Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok ive been thinking up a set-up for quite sometime now and plan to get it up soon. what id like is ur suggestions on how it could be better or what i need.

ok the list:

-Above a 74gal. i want height.(suggestions on a good site are greatly appreciated)
-Forest Bed bedding
-A large water dish(or other suggestions)
-Vines comeing from the top of the cage to the dish with water running down them(going to have a pump running to the top)
-Larges branches to climb
-Have all the lamps and vitamin lights
-Zoo Med Thermometer and Humidity indicator(suggestions)
-Zoo Med Habba Mist Auto Mist System
-Rocks and Limbs to go under

well thats it, i dont think im missing anything. Tell me what you guys think and if theres anything i dont need. I just want to make a really nice place for my water dragons
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*Also, Can you guys tell me if this is a Chinese Water DRagon?
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/animals/other-lizards/-/small-green-water-dragons/

That picture of the green water dragon is a chinese water dragon, they are the same thing.

It sounds like you have done a lot of research, which is good. I know a lot of sites say a 75 gallon tank is big enough but it really isn't. My tank was 350 gallons (4x2x2) and it wasn't really big enough either. I ended up giving my dragons an entire room, 11x7x5 feet. If I only had one dragon the 350 gallons would have been ok, but they still had nose banging problems. The best way to get a huge cage is to build one, although I bought mine from cagesbydesign.com. They have changed their design since I bought mine, but from what I can see they have improved. The old style was wood and mine ended up rotting even though I had them seal it. Now they seem to be made of metal and plastic.

You decorating idea sounds interesting, but vines don't stand up well to dragons. Dragons are fairly heavy, and they will try to climb and tear anything in their tank. I used big strong branches and just tied fake vines on for decoration. Also, dragons love running water and waterfalls, however they tend to sit in the water flow and block it off, creating a dam and re-directing the water out of the stream and into the bottom of the tank. As you can imagine this can get messy!

The best water area I have found is either a rubbermaid container or kitty litter pan. Dragons don't need very deep water but they like room to swim around a bit. Also have a branch or rock that goes into the water. Dragons need a bit of help climbing out, and they like to soak and rub their shedding skin off on rocks or branches.
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A mans got to do what a mans got to do. A woman has to do what he can't.

Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 1999
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
1 common musk turtle hatchling

Building the cage sounds cheap but I dont really know how to do it. Could I probably get everything at menards?

oh and for 2 water dragons, male and femal, hows 3 1/2ft length, 2 1/2ft width, and 4 or 3 1/2ft height sound.

oh and i saw someone have a pool in 1/4 of the bottom of the tank, then a plastic seperator dividing the water and the flooring. with this be a good idea? I think makeing the waterfall would be easier to accomplish then.

thanks every1 for your replys

Hmm, I think I typed 2x2x4 for my tank size, but that was wrong, it was 5x4x2. Anyway, you are best off if you can go taller than 3.5 feet, 5-7 feet tall would be ideal. Dragons are tree dwellers mainly, and they like to be up high.

With your water area remember you will have to clean it quite often. Even with a filter you will need to completely empty it and clean it out every few days. Dragons poop in their water area, and their poops are quite large. No filter can really handle that amount of waste. So, something you can lift out easily is a good idea.

Here is a bad picture of my really old set up.

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A mans got to do what a mans got to do. A woman has to do what he can't.

Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 1999
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
1 common musk turtle hatchling