Water Dragon Care Sheet


Water Dragon females usually reach about 2 feet and males can go longer than 3 feet with the tail making up over 70% of total
length. They have an average life span of 15-20 years with proper care. As far as sexing, it takes a well trained eye to determine
male or female when they are under 20 inches, and even then it’s a best educated guess. Males usually have larger heads, jowls, crest
and female pores. They reach maturity at about two years and two feet in length. They can be probed to determine sex but most vets
will not attempt till they are at least 2 years old. We truly enjoy the Water Dragons over any reptiles that we currently own. They
are very active, alert and it is fun to watch them go through their daily routines. Below are guidelines that we use for raising our
Water Dragons…    


LIGHTING

Water Dragons need natural sunlight to produce vitamin D3 in order to absorb calcium in their diet and remain healthy. Make
sure if you do provide natural sunlight, don’t do it in a glass aquarium (they will overheat and die) and make sure they can get in
the shade. If you can’t provide them with natural sunlight we recommend the use of a Zoo Med. 5.0 – 10.0 UVB florescent tube.
You can get about 6 months of  UVB out of a 5.0 and a years worth out of a 10.0. They will still produce light after these times but
will not be putting out the required UVB so remember to replace bulbs on a regular basis.


TEMPERATURES

Daytime temperatures should be around 84-88 degrees F. Night time temps 75-80 degrees F.  One end of your tank should be in the
warm zone and the other end a cool off area. Improper heating can and will lead to respiratory infections and other ailments because
of improper digestion and a low immune system.


HOUSING and SET UP

Water Dragons need as much height as possible, since they love to climb, but floor space is important, also. Provide branches for
climbing, a basking area, hiding areas, plants and one third of the bottom should be water. When considering a water container, we
have learned they also use it as their toilet, make sure your water container is easy to remove, clean and replace. To reduce the
chances of infections, be sure to change the water as soon as you notice a stool. A simple and easy water container is a cat litter box.

When deciding what size tank to use a good guideline is = space should equal two times their length.

If you plan to keep more than one in a single enclosure make sure the tank size is adequate for both. As far as mixing males and
females, we have noticed that there is usually no conflicts, but some breeders state the females are more aggressive when housed
with another female. We currently have 2 males housed with one female and the large male is breeding the female but shows no
aggression toward the other male.


HUMIDITY

In our opinion, humidity is very important because they are tropical reptiles.  Humidity levels should be around 80% all the time.
This can be done with the water container, live plants (research which plants are safe) and misting the cage several times a day. To
make sure you do have proper humidity, you need to pick up a gage to measure humidity levels. Improper levels can and will
shorten their life spans, produce inadequate shedding and cause chronic dehydration. If you still have problems keeping humidity
levels up, try putting a piece of plexi-glass over a small portion of the opening. Remember plastics filters UVB/UVA rays and cuts
down on air circulation.


VITAMINS AND FOODS

When it comes to vitamins we use the same guidelines for our Water Dragons and our Bearded Dragons. (see Bearded Dragons Care
Sheet). They will eat a large variety of foods. The list includes: Crickets, fresh greens, fresh fruit and veggies, feeder guppies, pinkie
mice, earthworms, meal worms, wax worms, ect. ect. It has been our experience some will eat one food and could care less about the
other.

Word of Caution.  Meal worms are like candy and once they get one that is all they will eat. They will starve themselves, avoid
other foods, waiting for you to give them another. Use only as a treat if at all. We have a dragon that got ADDICTED to meal
worms, he would eat 10-20 every feeding and it took weeks of starvation to get him off of them, starvation was not healthy for him
but neither was meal worms as the only food source. Now he has recovered and is eating regular foods and will never see another
meal worm again.     



Please keep in mind that these are only guidelines for the care of your Water Dragons.  You may or may not find
something that works better for you.  As there are many different care sheets out there, please feel free to use the one that
best fits your needs.
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