Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A water dragon fell into my lap 2 days ago and I am really worried about it. He was kept in a 40gallon tank with nothing but a red light and a dish of water. He has been fed one pinkey mouse a week and nothing else for a year. He is lethargic and will not eat. I have never had a water dragon before and am not sure quite how to help him. I work with iguanas and turtles mostly so I am trying to apply my knowledge with helping this little guy. I know he is dehydrated so I have a pedilyte type water mixture we use at the shelter for the iguanas that are dehydrated, and have been giving him droppers of that. I also have been making him eat baby food (chicken and sweet potatoes) becuause I can get it in a needleless syringe and force it in his mouth. Any other thoughts? He refuses to bask and I keep finding him in his tray of water at the bottom of his cage. He is ice cold all the time and I am desperate to warm him up. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to heat his water (rubbermaid container)??? I was thinking an undertank heater, but I am worried about if he spashed around, it might get wet.

Any advice or suggestions would be so helpful. Thank You!

Heres a picture of him

You can use a fish tank heater in a rubbermaid container. Screen cages aren't really a good choice for a water dragon, since they require heat and humidity and screen makes it hard to maintain the proper levels. What are you trying to feed him? Mine always loved earthworms at that size, and fuzzy mice. He may not eat for awhile tho, they tend to stop eating when they are stressed, and moving them to a new cage stresses them.

Kudos for trying to help him, I hope he recovers nicely.
-----

a fish tank heater is a great idea. most fish tank heaters u can set a desired temp, which is a great feature. i also have a rubbermaid container, and a fish heater works perfectly. also, u may want to try using a "reptisun powersun" bulb to try to increase appetite as well as induce normal behavior. i have just recently started useing these bulbs and i notice a huge difference already. additionally, i shy away from using seringes because of the outgoing pressure can have severe detrimental effects. there are many things that could go wrong. if u have an extra hand around, try gently opening his mouth (dont rush him opening, take it slow, he will eventually give in) and feeding him live prey (crickets, mealworms, etc...) have your helper insert the prey. this will get him use to not only you, but also chewing. he may also grow dependent on the seringe. i am not a professinal, however, these are things that have worked for me. i have successfully raised a very healthy 1 1/2 yr old male, and recently rescued a baby who was on the verge of dying. i did exactly as i recommeded to my baby, and i now think he has a severe case of ADHD. good luck

oooops almost forgot. ESU reptile also makes a liquid product that u put into a seperate water container. it will decrease stress as well as hydrade the guy...just, as u normally would, follow the directions

Thanks, I appreciate the suggetions.... just a couple of questions.

About the fish tank heater.... what kind of rubbermaid do you have it in, how deep? I have one in the cage right now but am worried about the idea of a fish tank heater because he might touch it, it could melt the plastic, ect, ect, ect. Also are there ones that are small/short enough that it would fit ok in a rubbermaid??? If anyone has this for their enclosure and has maybe a picture so I can see the set up, that would be great.

Im not too worried about him being dependant on the syringe. All of our rescues that come into the shelter have been hand fed for a short period of time, whether they needed it or not. We do that so if they ever do get sick and need oral medications or a liquid diet, they will already be used to it. I am going to try to toss a few mealworms down tonight though and see if that will work.

Thanks for the help and suggestions!

My rubbermaid container was about 6 inches deep. My fish tank heater was a little long, but I put it in at an angle. It will not melt the plastic, the water keeps it too cool to melt anything, and they really don't get that hot. If they got that hot, they would burn the dragon.
-----

Ok, so looks like it's the fish tank heater for me!

Thanks for all the help.... I hope he likes his nice warm water!

he doesnt look that bad off. given the opportunity they often will chose a lower darker spot of the cage especially when stressed like he is. stress is also the most probable cause of his lack of appetite.