Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Yesterday,I went with my parents to a woman's house to talk about breeding our dogs. When we were there, I noticed a 40 gallon tank, but didn't think anythign was in ther ebecause the lights on it were turned off,and the glass was so dirty i couldnt see in,nothign was moving. When i looked in i saw a very very brown Small Iguana type lizard. She was on desert sand with no branches,a shallow water dish, and upon firther inspection she has a jaw deformity, is missing a few toenails and has a long, but stubby tail.The lady said her mouth got messed up when she chewed real hard on a piece of bark,which is why she switched her over to sand. This is clearly not true, the girl has no top lip, and no nostrils for that matter,because the injury goes as far up as her nostrils. I asked the woman if i could have her,and i would take good care of her,and she says sure,she waslooking to get rid of her anyways. So i took all the supplies she had, and the tnak and the dragon home. I do not have an enclosure proper for this kind of animal right now, so i cleaned out and set up her 40 gallon, used a mixture of bark chips and bed a beast for substrate, put in a kitty litter pan with a fogger in it for a water dish. I set up plenty of branches, and put in some live plants as well. the tank looked alot better, and i covered any parts she was trying to escape at so she doesnt nose rub anymore. I fed her a dozen crix in the past 2 days,and shes a pig! I dusted both times, becaus eit doesnt look like she was getting any vitamins. She is only a foot long, and 3 years old. Her colors are nice, once she relaxed. She has a pink throat, her spikes are small, some nice lines down her sides. i dont leave her in her cage alot. only when i am working or when she is sleeping. I feel bad for her in there. So i let her roam my room,or come around the house with me,usually on my head or shoulder. someone in my area is selling a 5.5 by 4 by 2 old water dragon cage on ebay, i am going to try to et ahold of it if i can, if not i will buy a 260 gallon reptarium.there are no herp vets in my area so i dont know i if i will be able tot ake her to a vet. she has to breathe through her mouth because of her having no nostrils. her mouth looks clear though, no chunky residue. I really want to get her hooked up with a nice cage, but this was so spur of the moment, and my family is in the process of making an animal room in the basement as we have absolutely no more room for animals in my house anymore. i have plenty of other herps, and have dealth with a water dragon in my work before, so i am not completel new to this. just new to the rescue situation. id appreciate any kind of advice or suggestions.

first of all.. i commend you.. that was a very nice thing to do..you sound like you have the right idea.. she probably has a mixture of mbd and snout damage since she is missing some toenails. i would try to find a vet to get her checked out and have a fecal done. if there is a zoo in your area.. there will be a vet that specailizes in herps no doubt. but if not a regular vet would at least be able to run the fecal. i also suggest you find out what it is... does it look more like a stressed chinese water dragon (brown) or an australian water dragon tan and black with a pink/red neck and belly? i will attach a pic of Joeyp's wd that i adopted when it was shedding and dirty from digging (very brown). she is a chinese water dragon. keep the temps on the warm side from 85-90 and 80ish or so everywhere else try to keep humidity up and make her as comfy as possible .. oh and i think either ideas for the cage are great.i can't think of anything else off hand.. somebody no doubt will let you know what i forgot.. good luck..she was lucky to have found you ..ohh and do you have a pic of her we could look at

alissa

Yes,she looks alot like the one in your picture, with a pinkish chin. I have been dusting her crickets and gutloading them as well, and been feeding her about 6 everyday until she gets back into the swing of things. I have decided I am going to make an extension on her cage. right now it is a 40 gallon tank, I am going to add another 5 feet to the top with wood and plexiglass as well as rubbered wire mesh. My father is a handy kinda guy so he will likely make it for me. I will probbaly make levels, and have an old viquarium system, so i will make a waterfall and pond sort of deal on the tank floor, then make some other shelves and areas for basking. Shes doing good, basks regularly, eats like a hog, and really likes to sleep on my head???haha. oh well,thanks alot for your advice. I obviously still have alot of work to do and i thank you,and any future advice.

Actually, i thought about it and looked her over today and she is actually a Chinese Water Dragon. Shes got very very light turquoise marks on her sides, but is pink under her chin. I have some pics, but i need to find somewhere to host them befor ei can post them.

you can upload them on the kingsnake photogallery.. or shutterfly.com

>>Actually, i thought about it and looked her over today and she is actually a Chinese Water Dragon. Shes got very very light turquoise marks on her sides, but is pink under her chin. I have some pics, but i need to find somewhere to host them befor ei can post them.

I tried, My photos sizes are too big,and excees the 250Kb limit. Theyre about 350kb each. stupid computer crap.

ok this is what nathan23 told me to tell you to do..... {from my diital to computer, from computer to shutterfly.com, then once at shutterfly.com they resize it and make a 900k file down to about 50-65k..then you can post or upload to kingsnake}.. i hope that helps

alissa

>>I tried, My photos sizes are too big,and excees the 250Kb limit. Theyre about 350kb each. stupid computer crap.