Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I am new to this forum, and i was wondering if anyone can help me. I work in a local pet store and today I had a person bring in a wd...they said if someone didn't take her they were going to let her go outside. I couldn't let that happen so I decided to take her. I have quite a few other species of reptiles but I have never kept wds before. I don't really have any background info on her...her owners just about threw her at me and ran out the door. I noticed she has severely rubbed her nose ( I'm assuming thats what she did anyway) as there is no skin on the front...you can see down to the bone. Is there anything I can put on this to prevent infection? Also with proper care will the skin regrow or is the damage permanent? My other questions are about care. Right now my boyfriend and I are very limited on space so I need to know what is the minimum size cage she can live in comfortably? She is about 8-10 inches snout-vent. We are planning on buying real estate within the next year so it won't be permanent...just till we can build something bigger. Any input anyone has on care in general on these guys would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry so long...Thanks in advance for any help,
Annette

Well, the nose rubbing is from being in a cage that is too small. You may be able to get away with a 75 gallon tank, but since she is already a nose rubber her problem may just get worse. The true minimum would be a 350 gallon cage, which most people build themselves. Mine is 4x5x2 feet. The skin on her face will not grow back completely, but some neosporin can help keep it from getting infected. It may have already infected her mouth tho, so take a look in her mouth and see if there is any redness or cheesy looking gunk. If she has mouth rot it needs to be cleaned, your best bet is to get her checked out by a vet.

Try this site, it is a good reference for dragon care.
Tricia's Water Dragon Site

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