Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ive read a ton of care sheets but still have some questions.

Im looking at a 55 gallon aquarium...is that big enough? I plan on setting it up with a lizard hammock, silk plants and branch or two... what size light will I need? Im probably going to get a Reptisun bulb, but what size? 6, 8, 10? Plus a heat buld...I was going to get the nocturnal blue kind that is good for day and night...what wattage? 25, 50, more? Im worried the tank will be too tall and the WD wont benifit from the light when he''s at the bottom of the tank... and then I worry about using a tank at all because of how they rub their mouth ....

Its been awile sence Ive had a lizard in the family...Im having a hard time recalling how big a 55 gallon tank is..Im going to go look at it this week. A friend who used to own a pet store is selling off her old inventory and has offerd me this tank at her cost...but I wont get it if its too small

I freak out about taking perfect care of my animals...I do after all have one Male betta in a Five gallon aquarium Sorry, but you just cant convence me that they are "happy" in a dinky little bowl lol

First- how big of a dragon? Are you getting more than one? They also require a pool in which to soak- at least chest deep, preferably deeper. I wouldn't worry about the tank being too deep- dragons love to climb. We use the Reptisun 5.0- provides the light necessary for them to process calcium, as well. A nocturnal bulb is not necessary, as they are diurnal creatures. Don't forget about an undertank heater, as they require pretty warm temps- a basking spot, too. Dragons appreciate lots of foliage and branches for climbing.

Whew! Tricia's water dragon page is an EXCELLENT resource. Good luck!

Yes, Ive been reading Tricias page...for three days now! lol

I was wanting a young dragon...not nessasarally a hatchling...their tiny-ness freaks me out! But something maybe 8-10 months old?

I know they like a swimming pool...thats another thing about a 55..would it be big enough for a decent water dish. Ill have to go look.

I had a CWD about 12 years ago. I was 10 -13 years old. It was my older brothers. When he moved he took it with him, but I do remember a lot. We had it a home made cage outside. We lived in florida too though.

Jennifer

A 75 gallon tank is the minimum size for one adult waterdragon, although that 55 gallon will make do for a good time, depending on what size you do get your dragon at. You can put a good size bowl/pool at the bottom of the enclosure as your dragon will be spending more time on the branches. I would get a pool big enough to fit its entire body in. As for the UVB, 5.0 works, 8.0 and 10.0 may be better though. As for heat, you can use an ordinary household bulb, or buy a basking bulb. Problem there is, you want to test wattage as to what will be efficient enough for the size of the enclosure. I would say a 75 watt may work well. Right now, since the temperature is so hot outside, I do not use any form of night heat. It can safely drop in the to 70's, I usually set the thermostat inside the enclosure at 75. If your dragon does excessive snout rubbing, you can put some sort of paper that he cant see through and tape it to the bottom edges. That way he cant see himself, or thru to wherever he see's he wants to go. Tricias websites is very insightful and the best waterdragon information station there is. So thats a good tool Good luck

Thanks! Thats what I needed to know.

I would like to only have to buy/build one cage.. so Im thinking by time I payed for a 75 gallon tank I could just build a really nice, bigger cage. I like the Plywood and screen set up My husband is a carpenter so it shouldnt be a problem. Im thinking 6x3x3?

Also...do WD like being in groups? What I mean is would a WD be happy living all its life alone or should I plan on just getting two? I dont want babies so...would two females be best or would two males work? (do the males fight?)

Jennifer

They can lead solitary lives. They arent very social lizards, although keeping two females can work, there are some chances where a female can be aggressive towards another, but I have found that to be rare. 2 males will most likely fight. Heres the problem with having a male and female together, first of all, they need to be at least 18 inches long to even tell the gender, getting hatchlings and juvies can be a problem because you wont know whether they are both male or not. Unless you find a reptile expo where they have adults, its hard to find anything but hatchlings and juvies at most petstores or reptile shops. You dont want breeding to happen too young either. A female will lay eggs with or without a male... of course without the male the eggs will be infertile, thats why you should have a laybox in the enclosure, females can start laying eggs after they reach about 18 inches long. Mine is 21 inches long and still hasnt laid yet.. it happens. I had Skid (my adult female) for a year before we got another one, Sly (our hopeful male) We made sure Skid was female before we got another WD. They are kept in a 6'T 4'L 3'D enclosure that we built, here is a picture,

This is a pretty old picture, when we first had it set up, it looks a different now, we added a bunch more foliage and live plants for them to hide in and we are doing changes too it soon where we will have a waterfall all the way down the back side. You can see Skid on the wood plank there, she was about 19 inches long in that picture, and Sly is in the lower left on a branch, he was only about 10 inches long there. Bottom line is, if you are going to have two, I would have a back up cage just incase something goes wrong and you need to seperate. Also, you need to quaruntine before introducing together, so that no illnesses/parasites are spread. So basically, keeping one is easier than keeping two. Hope that helped.

No problem! I was only really wanting one anyway...I just wanted to make sure they did well alone.
Thanks!

for an adult you need at least a 48Lx24Wx30H, keep in mind they are 3-4 feet long. the 5.0 will work, but the 10.0 works for longer distance if you are worried about that. also get them a basking bulb cause the florescents don't really give off any heat. they need at least 1/3 of the bottom portion to be water, they love to swim, have it like 4 in deep with driftwood so they can be partially submerged.