Water Dragon questions.

[EricIvins]

glass tanks are much much better than screen enclosures.

Really? How about an Enclosure that was made for Reptiles.........Any type of PVC cage will work, be cost effective, and is actually designed to keep humidity in........Fish Tanks are for Fish........

130 drees like any lizards!? And what lizard needs a basking spot quite so extreme? Even most desert species don't need it that high and water dragons being tropical definitely don't need that kind of heat... a basking spot of 95-98 should be plenty.

don't forget your uva/uvb lighting, VERY important!
Also I would go ahead and invest in an automatic mister or fogger... it is annoyingly difficult to keep your humidity high with basking lights going at the same time.

adult enclosure should be no smaller than 6ft tall, 4ft long and at least 3ft wide. I always try to go bigger than minimums with lizards

Yes, 130 degrees.........I've shot both Chinese and Australian Water Dragons basking outside with a surface temp of 140 degrees + with a temp gun.......Thats no BS, and everyone wonders why things do so much better outside? HEAT.........

 

[Experiment397]

yup they need high heat an high humidity. also the biggest water dragon is the sailtail at 3.5 feet long the smallest(commonly kept) is the chinese crested at 2feet, i would do 1/3 of the tank water. also if you do the water in the front then they are less apt to get nose rub, since they will be swimming in the water. 8 inches is barely a juvie, but past a baby baby.i personally would do plywood sides if possibly, and a glass front, also use a screen top to get some ventilation, cause they can really stink it up.

 

[Experiment397]

oh one more thing, they seem to enjoy a slight current in their water

 

[Chrisplosion]

Lots of great info thanks a lot Its between one of these or a bearded dragon but I'm not sure which I want. Don't want to rush into something I don't want last minute.

 

[snakeguy101]

Really? How about an Enclosure that was made for Reptiles.........Any type of PVC cage will work, be cost effective, and is actually designed to keep humidity in........Fish Tanks are for Fish........

The PVC/ acrylic tanks will have all the same problems as far as nose rubbing goes. I do prefer them to glass aquariums but I also keep many animals in all glass enclosures without problem...

 

[EricIvins]

The PVC/ acrylic tanks will have all the same problems as far as nose rubbing goes. I do prefer them to glass aquariums but I also keep many animals in all glass enclosures without problem...

Seeing that only the front has anything see through, they understand that they have at least 5 walls they cant get through......A Fish Tank has 6, plus the lid that they think they can get through........

We're talking about Water Dragons, who are naturally skittish for atleast their first year.........Glass just doesn't work unless you have a huge enclosure, with alot of hide spots they can get to before they hit the glass.......

 

[Citrinellus]

Coura brought up a good point. The water basin and heater will definitely keep the humidity up.

As for the mulch, it is under $5 for a 50lbs bag of it at any place that has a garden center. Make sure that it is cypress much though (never use pine or cedar or anything else because they will cause skin issues).

Yep, I had a hard time finding cypress mulch without it having "mix" on the bag. Finally found some pure cypress mulch at my farm & fleet store.

 

[snakeguy101]

Seeing that only the front has anything see through, they understand that they have at least 5 walls they cant get through......A Fish Tank has 6, plus the lid that they think they can get through........

We're talking about Water Dragons, who are naturally skittish for atleast their first year.........Glass just doesn't work unless you have a huge enclosure, with alot of hide spots they can get to before they hit the glass.......

and this is easily prevented by adding a bunch of hiding spots, putting the tank in a corner so that 2 of the sides are walls, or just adding a background. Many people do not know where to get those style cages and have empty fish tanks available for use or can easily get some making it a better choice for them.

 

[coura]

yup they need high heat an high humidity. also the biggest water dragon is the sailtail at 3.5 feet long the smallest(commonly kept) is the chinese crested at 2feet, i would do 1/3 of the tank water. also if you do the water in the front then they are less apt to get nose rub, since they will be swimming in the water. 8 inches is barely a juvie, but past a baby baby.i personally would do plywood sides if possibly, and a glass front, also use a screen top to get some ventilation, cause they can really stink it up.

SAILFIN dragons Hydrosaurus can get allmost 5 feet long, medium iguana size and the aussi water dragon gets 3,5 long as will the biggest of the chinese green water dragon. If you consider them a group, the smallest ones would be species like Lophognatus temporalis, which are shorter and much less body mass.

 

[coura]

If it works for you, great but I have never been able to keep my humidity above 30% if there are lights of any sort without a fogger. When I had my iguana he was in a large screen cage with plexiglass covering the sides and humidity was just a pain in the ass. Had a HUGE water dish in the bottom that took up most of the entire bottom with no luck, the day i picked up a fogger all my problems ended. Simply cut it off at night.

Actually your suposse to moist and then let your animal skin and cage dry out, otherwise they will endup with skin blisters and respiratory problems. In the wild green igs and water dragons alike go between areas of very low humity to areas full of humity as they climb to the top of the trees and back into shadow areas full of vegetation. And having allot of envoiroment moist will do litle to your animal body if for example he doesant drink allot of water. In your case having a water basin and plus the ocasional moist supplies every water needs of your ig regardless of the envoiromental moist.