Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok I have two turtles and ive had frogs and beardies. I have a tank(15-20gal not sure) with heat lamp and vitamin light. what am I going to need for a young water dragon? I saw a picture where the person had his dragon in a tank with sand on the bottom and water above it(kind of like a sand bar). Also what age would you recommend? Im looking for young, but not very young to which it would need alot of careing, since its my first water dragon.

Thanks everyone for your help

Sand is usually not a recommended substrate as it can cause bowel impaction if ingested. You are beter of with repticarpet when they are small. Get 2 pieces and wash one when you replace it with the other. Your 15-20 gallon tank is only going to last 6 months or so. You are much better of money-wise to set-up at least a 75 gallon aquarium which will last for several years.
You will find yourself duplicating light and heat sources if you go small and then re-equip a larger tank a few months later. CWD should grow to 24-36 inches by age: 2 or so. The larger the initial set-up the better their overall growth. Smaller environments will stunt their growth (as will improper care and feeding, of course). Do your homework before you purchase a CWD. They are not difficult to care for, but they do require high humidity and clean,fresh water in large enough quantity for them to immerse themselves.
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dianedfisher@yahoo.com

My 3 CWD-Avanyu, Tripod and Drago

Yeah i don't even know about a 15-20 gallon tank, maybe just for babies, but for juvi's you're going to need at least a 50. And it won't be long before you need something MUCH larger. Chinese Water Dragons are Aboreal and prefer height over width. So glass aquariums aren't always the best solution unless you stack them or something. Also if you do go with glass you have to be careful of your dragon rubbing it's nose against the glass. This is a common problem, expecially in WC water dragons. Many people build their own enclosures using a variety of materials, mainly wood with glass doors. The wood is coated with a polyurathane and seaked with aquarium silicon. This does 2 things, it keeps the wood from rotting, and it also helps keep the humidity up. Also in most cases, building your own enclosure gives you much more space for a much cheaper price. For instance mine is 6 x 4 x 2 which is approx. 350 gallons, and it cost me about 120 to build including 2 glass hinged doors. Water Dragons get big, which is why the require such large enclosures, if i could I would have made mine deeper and wider. Males can get up to 36-40" in length over time.
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www.mplionhearts.com