Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was offered a water dragon that was not doing well in the midst of the DC snow storms. He is a year old and is not much larger than the babies sold in the pet store. He had been to the vet for not eating. I was told he did not eat any greens or fruit and came in a 50 gallon tank. He arrived in a broken 25 gallon tank with a heat light. He could be easily picked up and was weak.

I put him in a 50 gallon tank with a UVB light and plants to hide under and climb on. He eats any green and fruit I feed him. He loves super worms and meal worms. He doesn't go after the crickets as much.

He now runs and doesn't like to be picked up. He is stronger.
How much should he be eating and is there anything I forgot?

I did put a large water bowl in there and a small water dish.

Ok, now if he eats its vegies that its a blessing because most dont, concentrate on dark leafy greens and calcium rich fruit such as mango and figs. Dont forget he needs more animal then vegetable food, feed him gutloaded crickets, roaches and locusts at its will. Give preference to small feeders. Also ad a good quality suplement like reptivite to its food Good job rescuing him!

Good to hear that its eating and doing better!

Are you dusting the insects with supplements? Since many/most of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus its important to dust the insects at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder.

I also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that the dragon gets some D3 without overdoing it. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but UVB from the lights should not cause an over-production of D3 as long as the dragon can move in and out of the light.

I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene (prOformed) sources of vitamin A will not build up in the system like prEformed sources will. Excess prEformed may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the dragon towards MBD.

I gutload crickets, superworms, roaches, etc. with a wide variety of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

You can feed the above list of greens and veggies to your dragon along with a little bit of fruit (apple, pear, melon, berries, etc.).

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are all important players in bone health and need to be in balance. To balance them you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the dragon.

Appropriate temperatures aid in digestion so play a part in bone health indirectly.

Hope this helps!