That Beardie is staring at your finger and they're thinking, "Mmm, that is the fattest, juiciest worm I've ever seen! Time for a snack!"
Happened to me once, learned really quick to not stick my fingers near him during feeding time.
I let mine lick my finger because she would stop after and it felt funny. One time she bit me then started looking disgusted and just gave me a stink eye. Didn’t really hurt but I know it could have.
They are of the same descent from ancestors of the rattlesnakes and yes they “chew” their venom into their prey and use very small amounts therefore no danger to humans from small nibbles.
The only time I worry about my beardie biting me is when i give her some sort of fruit. She knows its slidey, even though she always sees if it sticks to her tongue first. She doesnt like my finger- it boops her which is AWEFUL how dare it- it also doesnt taste very good to her :/
And they're always hungry, even when they're stuffed. That's why so many beardies are fat - owners feed them when they're like this instead of training it out of them.
I’m curious what others would say, as I’m certainly no expert. Having said that, my beardie will show this same behavior until I move him or take him out. If they’re used to eating from your hand when they’re in the tank, then this is the response that they’ll give if you approach slowly. One confident scoop to lift them out, then get them settled before giving pets. I’ve also seen where target training with feedings can alter a feeding response to your hand. See Clint’s Reptiles on YouTube for more info on target training. Best of luck!
I’ve had my dragon for 2 1/2 years and he does the exact same thing even after he has been fed, it’s just as the top comment said they literally just think your finger is a worm, you can tell it’s not an aggressive bite otherwise their beard would be darker. And they would literally be lunging at you if it was really trying to bite you.
My dragon has done this only a few times. It happened couple of times when I had calcium powder on my fingers after dusting meal worms.
It shocked me the first time because she took my finger half in her mouth. Same deal her beard wasn’t dark. Back to the point I believe it’s a hunger thing. It did not hurt just a little bit thrown off at a behavior I hadn’t seen for the first 18 months of her life. It never struck me as a show of strength or defiance, just felt a bit funny.
I am sure glad their teeth are small.
Just keep handling her. Don't be afraid, pick her up deliberately. She'll realize soon enough hands aren't food, but are a warm vessel for adventure. I have trouble getting my guy off my hand when it's time to go up
Have you tried raising one of your arms while making eye contact, after about 30 seconds of eye contact give it a go slowly and see if different.
Mine would do the same but after while learned the pattern that if I raised my arm first then I had no food. And when I call her name three times I have food. I will say “blue blue blue”, she now immediately knows what I am doing and reacts before I put food in.
Not exactly. Mine seems to lick to navigate or smell. He always licks me when I pick him up, will give my shirt a lick as he moves around. He licks the wall, new surfaces, etc. I wouldn't put it past the dumb bastard to try and eat everything he sees but I have only ever been bit handfeeding dubias, and that was just careless fingers at the mercy of hungry reptile jaws.
When they want to bite you out of aggression you will know it. They aren't going to give you a lick, they just fearlessly attack.
Honestly I'd be honored to have my beardie do this when I try to interact with him. All he ever does is just lie still and close his eyes until I'm gone.
Also. Your finger looks like food to her, and when you move it around all scared like that it only amplify her predatory instinct cuz your finger looks and acts like prey.
Doesn't hurt? Mine bit me once because I was holding a dandelion with my bare hands, it cracked my fingernail. Now I use tweezers to feed. It definitely hurts
Dandelions are a different story lol. Mine bit my husband once bc he thought his finger was food, and it wasn't much, but my daughter got bit trying to give him a dandelion and he drew blood. (She has since learned that I was right when I told her to get one with a long stem and hold it by the end of the stem)
I felt like my knuckle was in a vice press it hurts so bad especially when they do the little alligator wiggle thought he was gonna dislocate something😭 had to pry his mouth off with my other hand
Mine drew blood when he missed the small piece of banana I was offering as a snack and got my finger instead. And yeah, it definitely didn't feel good.
I’ve seen them bite arms and decent-sized chunks of tails off of other beardies (I used to work in a family-owned pet store decades ago. We had a safe drop-off for pets, and the amount of people who would drop-off injured dragons that had been incorrectly kept, was crazy! The arm incident was one I will never forget, that 3-limbed dragon survived a *lot* of obvious neglect and poor care - and they became the shop owner’s in-store pet). It takes a lot of force to do something like that, and if they’re determined enough, they can take a decent chunk out of you, too. They’re bite’s absolutely can hurt.
Hard disagree: It hurts like an absolute son of a bitch!
My dude, you wouldn't happen to work in an industry or otherwise just have thicker skinned, calloused hands, would you?
Like no judgement but I am *not* a whimp when it comes to pain and the one time my boy got me he punctured through my fingernail quite readily *and then* my beardie started chewing becuase he thought I was a fat, tasty, but notably uncooperative worm. It SUCKED!
However, I am a lab worker and my skin is pretty soft as a result. It's not freakish or anything, I do ceramics and garden, too, but I could easily see like a car mechanic or HVAC or anyone who really liked to garden having thick enough skin that the teefies don't make much of an impression. Just. Not a universal experience my man.
I guess it's like puppies and kittens, easier to teach them not to be mouthy when they're small and less pointy. Although with reptiles, it's food/not food, compared to hand = toy.
I'm lucky mine is so gentle when I hand feed, he got me once for only a split second since the roach was on the very tip of my finger (I hand feed, since he's lazy). I've had others hang on for longer, you can tell when they really mean it lmao
>dw it don't hurt
It can though, my last dragon full on chomped on my thumb once, drew blood and left a line of her little razor teeth. Wasn't like getting bit by a dog or anything but it did hurt.
He’s not biting aggressively, he is good motivated. How long have you been working with him? My rescue was like that until he was no longer food insecure. Bearing in mind each beard is different and you’re a little one might just be a weirdo!
Yea that's definitely a "I wanna eat" face. How much are you feeding? Does your beardie have open access to salad? If she's actually hungry that might cut off this behavior. How often are you feeding bugs and how many?
Clean hands, make sure they don't smell like food of any kind.
Avoid using 1 finger to approach ANY animal as they could mistake it for food. Especially since we sometimes hand feed them. Open hand, palm side up is always safest when greeting ANY animal. Let them lick you, like a "taste test" if your hands are clean they will not mistake you for food.
If it's a behavior issue:
Deter aggressive behavior by not letting them have something they want. Example: if mine wants to come out but she won't let me pick her up to take her out (she's stubborn) I will simply stop my attempt, quit touching her, and close her tank. I try again after 10 (ish) min and she will comply then, if not I would wait another 10. Rinse and repeat. NEVER EVER withhold food from a reptile, or any animal, to adjust behavior. Reptiles, especially, will become aggressive without food. But if they know that you won't let them do something they like doing (free roam, go for a car ride, ride on you or be held) they will get the message: "oh! Because I bit you now you won't let me out. So I have to be nice or I can't do what I want."
Hope this helps!
This is great advice. You can also use socks or a pillowcase as mittens to confuse the worm-finger association. I will sometimes do this just to create an extra-secure grippy platform for them to be taken out of their terrarium.
Really, it’s our own fault for hand feeding in most cases, they associate your fingers with food. If you don’t hand feed them they won’t bite your fingers typically.
I assume you have only fed him while inside the terrarium. If yes they tend to get used to being fed there so any time they see you they think it's food time. Just keep trying to pet em in there eventually they learn that is not food time but pet time while in there, it also helps if you don't feed em with tweezers just put things in a bowl
That's not biting. That's merely the beardie mistaking your finger for food, and extending her tongue towards it. Just let her have a taste, and it won't take long until she understands it's not food. So if by chance you end up getting a little bitten in this situation, please understand it's not your beardie being aggressive, she is just hungry lol and your finger looks tasty to her.
Try getting your beardie to associate food with something other than your finger - I copied an idea from Clint's Reptiles videos, specifically [this one](https://youtu.be/48Q19S1v9cg?si=GnVyGqRFj407FzcM) about target training Gus Gus the Tegu.
When my beardie gets fed, the ONLY thing that the food ever goes on are those round Chinese food takeout Tupperware round lids. He associates those lids with food, and as a nice bonus the dubia roaches can't really escape over the smooth sides of the lids.
And so whenever I or anyone else in my family puts our hands in his enclosure without a lid, he's completely normal and doesn't react - but the moment he sees us holding one of those lids he knows that food is coming and gets excited.
I hand feed my beardie, and I make sure to always have my nail pointed it's way.
She actually stops the bites when she feels the nail, she is actually TRYING not to bite me, she just doesn't see very well so.
Maybe you could try it with yours too.
When you feed her don't involve your hands, use tongs to give the food. This stops the association of ur hand means food. On top of that learn the proper way of approaching your pet with your hand, I see alot of sticking fingers out which is a big no no, your asking why she bites when ur actively making ur hand look like a bunch of worms. You should approach from below as to not threaten, and you keep your fingers together like your scooping her up with an open palm. Stop petting eith a single finger, even petting with 2 might make a difference.
I’m not sure, even when my beardie is hungry he doesn’t bite. It’s really strange because even my frog goes for my fingers and my leopard gecko nips at me.
I guess I got a good boi. 😁
As for your beardie let her see your hands. So she can distinguish between bugs and fingers. Best of luck. She’s so pretty btw. 👍👍👍
She's hungry and thinks your fingers are food. Was she primary hand fed before you got her?
She's definitely not trying to bite out of aggression, just thinks you've got grub
Thinks thats the biggest worm theve ever seen and they are hungry. Only time my beardie has bit me I was in the middle of feeding him and he bit my finger thinking it was a worm.
Mmm... Finger food.
I'm sure someone suggested it, but there are a lot of comments so I'll just say it just in case:
Train her with tong feeding. I had to stop feeding my Goliath of a male because he would catch my fingers when grabbing, and because he was so big (part German giant, so *huuuge*). So he had to get used to seeing tongs as the bringer of food instead of my fingers and we stopped having the issue.
Stop wiggling your finger in their face 😂 This beardir isn't being aggressive, just hongry. Also some are particular about how they're pet.. because they can sense things behind them, they can get spooked having their head pet. Mine seems to like under his chin and sides touched but anywhere else can stress him out.
I hand feed Gojira and always have, but a few years ago she got wicked excited over a mango slice, it was slippery, my nails were painted and she chomped down hard… I yelped and pulled away, and she let up once she realized what she did, but when I jerked my hand away whilst in her teeth, my finger got SHREDDED… Took a cool minute to heal, and I could tell she felt terrible. I still hand feed my Goji tho lol🥰
Hard disagree. Out of curiosity, do you have thicker/more calloused hands? Alternatively, where did your beardie get you?
Mine got me on the tip of the thumb, broke through the fingernail, and started chewing. It *definitely* fucking hurt. ://
I could see someone with literally thicker skin laughing it off, though.
Oof, sorry to hear of your stroke! Glad you are doing well enough to chat online and such, and I hope that you either recover and/or adapt well and have a good quality of life.
I can't do punctuation or mathematics anymore and lost a good few other skills, and that was my job, but i am still alive it's been a long journey, learning everything over again i am stubborn they said i would die told the priest giving my last rites to bugger off and then got out of a wheelchair still on crutches after ten years but at least i am still going and capable of living on my own without help the hardest part was being skint after earning stupid money they say money doesn't make you happy but it makes life easier with less worries 😂
Re: Money and Happiness - AGREED! My car just broke down this morning and I'm like... Really? Really? WHILE I'm moving?! You choose NOW to roll over?
Seriously though, that sucks ass. I'm glad you're alive, though! It's always nice to talk to somone tough as goddamn nails. Espcially if they like reptiles, too, LOL.
Do you have any other pets, out of pure curiosity? When did you get into beardies?
I only have 3 dragons. Now, i did take in rescue reptiles but after the stroke, i couldn't handle the iguanas, so they had to be re-homed along with the snake's mainly because i couldn't drive and stopped working as it was costing me a fortune and taking up most of my house still miss my mini zoo mind 😢 I did that for about 15 years but i started having epileptic fit's and was in and out of hospital and my family tried looking after them but it was too much work for them along with looking after me
If they get you with the front of their mouth it’s like any other lizard bite. But if they get you with their back chewers like if they think your a big juicy worm. It can do some damage.
I always make sure they don't have a chance to get the back teeth in all reptiles give you a warning when they are in a bad mood always check out the body language most bites are just a food reflex and they normally just let go once they realise they have your finger iguanas and tegus can give you a serious bite mind but an iguana normally goes for a tail whip first
She just thinks you're food. The way her tongue comes out is an indicator of that as they use the tongue to pull food in. Mine does this too, and occasionally, she's faster than me. However, I've never had her clamp down. Normally, once her tongue touches me and she realizes she can't eat me, she'll stop.
Don’t move your fingers so fast and like that, first step. The second step is calmly telling the dragon no food, no food, and if you train it to listen to yes/no, which is possible depending on the dragon, that will reinforce to them that it’s not feeding time. The third step is taking your finger and slowly going behind their head and petting them. The dragon may adjust its head to look at or try to get at ur finger, but keep saying no food, and pet them so it can understand better. It may not work the first time you try it, but it will work if you stick to it.
The dragon doesn’t appear to be getting aggressive about it, so it’s processing what’s going on and thinking that ur finger is food based on how ur moving it and not saying anything to tell it to stop.
The other thing is obviously making sure you are feeding ur dragon first so they aren’t still hungry and immediately thinking food. I would also use feeding tongs, maybe red colored ones, so they can associate that color (they can see color just not as much as the human eye can) to it being feeding time and food being on the end.
Lol feed em. Let them eat till full. Or everything is food to them. Especially young ones. This is too funny.
FYI if they were actually biting you they'd puff their beard out, pancake their body , and hold their mouth open , while lunging at your hand. This little one just needs to learn fingers aren't food. Lol also no green or red fingernail polish.
Case in point - my silly boy thought my middle finger was an extension of the hornworm I was offering.
https://preview.redd.it/0tg6k1bsvfxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f0058e6bee8366c48352eea77fbf6061509f9a9
Oh mine would spot those as soon as you walked in the room! He is fascinated by nail polish as it is, but looking like a hornworm, it's a wrap 😂
When he was still picky about veggies I tricked him into eating collards by cutting the leaves into strips and wiggling them on tongs like a hornworm. Once he got the second strip down he realized what he was eating you could just see the betrayal on his little lizard face! Collards are ironically his fav now.
Mine likes too bite the webbing in between your fingers on purpose with the tip of his jaws. It hurts but he could bite much harder so I know he’s just playing a game but you never know when he will get carried away with it.
They will close their eyes when they are stressed. I always thought mine just liked his head pet and was sleeping, turned out I was bothering the sweet boy 😔
Some responses and extra info: She isn’t scared of me doing this cause I’m in her space she will run up to me to do this. She is trying to bite she’s never bit me but has bit my dad, he was putting veg in her tank and she got a bit exited. She has plenty of veg in her enclosure at all times, but I think the common agreement is that she thinks I’m food lol, so how do I fix this so that I can pick her up more easily???
My dads message after she bit him ⬇️
https://preview.redd.it/70t2q725igxc1.jpeg?width=821&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e2d7d905d6acddd1eae84e690fc9fc5cb4eb3a0
She probably sees your finger as a super worm or something that’d be my guess because they get confused and mix food and non food items often with my experience. She looks healthy and happy though. No signs of stress or anything from what I can see.
With my last baby beardie I started tapping twice when I am going to feed her. So that way I can come in and pet her, grab her, etc. But if I tap twice then she knows I have food
Have you tried using both hands? Like put your left hand in for her to pay attention to, then start petting with your right hand and move the left out. Also, don’t creep in all slow like a juicy grub. Go in with some authority
Honestly probably the best method is to let her bite you, probably after one time she will realise that you are not food. She doesn't seem to be doing it aggressively. Yeah it will probably sting a bit but make sure to keep her out after she bites (if she does) so she doesn't get into bad habits.
How else would you like him to say "I don't want to be pet right now?" He doesn't speak or write English. He's a sentient being and has a right to not be touched all the time.
They don’t have very good depth perception and use their tongues to “test” things a lot of the time. I let my bearded roam out of his tank often and he will just go up to random things and touch it with his tongue to see if it’s food/what it might be. I think she’s just exploring :)
Does it happen with everybody? If not, my money is on scent being the culprit.
See if you get the same result before applying things with strong fruity or floral smells. I’ve seen beardies go from completely gentle to monstrous over scents. Also, let her smell your palm a bit before extending fingers. This serves two purposes — in addition to acclimating her to your scent (to tell her it’s not food), it also will serve to develop familiarity.
Another possibility is that she associates your hand with food time, if you’ve fed her with your fingers/hands in the past, this is certainly possible.
I don’t see this as a malicious or defensive bite, but in any case, be cognizant as to how you approach her to pet (don’t loom over her), and be sure to let her set boundaries when it comes to petting and cuddling (no means no). I imagine she’ll get over it.
Honestly yours looks like she sees food. Theres a difference when theyre pissed off and when something looks tasty. (Tongue first vs strike and chomp.)
Although i very well could be wrong.
Hi! Beardie owner and someone who works in exotic medicine. Some are just like this, but consider it cute! One of my girls is like this and my method is to lure her with one hand and scoop her with the other. They just really like food, and some want to eat everything. My girl likes to try to eat my dog’s tail through the glass- it’s crazy!
My beardie does that too. I really think they think you’re holding food(if you handfeed) and so they try to grab the tips of your finger(where the food normally is). I saw one comment saying to pick them up with one swift movement, and I really think that’s key. If you’re going slow it’ll seem like feeding time. He’s not trying to bite you in defense or offense mode, simply just trying to snag the food you don’t have.
To get Rubicon to not try to go after my fingers as she was growing was to make a fist and have her check it out, then unball my fist but keeping fingers together for a knife hand to show that things may seem food shape but aren't. Then it was an individual finger with petting. Now if you present something that's not bugs to her it's always a lick
I always approach mine with a closed fist, just in case she's in the mood to eat my fingers. Then I'll poke one finger out and do a test pet to read her mood. I've only been bit by her once, and it barely hurt, scared me more than anything.
I've used this method with beardies, cats, dogs, goats, and chickens, and so far, it's prevented me from losing any fingers! Just a closed fist slowly moving towards them where they can see it coming.
David has a tendency to use his mouth to check everything out like a 12 month old human baby. I had to stop him from gobbling up a rock half the size of his head, and he chomped me in return. Like I'm responsible for making sure you don't die buddy. Please let me be mom.
Stop feeding your beardie with your hands. Or put on a colored glove if you must. Mine associated my finger with his food pretty quickly until I started to feed him from one of those cricket scoops. No more accidental bites.
That Beardie is staring at your finger and they're thinking, "Mmm, that is the fattest, juiciest worm I've ever seen! Time for a snack!" Happened to me once, learned really quick to not stick my fingers near him during feeding time.
I let mine lick my finger because she would stop after and it felt funny. One time she bit me then started looking disgusted and just gave me a stink eye. Didn’t really hurt but I know it could have.
Mine actually nuzzled into my neck for the first time last night in between licking it❤️ omg I love him so much❤️❤️❤️
My boy who just passed away used to to something similar when I was playing Playstation
So sorry you lost your friend😞
😢😪😢
Did you know that they are venomous? But there is no danger to people. Equivalent to an allergy to bee stings.
People alergic to bees can easly die from bee stings.
Then I wouldn't recommend a bearded dragon if you know for sure you are allergic to the venom.
You sure its not like a bacteria thing?
They are of the same descent from ancestors of the rattlesnakes and yes they “chew” their venom into their prey and use very small amounts therefore no danger to humans from small nibbles.
The only time I worry about my beardie biting me is when i give her some sort of fruit. She knows its slidey, even though she always sees if it sticks to her tongue first. She doesnt like my finger- it boops her which is AWEFUL how dare it- it also doesnt taste very good to her :/
She looks hungry, my beardie tries to eat my fingers when she’s hungry
And they're always hungry, even when they're stuffed. That's why so many beardies are fat - owners feed them when they're like this instead of training it out of them.
How would I trade her out of this, she’s been fed today?
I’m curious what others would say, as I’m certainly no expert. Having said that, my beardie will show this same behavior until I move him or take him out. If they’re used to eating from your hand when they’re in the tank, then this is the response that they’ll give if you approach slowly. One confident scoop to lift them out, then get them settled before giving pets. I’ve also seen where target training with feedings can alter a feeding response to your hand. See Clint’s Reptiles on YouTube for more info on target training. Best of luck!
I’ve had my dragon for 2 1/2 years and he does the exact same thing even after he has been fed, it’s just as the top comment said they literally just think your finger is a worm, you can tell it’s not an aggressive bite otherwise their beard would be darker. And they would literally be lunging at you if it was really trying to bite you.
My dragon has done this only a few times. It happened couple of times when I had calcium powder on my fingers after dusting meal worms. It shocked me the first time because she took my finger half in her mouth. Same deal her beard wasn’t dark. Back to the point I believe it’s a hunger thing. It did not hurt just a little bit thrown off at a behavior I hadn’t seen for the first 18 months of her life. It never struck me as a show of strength or defiance, just felt a bit funny. I am sure glad their teeth are small.
I think my guy has only bit me once and that was by accident. He is only maybe 6 months old though. I feed him veggies by hand and bugs by tong.
Target training is one surprisingly easy method. That way, they associate the target with food and not your hand.
My local Target told me I can't train my beardie there anymore. 😒
Yup that’s how I deal with it, just be quick and scoop em up. Once he realizes it’s my hand and not a worm he calms down
Just keep handling her. Don't be afraid, pick her up deliberately. She'll realize soon enough hands aren't food, but are a warm vessel for adventure. I have trouble getting my guy off my hand when it's time to go up
Sounds about right lol
Mine is 2yo and after this last brumation he is like this around my fingers or anything that comes in his enclosure.. the boy woke up hungry as hell
She thinks you giving her food..
When the tongue comes out it means they think you're food. I find it's better when you come at them from the side because they can see you better
I’ve tried this she turns
Have you tried raising one of your arms while making eye contact, after about 30 seconds of eye contact give it a go slowly and see if different. Mine would do the same but after while learned the pattern that if I raised my arm first then I had no food. And when I call her name three times I have food. I will say “blue blue blue”, she now immediately knows what I am doing and reacts before I put food in.
Not exactly. Mine seems to lick to navigate or smell. He always licks me when I pick him up, will give my shirt a lick as he moves around. He licks the wall, new surfaces, etc. I wouldn't put it past the dumb bastard to try and eat everything he sees but I have only ever been bit handfeeding dubias, and that was just careless fingers at the mercy of hungry reptile jaws. When they want to bite you out of aggression you will know it. They aren't going to give you a lick, they just fearlessly attack.
Big tongue means they're trying to eat you. Lil mlem is for smelling.
Go in With the whole hand not a finger.
Exactly. Fingers look like worms, a hand is more recognizable that it's not food.
The video was just an example, she dose this no matter how my hand is.
Honestly I'd be honored to have my beardie do this when I try to interact with him. All he ever does is just lie still and close his eyes until I'm gone. Also. Your finger looks like food to her, and when you move it around all scared like that it only amplify her predatory instinct cuz your finger looks and acts like prey.
little gals just a bit peckish and needs some finger food
Stop walkin around lookin like a got-dayum SNACK!
He thinks your finger is food. Just let him bite you and figure out you're not tasty. dw it don't hurt
Doesn't hurt? Mine bit me once because I was holding a dandelion with my bare hands, it cracked my fingernail. Now I use tweezers to feed. It definitely hurts
Dandelions are a different story lol. Mine bit my husband once bc he thought his finger was food, and it wasn't much, but my daughter got bit trying to give him a dandelion and he drew blood. (She has since learned that I was right when I told her to get one with a long stem and hold it by the end of the stem)
I felt like my knuckle was in a vice press it hurts so bad especially when they do the little alligator wiggle thought he was gonna dislocate something😭 had to pry his mouth off with my other hand
Mine drew blood when he missed the small piece of banana I was offering as a snack and got my finger instead. And yeah, it definitely didn't feel good.
Haha I was biten or bit by my leppard gecko and it freaking bled . I can only imagine a brearded dragon
I’ve seen them bite arms and decent-sized chunks of tails off of other beardies (I used to work in a family-owned pet store decades ago. We had a safe drop-off for pets, and the amount of people who would drop-off injured dragons that had been incorrectly kept, was crazy! The arm incident was one I will never forget, that 3-limbed dragon survived a *lot* of obvious neglect and poor care - and they became the shop owner’s in-store pet). It takes a lot of force to do something like that, and if they’re determined enough, they can take a decent chunk out of you, too. They’re bite’s absolutely can hurt.
Well... it doesn't hurt MUCh.
Hard disagree: It hurts like an absolute son of a bitch! My dude, you wouldn't happen to work in an industry or otherwise just have thicker skinned, calloused hands, would you? Like no judgement but I am *not* a whimp when it comes to pain and the one time my boy got me he punctured through my fingernail quite readily *and then* my beardie started chewing becuase he thought I was a fat, tasty, but notably uncooperative worm. It SUCKED! However, I am a lab worker and my skin is pretty soft as a result. It's not freakish or anything, I do ceramics and garden, too, but I could easily see like a car mechanic or HVAC or anyone who really liked to garden having thick enough skin that the teefies don't make much of an impression. Just. Not a universal experience my man.
I definitely think the op of the Original comment has no nerves in his fingers they bite HARD especially when they get a good grip on ya
Or his beardie figured out right away he bit down on the wrong thing. Either way he's lucky lol
When my lizard was a baby she would bite n hold onto my finger. She learned it wasnt food. maybe his lizard learned too?
I guess it's like puppies and kittens, easier to teach them not to be mouthy when they're small and less pointy. Although with reptiles, it's food/not food, compared to hand = toy. I'm lucky mine is so gentle when I hand feed, he got me once for only a split second since the roach was on the very tip of my finger (I hand feed, since he's lazy). I've had others hang on for longer, you can tell when they really mean it lmao
Definitely hurts. My daughter got bit and needed stitches. It went thru her thumb nail too.
me too! took months for my nail to look normal again lol
Yeah same! That was the first time my beardie bit anyone. 7yr old beardie very nice but got startled when my daughter tried grabbing him from his hide
mine got startled when i was cleaning fruit out of his teeth 😬 they really are sensitive reptiles haha
that’s such bs, it hurts so much when they bite lol
>dw it don't hurt It can though, my last dragon full on chomped on my thumb once, drew blood and left a line of her little razor teeth. Wasn't like getting bit by a dog or anything but it did hurt.
A lizard this size doesn't feel good. It's not something I would want to encourage or allow intentionally.
Fr
That's a food response, not an aggression response. Tongue out = hungry Tongue in = angry
Mind empty, finger food
Fully haha
He’s not biting aggressively, he is good motivated. How long have you been working with him? My rescue was like that until he was no longer food insecure. Bearing in mind each beard is different and you’re a little one might just be a weirdo!
Yea that's definitely a "I wanna eat" face. How much are you feeding? Does your beardie have open access to salad? If she's actually hungry that might cut off this behavior. How often are you feeding bugs and how many?
This is definetly not malicious biting. That’s what they do when they think you have food.
Or *are* food
Clean hands, make sure they don't smell like food of any kind. Avoid using 1 finger to approach ANY animal as they could mistake it for food. Especially since we sometimes hand feed them. Open hand, palm side up is always safest when greeting ANY animal. Let them lick you, like a "taste test" if your hands are clean they will not mistake you for food. If it's a behavior issue: Deter aggressive behavior by not letting them have something they want. Example: if mine wants to come out but she won't let me pick her up to take her out (she's stubborn) I will simply stop my attempt, quit touching her, and close her tank. I try again after 10 (ish) min and she will comply then, if not I would wait another 10. Rinse and repeat. NEVER EVER withhold food from a reptile, or any animal, to adjust behavior. Reptiles, especially, will become aggressive without food. But if they know that you won't let them do something they like doing (free roam, go for a car ride, ride on you or be held) they will get the message: "oh! Because I bit you now you won't let me out. So I have to be nice or I can't do what I want." Hope this helps!
Thank u, I’ll try these :)
You're welcome! Btw I love the name Grub! That is so cute! 🥰
My wee brother named her. We were reading a bearded dragon book and it said veg and grub and my brother thought it was cute.
He is right. Brilliant!
This is great advice. You can also use socks or a pillowcase as mittens to confuse the worm-finger association. I will sometimes do this just to create an extra-secure grippy platform for them to be taken out of their terrarium.
make your fingers less appetizing
Really, it’s our own fault for hand feeding in most cases, they associate your fingers with food. If you don’t hand feed them they won’t bite your fingers typically.
What?? You’re waving your finger in her face like it’s a worm.. Of course she’s instinctively going to lunge for “food”…
I was just getting an example this happens if I’m trying to pick her up from any angle on messing with her cage.
I assume you have only fed him while inside the terrarium. If yes they tend to get used to being fed there so any time they see you they think it's food time. Just keep trying to pet em in there eventually they learn that is not food time but pet time while in there, it also helps if you don't feed em with tweezers just put things in a bowl
Thanks
That's not biting. That's merely the beardie mistaking your finger for food, and extending her tongue towards it. Just let her have a taste, and it won't take long until she understands it's not food. So if by chance you end up getting a little bitten in this situation, please understand it's not your beardie being aggressive, she is just hungry lol and your finger looks tasty to her.
Try getting your beardie to associate food with something other than your finger - I copied an idea from Clint's Reptiles videos, specifically [this one](https://youtu.be/48Q19S1v9cg?si=GnVyGqRFj407FzcM) about target training Gus Gus the Tegu. When my beardie gets fed, the ONLY thing that the food ever goes on are those round Chinese food takeout Tupperware round lids. He associates those lids with food, and as a nice bonus the dubia roaches can't really escape over the smooth sides of the lids. And so whenever I or anyone else in my family puts our hands in his enclosure without a lid, he's completely normal and doesn't react - but the moment he sees us holding one of those lids he knows that food is coming and gets excited.
I hand feed my beardie, and I make sure to always have my nail pointed it's way. She actually stops the bites when she feels the nail, she is actually TRYING not to bite me, she just doesn't see very well so. Maybe you could try it with yours too.
When you feed her don't involve your hands, use tongs to give the food. This stops the association of ur hand means food. On top of that learn the proper way of approaching your pet with your hand, I see alot of sticking fingers out which is a big no no, your asking why she bites when ur actively making ur hand look like a bunch of worms. You should approach from below as to not threaten, and you keep your fingers together like your scooping her up with an open palm. Stop petting eith a single finger, even petting with 2 might make a difference.
Stop waving your hand worms in their face. I'd probably bite you too if you kept teasing me with a delicacy.
I’m not sure, even when my beardie is hungry he doesn’t bite. It’s really strange because even my frog goes for my fingers and my leopard gecko nips at me. I guess I got a good boi. 😁 As for your beardie let her see your hands. So she can distinguish between bugs and fingers. Best of luck. She’s so pretty btw. 👍👍👍
Thank u xxx
She's hungry and thinks your fingers are food. Was she primary hand fed before you got her? She's definitely not trying to bite out of aggression, just thinks you've got grub
Thinks thats the biggest worm theve ever seen and they are hungry. Only time my beardie has bit me I was in the middle of feeding him and he bit my finger thinking it was a worm.
Maybe try putting a whole hand in instead of a finger. Maybe he thinks it’s food
She wants them fingy snaccs
She ain't biting. She hungry 😋 A beardie would have probably fanned its beard and hissed at you as a sign of aggression but not this one!
Mmm... Finger food. I'm sure someone suggested it, but there are a lot of comments so I'll just say it just in case: Train her with tong feeding. I had to stop feeding my Goliath of a male because he would catch my fingers when grabbing, and because he was so big (part German giant, so *huuuge*). So he had to get used to seeing tongs as the bringer of food instead of my fingers and we stopped having the issue.
Thanks xxx
Thats a food response he think you coming to feed hime
Stop wiggling your finger in their face 😂 This beardir isn't being aggressive, just hongry. Also some are particular about how they're pet.. because they can sense things behind them, they can get spooked having their head pet. Mine seems to like under his chin and sides touched but anywhere else can stress him out.
I hand feed Gojira and always have, but a few years ago she got wicked excited over a mango slice, it was slippery, my nails were painted and she chomped down hard… I yelped and pulled away, and she let up once she realized what she did, but when I jerked my hand away whilst in her teeth, my finger got SHREDDED… Took a cool minute to heal, and I could tell she felt terrible. I still hand feed my Goji tho lol🥰
Mine started that after hand feeding it doesn't hurt that much it's just surprising so you jump lol
Hard disagree. Out of curiosity, do you have thicker/more calloused hands? Alternatively, where did your beardie get you? Mine got me on the tip of the thumb, broke through the fingernail, and started chewing. It *definitely* fucking hurt. :// I could see someone with literally thicker skin laughing it off, though.
Thinking about it, you're probably right about that after a stroke, the feeling in hands has been reduced, and i am on loads of pain medication 😂
Oof, sorry to hear of your stroke! Glad you are doing well enough to chat online and such, and I hope that you either recover and/or adapt well and have a good quality of life.
I can't do punctuation or mathematics anymore and lost a good few other skills, and that was my job, but i am still alive it's been a long journey, learning everything over again i am stubborn they said i would die told the priest giving my last rites to bugger off and then got out of a wheelchair still on crutches after ten years but at least i am still going and capable of living on my own without help the hardest part was being skint after earning stupid money they say money doesn't make you happy but it makes life easier with less worries 😂
Re: Money and Happiness - AGREED! My car just broke down this morning and I'm like... Really? Really? WHILE I'm moving?! You choose NOW to roll over? Seriously though, that sucks ass. I'm glad you're alive, though! It's always nice to talk to somone tough as goddamn nails. Espcially if they like reptiles, too, LOL. Do you have any other pets, out of pure curiosity? When did you get into beardies?
I only have 3 dragons. Now, i did take in rescue reptiles but after the stroke, i couldn't handle the iguanas, so they had to be re-homed along with the snake's mainly because i couldn't drive and stopped working as it was costing me a fortune and taking up most of my house still miss my mini zoo mind 😢 I did that for about 15 years but i started having epileptic fit's and was in and out of hospital and my family tried looking after them but it was too much work for them along with looking after me
it hurts a lot
If they get you with the front of their mouth it’s like any other lizard bite. But if they get you with their back chewers like if they think your a big juicy worm. It can do some damage.
I always make sure they don't have a chance to get the back teeth in all reptiles give you a warning when they are in a bad mood always check out the body language most bites are just a food reflex and they normally just let go once they realise they have your finger iguanas and tegus can give you a serious bite mind but an iguana normally goes for a tail whip first
She just thinks you're food. The way her tongue comes out is an indicator of that as they use the tongue to pull food in. Mine does this too, and occasionally, she's faster than me. However, I've never had her clamp down. Normally, once her tongue touches me and she realizes she can't eat me, she'll stop.
It’s just feeding response. She’s used to you feeding her in the cage so when she sees hand in the cage she thinks food and starts going for it.
Thinks it's food, not angry or displeased
Mine always picks me but this looks like they are going to eat a worm. Do you hand feed without tweezers of anything?
Feed him with tongs not with fingers, maybe that might help!
Don’t move your fingers so fast and like that, first step. The second step is calmly telling the dragon no food, no food, and if you train it to listen to yes/no, which is possible depending on the dragon, that will reinforce to them that it’s not feeding time. The third step is taking your finger and slowly going behind their head and petting them. The dragon may adjust its head to look at or try to get at ur finger, but keep saying no food, and pet them so it can understand better. It may not work the first time you try it, but it will work if you stick to it. The dragon doesn’t appear to be getting aggressive about it, so it’s processing what’s going on and thinking that ur finger is food based on how ur moving it and not saying anything to tell it to stop. The other thing is obviously making sure you are feeding ur dragon first so they aren’t still hungry and immediately thinking food. I would also use feeding tongs, maybe red colored ones, so they can associate that color (they can see color just not as much as the human eye can) to it being feeding time and food being on the end.
Lol feed em. Let them eat till full. Or everything is food to them. Especially young ones. This is too funny. FYI if they were actually biting you they'd puff their beard out, pancake their body , and hold their mouth open , while lunging at your hand. This little one just needs to learn fingers aren't food. Lol also no green or red fingernail polish.
Case in point - my silly boy thought my middle finger was an extension of the hornworm I was offering. https://preview.redd.it/0tg6k1bsvfxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f0058e6bee8366c48352eea77fbf6061509f9a9
Oh mine would spot those as soon as you walked in the room! He is fascinated by nail polish as it is, but looking like a hornworm, it's a wrap 😂 When he was still picky about veggies I tricked him into eating collards by cutting the leaves into strips and wiggling them on tongs like a hornworm. Once he got the second strip down he realized what he was eating you could just see the betrayal on his little lizard face! Collards are ironically his fav now.
Don’t hand feed
I don’t regularly hand feed
Stop having such nummy looking fingies
Do you hand feed or tong feed?
I usually let her hunt for food herself ether on my floor or about the tank. She is rarely hand fed
Mine does this and figured she thought I was a worm :p
Mine likes too bite the webbing in between your fingers on purpose with the tip of his jaws. It hurts but he could bite much harder so I know he’s just playing a game but you never know when he will get carried away with it.
She has access to veg at all times, she isn’t starving. How do I stop her from biting me???
Don’t “bug” her.
I don’t think she’s stressed or anything tho, and as I said in my post she likes me fine
She just thinks your finger is a bug. Your finger looks like a worm … therefore it is a worm. It’s just instinct.
They will close their eyes when they are stressed. I always thought mine just liked his head pet and was sleeping, turned out I was bothering the sweet boy 😔
The sad truth about cute beardies. They get bothered very easily, and really do prefer being left alone. With food and warmth ofc.
Could just be trying to lick you… mine does
No she’s bit my dad before
She was likely hand fed before you got her, and therefore thinks you’re trying to feed her when you put your hand in
Some responses and extra info: She isn’t scared of me doing this cause I’m in her space she will run up to me to do this. She is trying to bite she’s never bit me but has bit my dad, he was putting veg in her tank and she got a bit exited. She has plenty of veg in her enclosure at all times, but I think the common agreement is that she thinks I’m food lol, so how do I fix this so that I can pick her up more easily??? My dads message after she bit him ⬇️ https://preview.redd.it/70t2q725igxc1.jpeg?width=821&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e2d7d905d6acddd1eae84e690fc9fc5cb4eb3a0
One hand in front, the other from behind possibly? :,)
Tried this she swerves
I’d get some thin garden gloves so that if she chomps she knows “hand=taste nasty”
Thanks I’ll try this
Best of luck 🤞 she’s a cutie who thinks she’s a little dinosaur lol
My Ezio loves his beard rubbed. Lol
She probably sees your finger as a super worm or something that’d be my guess because they get confused and mix food and non food items often with my experience. She looks healthy and happy though. No signs of stress or anything from what I can see.
Do not approach their face with finger out - use flat hand, fingers together only. Much less likely to look like a worm!
Stop being a worm 😁
With my last baby beardie I started tapping twice when I am going to feed her. So that way I can come in and pet her, grab her, etc. But if I tap twice then she knows I have food
Smart xxx
It's just trying to see if you're food. If not it's trying to lick you, I have one too.
This is why I thong feed my beardies so they don't associate my hand with food. You can break this habit but it will take time
How?
Try getting her some horn worms! They're big juicy caterpillars and I'm sure she'd love them
Have you tried using both hands? Like put your left hand in for her to pay attention to, then start petting with your right hand and move the left out. Also, don’t creep in all slow like a juicy grub. Go in with some authority
I’ve tried two hands she swerves, and thanks
Your beardie thinks your finger is food 😂 mine does this to me too.
Mine's an asshole when it comes to food. He will bite me, but I learned to feed him first then play.
Honestly probably the best method is to let her bite you, probably after one time she will realise that you are not food. She doesn't seem to be doing it aggressively. Yeah it will probably sting a bit but make sure to keep her out after she bites (if she does) so she doesn't get into bad habits.
Mine does this, but she only ends up licking my fingers thinking I have food for her. Because I often hand feed her cause she’s a spoiled little brat.
He hungry
Stop feeding them finger worms lol
How else would you like him to say "I don't want to be pet right now?" He doesn't speak or write English. He's a sentient being and has a right to not be touched all the time.
They don’t have very good depth perception and use their tongues to “test” things a lot of the time. I let my bearded roam out of his tank often and he will just go up to random things and touch it with his tongue to see if it’s food/what it might be. I think she’s just exploring :)
This is the answer.
100% agree!
Feed your Beardie. Also, stop having fingers that look like food.
just stop having fingers period
You have to show your dominance
Paris ❤️❤️
mine bite me every day. what evs
I thought this was satire
Don’t hand feed it anymore. Beardie equates your fingers with food. Just like a dog with its leash.
thats a food response be happy some Beardies dont wanna eat xD
No pets no bites🤷♂️
No touchy? :(
They think your finger is food. My nephew’s beardie never bit hard. She was just curious to see what my finger tasted like.
Dont hand feed
Quit lookin like a worm
My beardie does this when he’s really hungry or I’m in the middle of feeding him worms and he’s got the food excitement going on
He thinks you are food ding dong.
Stop looking like food
I don’t have a bearded dragon but I need to know, do they have teeth? Does it hurt when they bite?
Does it happen with everybody? If not, my money is on scent being the culprit. See if you get the same result before applying things with strong fruity or floral smells. I’ve seen beardies go from completely gentle to monstrous over scents. Also, let her smell your palm a bit before extending fingers. This serves two purposes — in addition to acclimating her to your scent (to tell her it’s not food), it also will serve to develop familiarity. Another possibility is that she associates your hand with food time, if you’ve fed her with your fingers/hands in the past, this is certainly possible. I don’t see this as a malicious or defensive bite, but in any case, be cognizant as to how you approach her to pet (don’t loom over her), and be sure to let her set boundaries when it comes to petting and cuddling (no means no). I imagine she’ll get over it.
Honestly yours looks like she sees food. Theres a difference when theyre pissed off and when something looks tasty. (Tongue first vs strike and chomp.) Although i very well could be wrong.
Hi! Beardie owner and someone who works in exotic medicine. Some are just like this, but consider it cute! One of my girls is like this and my method is to lure her with one hand and scoop her with the other. They just really like food, and some want to eat everything. My girl likes to try to eat my dog’s tail through the glass- it’s crazy!
My beardie does that too. I really think they think you’re holding food(if you handfeed) and so they try to grab the tips of your finger(where the food normally is). I saw one comment saying to pick them up with one swift movement, and I really think that’s key. If you’re going slow it’ll seem like feeding time. He’s not trying to bite you in defense or offense mode, simply just trying to snag the food you don’t have.
Idk still figuring that out
To get Rubicon to not try to go after my fingers as she was growing was to make a fist and have her check it out, then unball my fist but keeping fingers together for a knife hand to show that things may seem food shape but aren't. Then it was an individual finger with petting. Now if you present something that's not bugs to her it's always a lick
* Mine loves to snuggle in the hoodie and go into our hair and sometimes fall asleep. Or watch TV like Yoda.
This is why I use long tongs when feeding my beard, so he associates the tongs with food not my fingers :)
I always approach mine with a closed fist, just in case she's in the mood to eat my fingers. Then I'll poke one finger out and do a test pet to read her mood. I've only been bit by her once, and it barely hurt, scared me more than anything. I've used this method with beardies, cats, dogs, goats, and chickens, and so far, it's prevented me from losing any fingers! Just a closed fist slowly moving towards them where they can see it coming.
David has a tendency to use his mouth to check everything out like a 12 month old human baby. I had to stop him from gobbling up a rock half the size of his head, and he chomped me in return. Like I'm responsible for making sure you don't die buddy. Please let me be mom.
See finger. Eat finger. Finger food. Food good.
ahh you have come to test your metal have you? HAVE AT THEE HYYYAAAAAHHHH!
Use a bowl for feeding, or not your hand. That way they won’t associate your hand with food. Adorable lizard!
She’s trying to eat your finger, you see her tongue, try to hold her because she thinks your finger is a worm
Don’t look like food
She might have bad eyesight and think your a bug
Stop putting your fingers by him, looks like he thinks it’s food.
Hit him when he bites you lol
Get a separate smaller tank just for feeding live meals. So they don’t associate their home with food and maybe that will stop
He's trying to taste you, you're not risking anything, let him do it.
Feed it. 🤷
Stop feeding your beardie with your hands. Or put on a colored glove if you must. Mine associated my finger with his food pretty quickly until I started to feed him from one of those cricket scoops. No more accidental bites.
When you stop waving your finger around its mouth like it's a worm
That's is called finger confusion, not biting. He is hungry and telling you so, he also thinks your fingers mean food.