Meet MoJo!

[henry's_mum]

here is our newest lil dude to join our family!
He's a baby Bearded Dragon, roughly 8-9 weeks old.
He's a he as far as I can tell, and was tortured in his previous home by children. They would grab him, poke him, bang on the tank, throw stuff in the tank, etc.
So he's spooked ATM, but coming along nicely!
I handle him daily, even though he protests it.







He is a rescue, his tank is ok for now, but we are getting him a 45 gal long, this weekend from a family member who would like to donate it.
We had been thinking about getting a reptile, like a gecko, or a dragon, but not too seriously, then I posted on FB asking what everyones opinion was regarding their experiences, and BOOM, got an email through Henry's Haven asking if we'd take a baby beardie... The kids weren't looking after it properly, and the mom was worried about the dragon SURVIVING.... UGH!
Of course I said yes, and THEN talked to Peter about it, while I drove to pick him up, LOL
Turns out, hubbie LOVES him, and he's not going up for adoption, he's staying HERE!
So I named him MoJo! The Doors song was on, lol

 

[lilspaz68]

Ohh he's an adorable little fellow!!! :heart: :heart:

 

[jorats]

Very cute! Love the name.

 

[henry's_mum]

More pics of my handsome lil man! I just LOVE him SO much!
weird huh? i've got a weird love for lizards and frogs, always have.

he's in a shed right now, so he's kind of dulled out a bit...

 

[MissGuardian]

He´s adorable!
I love beardies :heart:

 

[Dahlas]

he is cute....my son always wanted one of those when he was younger......

 

[Cinderwolf]

So cute , you cannot comprehend how jealous I am, I've always wanted a beardie.

 

[Bamboo]

I don't know how I missed this for this long but, belated congrats are in order! I'm glad the little dude got a great new home

So cute , you cannot comprehend how jealous I am, I've always wanted a beardie.

Check your local kijiji\usedeverywhere: there are always tons looking for new homes.

 

[Moon]

So cute , you cannot comprehend how jealous I am, I've always wanted a beardie.

Check your local kijiji\usedeverywhere: there are always tons looking for new homes.

Yeah that. I see them all the time.

 

[henry's_mum]

I don't know how I missed this for this long but, belated congrats are in order! I'm glad the little dude got a great new home

So cute , you cannot comprehend how jealous I am, I've always wanted a beardie.

Check your local kijiji\usedeverywhere: there are always tons looking for new homes.

Bamboo, maybe you can help me with the wee lad!!! LOL
he's young, and doesn't like people or hands, or anything really about us, lol
we figure, which I may have mentioned already, he was manhandled roughly too young, and now hates hands...
When I try to stroke him, touch him, hold him, ANYTHING with him, he either bolts in the other direction, or he lunges and bites...
any ideas?
he's young like I said, but he's healthy, eating well, pooping great, basking, shedding, etc. just the socialization aspect we're having issues with...
GAAAAH! Why must I atract all the bad boys????
:wallbang:

 

[Bamboo]

Well, he is just a baby still and they're always a little nervous when they're small. But, like you said, on top of that he has probably been traumatized from his previous situation. He's likely never know anything but rough, grabby human hands (until now, that is) He is going to need some time to both grow out of his natural skittishness and learn the people aren't going to hurt him, so it is going to take time.

My best advice would be: don't rush it but stick with it. Short daily sessions -no more then 5 minutes a day. Don't turn it into a 10 minute chase scene...if you can't get a hold of him quickly, leave him alone for a few minutes, come back and try again (but, get him on the first try if at all possible) Once you have him, keep it short...no more then 5 minutes. If he's really bitey, maybe get a pair of gloves for now. If he's really, really bitey and just wants to take something on, get a teddy bear or something soft like that and let him take out his frustration on it (but unless he's really bad, that shouldn't be necessary and don't encourage it if he's just squirmy...this is usually reserved for Tokay Geckos and many Monitor species who sometimes need to just release that frustration but some Beardies who come from bad situations can get this way too. In his case, I would guess it's mostly just a bluff but I'm not there so I can't say for sure...I just thought I'd put it out there)

Anyways, yeah, keep it short. After 5 minutes, whether he's relaxed or not, let him go home. Eventually, once he's matured a bit, has gained a some self confidence and has learned that he never gets hurt when he comes out of the safety of his home, he should become much easier to handle. Once that happens, you can gradually lengthen the handling sessions and get to know his personality: many Beardies love hanging out with their people and would stay with them all day if they could. Some like to come out for a while but then they're ready to go back home. They're all individuals and once you know what he likes, take it from there.

For the time being, just stick with it and try to minimize the stress of being handled by not picking him up from above. The t-shirt trick would also be a good idea for him...have you tried that already?

 

[henry's_mum]

stick him my shirt? AWESOME idea, i'll try that tonight!
thanks hun!

 

[Bamboo]

Whoops! Sorry, not that t-shirt trick...I meant putting one of your t-shirts in his tank! So the safety of his home will smell like you and he'll start to associate you with that feeling of security.

 

[Moon]

LOL, I can't picture the "down the shirt trick" working with a beardie quite so well

 

[Bamboo]

lol I feel bad now. I forget where I am sometimes...reptile and rat people both use the term "t-shirt trick" but they're different things -although, I believe people sometimes use the 'reptile' t-shirt trick (putting a shirt in the tank) with rats but not as commonly as the 'rat' t-shirt trick (putting the animal down your shirt)

I can usually keep the two straight but apparently not always lol. Sorry for any confusion henry's_mum!

 

[henry's_mum]

:laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4:
OMG! TOTALLY would've stuck him in my shirt too!
LMFAO!

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Bamboo]

lol no problem! What I would also suggest is, once you've put a shirt in his tank, give him a few days to relax and get used to your scent. Then, start with the short, daily handling sessions that I mentioned before.

 

[Moon]

Glad you saw the message before you sacrificed your nipples!

 

[henry's_mum]

Glad you saw the message before you sacrificed your nipples!

lmao! Oh mooners I love yah! always concerned for my nips!
<3

I placed a shirt in Mojo's tank and he was actually snuggling it lastnight...
<3 so CUTE!

 

[Bamboo]

I placed a shirt in Mojo's tank and he was actually snuggling it lastnight...
<3 so CUTE!

Yeah, you could give him a fleece blankie, if you want. A lot of people don't think of it with reptiles but they usually love blankets, pillows and soft things (all you need to ensure is that there are no frayed ends, etc, that claws or limbs could get caught in, same as with rats. I always use fleece but something like felt would work too.)

This is one of my beardie rescues and, at first, he had no idea what was up with the fleece I put in his tank (He actually kicked it out of his cave the first night) I assume he'd never seen anything like it before in his life. However, within a day or two, he realized how comfy it is. Ever since, snuggling with his blankie has become a mild obsession lol.