Water Dragon advice

Hello all.

I posted this on a specialist reptile forum last week but have since had zero replies, and would appreciate any help and advice people could give. I have done a lot more research since then but have a few questions for people.

I’ve just gotten 2 chinese water dragon’s that a friend of a friend has had for the last 2-3 months and am looking for beginners advice if possible. My main problem is that the FOAF wanted to get rid of them so I had to take them there and then (last Tuesday) so I haven’t done as much research as I would like to have done. I’m therefore looking for a beginner’s crash course so to speak.

Anyway, they’re a male and female about 9” and 7” respectively. The FOAF thinks they were about 3 mths old when he got them but he isn’t sure, so that would make them about 6mths old or so. He gave me practically everything I need so I’m checking here to see what else is required.

The viv is about 18”x18”x24” (L x W x H) and I’ve a UVA/UVB bulb and a heat lamp (unsure of the wattage). I’ve a couple of vines hanging down one side and a big lump of semi-circular bark leaning against this side. The heat lamp shines directly down on this bark (about halfway up) which gives them a basking spot at that point and a cooler point at the top. I also have 2 triangular green plastic meshes stuck to the glass on the opposite side to aid climbing and a long twisting branch running around the entire viv. I also have two water bowls of different depths which I change at least once a day, usually twice.

What he didn’t give me was a thermometer, a hygrometer and vitamin powder to dust the crickets with, but I’ve since bought all three. Having had a look at care sheets on the ’net (couldn’t find one on here oddly) the temps (80 F) and humidity (70-80%) seem to be ok.

Right, questions…..

1. The substrate is some kind of lumpy soil, I thought it was wood chippings at first but I was mistaken. The thing is, it seems to be very damp. I dunno if he did this on purpose or if it’s a result of him spilling the water. It kinda smells a bit too. Is this normal? I bought some “exo terra” stuff that you place in a basin of water and then wring out before putting it in the viv: should I use this instead?


2. The crickets I’ve been using are brown ones. Ben in Reptile Haven told me the black ones are the noisy ones, but other than that there’s no real difference. There must be one stuck in behind the heat mat cause I can hear it chirping at night sometimes. Is it a big operation to take the mat down and clear out behind it? I can see a couple of dead crix there too and don’t want them rotting and festering. Other than that can anyone recommend some other live food? And is it a bit early to be trying them out on some veggies? Also how many crix should I feed them as they seem to


3. Handling. I’ve tried to hold back on handling them an awful lot to try to give them time to get over the ‘trauma’ of moving. Any time I have held them they seem awfully skittish and nervous and can’t wait to get back in the viv. Will they always be like this or is just because I’m new and strange to them?


4. I bought a water sprayer to help with the humidity. Is it okay to spray the dragon’s lightly every now and again? One of my mates has a chameleon and he sprays his regularly but the animal doesn’t seem to enjoy it very much, and my dragon’s at least have the bowls if they get dehydrated.

5. The male, in particular, seems to rub his nose off the glass quite a bit, as if he is trying to get out through the glass. I've covered that side with a cushion for now and it seems to have stopped but is there paper you can buy to cover the side of the viv completely?

Apologies for the length of this post but this is my first foray into the herp. world. Any other beginners' advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

monty_python

go to reptile haven and have a chat with ben. He knows everything. Seriously everything

SCI

monty_python wrote: »

go to reptile haven and have a chat with ben. He knows everything. Seriously everything

I would join and post that up here mate.

http://reptile-community.com/smf/

monty_python

SCI wrote: »

I would join and post that up here mate.

was only giving my 2cents worth. have spoken to him and have heard him talkin to other people in the shop and he seems to know alot about everything..thats all...

monty_python

monty_python wrote: »

go to reptile haven and have a chat with ben. He knows everything. Seriously everything

Sorry, I should have mentioned that i have since been in there and he answered the questions i had on the crickets and the substrate. He does indeed know his stuff, but for some reason i completely forgot to ask him about the handling and water questions

Edit: The nose-rubbing issue has only come to light since then, so i didn't know to ask at the time.

SCI wrote: »

I would join and post that up here mate.

http://reptile-community.com/smf/

I already did.

Ben will tell you everything to be honest . All crickets are noisy even the quiet ones. There were times were i had to wake you in the middle of the night and look for one as it was making so much noise.

I really cant remember the temperature . Ben will tell you or look it up.

Remember they eat crickets meal worms and pinky's . Females really need looking after so its good to get some calcium powder to sprinkle on their food.

They like humidity. So spray it as often as you can.

Also they are afantastic to handle so try handle them as much as you can.

Jimkel

Hi there, they are right when they say you should talk to ben, but heres some things you should know about water dragons.

* your water dragons are gonna grow very long and large, some can reach 6 foot in length, although most of that is tail.

* Water dragons are notorious for "nose rubbing", unfortunatly most of them are kept in too small enclosures which is usually the fault of the sellers poor advice. Fact is, glass enclosures are not a good home for them unless they are very, very large. If you really want to give them a proper home you may need to sacrifice a wall in your home to their enclosure. a melamine faced wood terrarium with a mesh front is ideal. Size wise your talking, for two full grown dragons, 5 foot wide, by 8 foot tall, and about 3 foot deep with a large basin filled with water in the bottom. they appreciate a swim in the bath also. Give them a a load of suitably thick of wood to recreate their natural habitat. They are mainly arboreal.

* You must supplement their diet with a vitimin/mineral supplement every 2 or 3 days. do this by dusting the insects with this supplement.

* Water dragons reqiure UVB lighting and a heat lamp, but prefer the intensity to be subdued because In their natural habitat the light is filtered through the tree tops.

* Choose locusts over crickets, the are easier to see and tend to climb more, plus they don't chirp.

* Use a substrate that holds moisture, the zoomed one you mentioned is good, but it needs to be changed every few months or so and spot cleaned daily because it can be a good breeding ground for fungi and parasites.

* Have them checked by an Exotics vet (O'Malley in Bray) and have their feaces examined to ensure they carry no parasites, because you never know these reptiles could be wild caught, captive farmed (No better) or hopefully captive bred.

* They do require a misting with a spray in the morning and evening, the humidity should increase at night. A good way to provide humidity is too place an aquarium heater in a large basin at the bottom, set it to around 24 degrees. add a filter to keep it clean, and change regularly. Use filtered water if you can or dechlorinate with zoomeds reptisafe.

*They can be tamed with regular handling, but let them settle in and acclimatise first, if the humidity or temperatures not right then they won't be in the mood, also they get skittish when they are shedding. Keep in mind that these are Sauria of the Agamid Genus, not Mammalia, and will never be as friendly or "tame" as say a rabbit or dog can be. They have a very different animal to us, remember to respect that and don't expect them to play with toys etc etc.

*Ensure they have good ventilation.

*Ensure that they can cool off if they want to, as ectotherms they cannot cool themselves by sweating, nor can they heat themselves internally. They rely entirely on their environment to thermoregulate.

*If they hang around on the bottom all day then this probably means that they are too warm.

* Imagine your a Lizard in a rainforest, you go up to heat up and dry out, you go down to the shade to cool down where it's damp. Try recreate this in the enclosure. also if you want some fresh air, up is the way to go, where their are strong winds. ventilate the higher part of the enclosure. you Need to create a temperature gradient from about 24 C up to about 31 C, although directly under the basking spot can be hotter. At night this should drop to about 22 C - 26 C.

* When they hit sexual maturity, they no longer need to be fed every day, 4 times a week is enough.

* Watch the ends of the tails when shedding, sometimes these lizards fail to shed the tips, which can build up in layers abd cause necrosis, the tip will fall off.let them swim regularly when they are shedding, be sure to use tepid water in the bath, not cold or hot, test with your elbow.

*When they are older you can feed them an occasional pinkey. but not all the time as it can cause obesity.

Any questions I would be happy to answer them.

First thing you need to do is get them a much bigger enclosure, and don't bother trying to tame them untill they have been aclimatised to a permanent or semi permanent home. This will just stress them out and probably work to counteract taming them. In saying that they are easy to tame as far as lizards go.

Regards
Jim

Thanks very much Jim, that's exactly the sort of stuff I'm looking for. Do you keep/have you kept any water dragon's yourself?

Jimkel

No probs mate, I don't claim to be an expert on anything but I have kept them before and work with reptiles everyday in my job, So I am writing not only from experience but also from advice given to me by knowledgele reptile keepers who have decades of experience behind them. So if ya need any advice just let me know and if I can help I will.

zrebak82

hi I wanted female water dragon must be have big 40 cm or more any area my email:zrebak82@gmail.com

waraf

Jimkel wrote: »

some can reach 6 foot in length

You're gonna have a 6 foot lizard type yoke wandering around you gaff :eek:

Good luck with getting the ladies back to your place :)

Any chance of a pic by the way?