Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a bearded dragon & decided I wanted another lizard that was a different type of lizard but was as docile & calm & laid back as a beared dragon & like a bearded dragon could be held without getting stressed so I went to my local pet store & told the employee what I was looking for & he sold me a chinese water dragon saying that they were close to peronality & temperment of a bearded dragon. He is just a baby though, he is only about 2 inches long body length. Well I get him home & hes just sitting on me while im playing my video game then after a few minutes of sitting there instead of hoping down & walking around he takes this huge leap of about 4 feet arcoss the room(btw they can run very fast, haha) and I put my hand down there & he runs back up on it & I decided he should go back in his cage for awhile. I guess my question is do they calm down as they get older? is he just so spastic cuz he is young? The pet store employee said that one guy has and adult one that comes in the store sitting on his shoulder & that they are a calm lizard? Please advise..

I have had both cwd and bearded dragons, and there is no lizard on earth as calm as a bearded dragon. Water dragons do get pretty tame if they are held often, but they will always be much more active and curious. Mine would sit on my shoulder for maybe a minute before deciding to go exploring. They also spend a lot more time moving around their cage. I think my beardie is a rock with legs most of the time, unless there is a cricket to chase.

Be careful with your little guy, they can very quickly get behind furniture and get lost, and if you grab them wrong you can hurt them.

Enjoy your new pet
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Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 2001
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

Thanks for the advice, when yours got older did they slow down a bit or as adults do they still run & jump as fast as they do when they are a baby.

hehehe, the bigger they get the faster they run, and their leaping ability becomes spectacular. Adult water dragons are very acrobatic and agile animals.

paul

So then how do you catch them if you let them run loose in a room/house when its time for them to go back into their cage? Or are they like bearded dragons in the fact that they dont run from you when free & you try to pick them up?

Well, I had a large male that I had to chase, and catch with a pillowcase because he could seriously claw you when he didn't want to be caught. He made it almost all the way across my house before I snagged him. My much more docile female would stop and let me catch her after a few feet. Dont try to grasp them, they only like being held if they are just sitting on your arm or hand. Grabbing them seems to trigger a fight reflex, they do dragon rolls and use their claws on you.
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Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 2001
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

I have heard several people comment that CWDs are very "interactive". What exactly do they mean by this?