A very popular question we get is Do Bearded Dragons bite?
Yes they do bite sometimes but you can easily tell when this is about to happen
it’s usually not something that will surprise you very much
New bearded dragon owners will often wonder will my bearded dragon bite me while I’m holding him? or touching him?
It’s good to know if your new bearded dragon will bite because you may be introducing your new reptile into your home with your kids!
This guide will help you understand why they would ever bite you and how to avoid it in the future
Table of Contents
Why Does a Bearded Dragon Bite?
Bearded dragons will often show you signs they are about to bite you like showing a black beard
A black beard is shown when they are under signs of stress or discomfort
They will nip at you and it can actually draw blood if it gets you the right way so you should be careful
Once you learn exactly what to look for it will be much easier for you to figure out if they’re about to bite or not
Bearded dragons are friendly creatures
They don’t bite for the sake of biting you
Sometimes when they bite you it might be a complete accident because you might not have been aware of the signs of stress
Reason 1: New Home
They will most often bite you when they are first brought home from the store
The reason for this is because of the new environment
It would honestly stress anyone out if you think about it
A new home sometimes doesn’t take into account other stressors like super loud music or a stuffed animal that triggers them
Whenever you bring home a new animal trial and error is just part of the process
The best advice I ever got from my friends who owned bearded dragons before I did was to spend time with them
Even if you’re just in the same room as them
Let them recognize your voice
Give them time to recognize that you’re not a threat
After several weeks they will be used to you and will actually bond with you
Then you can start playing with them more and they will eventually start falling asleep on you
Reason 2: Not used to people
Sometimes bearded dragons aren’t going to be used to people at all
If you think about it we would look like giant things to them
They will take time to get used to us because bearded dragons are afraid of predators much smaller than us
A baby bearded dragon has never even been around people yet
The earlier you introduce them to people the more trusting they will be
Trust is the universal theme with animals and reptiles
What I did why my bearded dragon is I held him for about 10 mins every other day when I brought him home
sometimes he didn’t want to be picked up and sometimes he did
Whenever he didn’t want to be picked up I just left him alone
Don’t force it. If they don’t want to be picked up then spend some time with them in the room instead
Eventually, it got to the point where my bearded dragon would start glass surfing and then would want to be picked up
When you have guests over at your place I would highly suggest picking up your beardie first so they see you around these other people then let other people hold them
They will notice that you are associating with them and then trust will be given easier
Reason 3: You’re doing something that stresses them out
The next reason why your bearded dragon might bite is that you’re doing something they don’t like
Sometimes you might be even wearing a piece of clothing that they don’t like
The cool thing about bearded dragons is they will show you when you do something they don’t like
They will usually show a black beard or they might actually hiss at you
If this happens just put them down in their cage and let them calm down
sometimes owners will think to hit their bearded dragons for some reason
it’s not cool to smack your pet because YOU stress them out lol
Another way a beardie will show you he doesn’t like something you’re doing is to puff up
If whatever you’re doing continues then they will sometimes bite you
This is usually preceded by them squirming or trying to get free if you’re holding them
A small list of things they don’t like is
- Being held too tightly
- Being dropped (obviously)
- covering their nose or mouth too much
- Coming from above them. When you pick them up come from in front of them
- Not supporting their legs when holding them
- pinching their legs, neck or body
A new owner isn’t going to be 100 percent sure how to hold them correctly but again they will tell you when they’re uncomfortable
Reason 4: They’re actually excited
This is exactly like how a dog gets excited
A bearded dragon bite will come your way if they are extremely excited to see you or maybe they’re having their favorite meal
Feeding time is a really exciting time for them
especially when they’re about to have some fruit
fruit and sweet things excite everyone in my opinion
Usually, bearded dragons are pretty chill and don’t tend to get so excited that they bite you
It does happen though so you should be aware of it
If this happens just know it wasn’t really on purpose. They simply couldn’t help themselves
The best thing to do is stay calm and relaxed if they do end up nipping at you
If you react they will get more stressed and nervous
if you stay relaxed you will cut down on the frequency of them being stressed immensely
Reason 5: They’re actually hungry
The last reason on this list why a bearded dragon bite might happen is because they are hungry!
Bearded dragons can get excited and sometimes that excitement will come out when they’re hungry
This will happen when you’re feeding them by hand and they might nip your fingers or hand by accident
this has actually happened to me a few times. Eventually, I learned to just drop the food at a specific time
now. Here is where I messed up
I was eating chips
my hands must have smelled like food
He took a nip at the fingers that were in the chip bag!
I eventually figured it out and then I stopped eating chips right before feeding my beardie
I swear my beardie felt bad after nipping me because he started wanting to cuddle after
It was cute but they do bite hard
if you want to avoid getting bit you can wear gloves when feeding them
this is actually a good idea if you still want to hold them while they’re getting to know you
if they are especially prone to biting at that time then you can stop the pain at least with some gardening gloves
But the best thing you can do is wash your hands before feeding
That way your beardie doesn’t smell the food and bite you
Is a Bearded dragon bite dangerous?
Any bite from any animal or reptile can be dangerous because of the bacteria
But they are toxic or poisonous
When they do bite you though just make sure you clean it up after
If bacteria are allowed to set in then they can infect you
When that happens things can get back from there
When they do bite you just make sure you don’t yank away
I understand it might be a total surprise and it’s a natural reaction to yank your fingers or hands away
but this could actually really hurt your bearded dragon’s teeth
firstly you could yank out some teeth which would suck because they obviously need that to chew food
If they do happen to get a hold of you what you should do is slowly use your other finger to open their jaw and get them off you
Again try not to get upset
Do bearded dragon bites hurt?
Yeah they can hurt
They can actually draw blood if they get you right
it will feel like a sharp pinch and you’ll notice it right away
Some new owners assume that all reptiles bite so they will often wonder if a bearded dragon bite would hurt
