Loki has never been extremely tame. He used to hold still to be picked up more out of fear than anything, and while he wasn't stupid enough to jump from any height he would always run at the first opportunity (IE, when we sat with him on the sofa or floor). But lately he's gotten even worse. He rarely, if ever, enjoys being stroked while in his cage, and I can't get him to let me pick him up under any circumstances. Today I was trying to pick him up just to transfer him to another cage (in order to clean his main enclosure) and he would not hold still! He ran, he puffed up, his beard turned black, and at one point he even reared back as if to bite me.

Loki is not afraid of my hands- he eats part of his greens out of my hands almost every day. So I just don't understand why he's panicking so much even before his feet can leave the ground! Can anyone help me tame my Bearded Dragon?

How old is he?

I'm not exactly sure, the person who we bought him from didn't give us a birth date. But he was 10 inches long at arrival and we've had him for about four months now- since late April. He's now approximately 15 inches long. I usually tell people he's most likely to be between 10 and 12 months, based on his size...

Plain and simple, you just can't let him win. When he chases and puffs out, hold him until he settles down. Don't jerk back at him when he makes a move.

I'm currently working with my large bullfrog in the same manner. Whenever I pick him out of his feeding container he squirms and squirms. I wait until he has stopped and calmed down to put him back in his tank. So far its working pretty good. Its just going to take some time.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

It would be a lot easier if he was a smoother animal. I have a very low resistance to pain for medical reasons, and his spines scrape me whenever he runs. Would picking him up while wearing gloves be a bad idea?

Gloves are fine. Get a pair of gardening gloves. The thinnest material that you think will prevent his spines from reaching you.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

When you pick him and he trys running away, let him run thru your hands by putting one in front of the other over and over and keep a good hold as not to drop him. He will eventually get tired, as well as realize he's not making any progress, and calm down.

Alright, I'll be getting a pair of gardening gloves to make it easier on my hands, and it will be my goal to handle him at least once a day from now on. After my original post earlier, I got him out again because I really needed to clean his cage. He scratched up my hands a bit but eventually calmed down and sat on my arm for a while, which gave me a lot of hope for taming the little devil. Thanks for all the advice!

That's good to hear. One of the best parts of owning a bearded dragon is that they are easily tamed and naturally good natured. So handle him as much as you can so that you can enjoy each other's company later on.

You've already gotten some good answers, but good luck! I second Dave in that the most enjoyable part about them is their potential to tame. I think with some time and dedication Loki will come to see you not as something scary, but as a chance to enjoy some time out of his cage.