Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I have a sad story to relate, and I was hoping someone could help me make sense of it.

I got two baby (presumably farmed) asian water dragons about a month ago. They were still quite small. The male (the larger of the two) was perhaps a little bit over 3" SVL. Well, they both seemed quite healthy and active, although the female was far more spastic than the male. I also noticed that the male was spending a significant amount of his time in the single hide I put at the bottom of their cage. Now, temps in my basking spot are in the low 90s, but where he was hanging out must have been in the low 70s. He was also a bit darker than the female. He was still active and eating and runnning around and basking as well, so I really didnt think anything of it. Well, late last week he stopped eating. completely. He started becoming really lethargic, and basically showing all of the signs that make one think 'gut parasites'. Well, yesterday I finally got some Panacur and some Flagyl to give to the little guy. I have never seen a reptile deteriorate so quickly. He went from an active guy with a fat little belly to a lizard-shaped, lethargic stick figure in well under a week. The little guy couldnt even cope with the stress of having the meds administered, and died on the way back to his cage.

I did an autopsy, and the major thing that I found was a large, putrefied cyst filled with green liquid (maybe 3 mm round) in his liver. It's quite odd, and Im not sure just what to make of it. I mean, if he had nematode cysts in his liver, or flagellates or tapeworms I would know what happened and where it came from... but a putrefied cyst in the liver? How does that happen to a baby animal like that? could it have been my fault? Could it have been communicable?
I stupidly did not liik at the liquid under a microscope, so I'm clueless as to what, exactly was doing the putrefaction. I think I should probably give the female a preventative bout of the meds just in case...

Im not an expert on water dragons, so maybe this is something that is peculiar to them? Not quite sure if this is the best place to ask this, but hopefully there are some knowledgeable people out there that can help me make heads or tails of this...

From my experience, Chinese Water Dragons are very delicate. I had two very young juveniles that did well for awhile, they had the appropriate temps, live plants for cover, and humidity. After about 3 months they started to decline without reason. One contracted mouth rot. I administered medication, but he just faded away. The other one also wasted away mysteriously. Then I had two others that were slightly bigger that I had placed in a much larger environment. They both were very healthy in appearance when I got them. One ate very well while the other didn't have much of an appetite. The one that ate well contracted mouth rot and soon died, while the other simply wasted away to nothing. I've since held off on obtaining any more until I can figure these guys out. I'm sorry about your loss.

Awwww, that is sad! I have had my baby almost three years now, and also got two older boyz that I have had three months.

Parasites are responsible for most of the deaths of waterdragons. I was hoping DragosMom would reply here, she is the bomb around here, and soooo knowledgeable!!!!