Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...as long as they are kept clean and healthy?

If they are not over fed, 15-20 years. If you keep them fat, 6-8.

Now that's something I hadn't read! I thought I needed to keep my dragons well fed? What is considered an ideal weight for a full-grown CWD? I assume males should weigh more than females. Mine are still growing, but what weight should I be shooting for?
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dianedfisher@yahoo.com

My 3 CWD-Avanyu, Tripod and Drago

good question - my male eats a lot in the summer but rarely in the winter. I turn the lights on when I get up and off when it gets dark outside so the cage "season" does change. Also, it is typically a little colder in my house during the winter so they do get a slight temp variation.

I feed my dragons every other day in the summer and twice a week in the winter. They eat mice and superworms exclusively. I cannot get them to eat anything else.

I have no idea what they should weigh or if I am feeding them too much. I am taking them to the vet tomorrow though and will ask him. I'll relay any weight and diet info that I get as I have been wondering the same thing.

its not so much weight as it is fat, basically the standards for fat in waterdragons and lizards in general, is badly skewed and I'll tell you why. Years ago when very few lizard were being captive bred the pet industry sold mostly wild caught. I was working at a petstore durring those times and the standard was the more fat the better, if you couldn't see the hip bones then you had a healthy specimen. That standard was right for the times because wild caught lizards don't acclimate well and often go for extend periods of time without eating. For long term maintenance, however, any Vet who knows his stuff will tell you that fat kills. The standard stuck, even thought most lizards today are captive bred. I would suggest reversing the standard, and say that if you can't see the hip bones and muscular definition in the tail then your lizard needs to loose weight. This of course applies to vigorous, heathly animals. If your waterdragon has health issues, or is not eating or has other issues, you do not want to worry about weight.

Everything you mentioned makes sense. I think that I feed mine a very nutritious offering and they are not yet 2 years old. I am, however, still feeIding them twice daily. Maybe this summer will be a good time to stop the evening feeding. No food-just play time with mom! Thanks so much for the information!
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dianedfisher@yahoo.com

My 3 CWD-Avanyu, Tripod and Drago