can start giving them food with tongs or by hand and check how it behaves.
If it hisses, puffs, or darkens its beard, it is intimidated by your hand. Repeat the process another time until the bearded dragon stops showing any signs of aggressiveness.
If it allows you to feed it with tongs or a bare hand, try touching its back and rubbing it gently. Check its reactions and be ready to retrieve your hand if the beardie snaps and tries to bite you.
Continue cuddling the bearded dragon if it doesn’t try to bite you or show any signs of aggressiveness.
After a while, you can begin to hold the beardie at the midsection while supporting the legs. If it doesn’t show any resistance, this is a clear indication that you can now lift it out of the enclosure.
The first you get it out of the enclosure, you might hear squirms and get funny looks, but if you lift it gently and stroke it properly, it will start enjoying being handled.
Final Verdict
There’s no one-size-fits-all technique to tame a bearded dragon; the only thing you need to remember is to be patient, gentle, and consistent.
When you foster steady interaction with your bearded dragon from the moment it gets into your home, you can gain its trust and build a long-lasting relationship.
If you have any questions about taming your bearded dragon, we hope you find all the answers in this piece.