Anyone Have A Chinese Water Dragon?

[Rainstorm]

Anyone have one and some info? Saw these in petco awhile back and now me and my cousin is hooked, Both of us planning on getting one

Would like Info on

Habitat
How to sex them (as babies)
Temperment? Friendly, easy to tame?

and anything else I cant think of at the moment. Anyone got photos to??

We're looking to get 2 boys. (pretty crest and colors) We've both had reptiles before so its not real un'new to us, Her a a iguana and me a Collared lizard.

Also anyone know if petco ones are captive bred or wild caught? When I first saw em the babies were maybe 4-6 inches long in the tank, put my hand against the glass and 2 of em came running to the glass where I was, NOT snapping at the glass or attacking but trying their darn hardest to get on my hand! if I could have I would have taken them both home right then LOL

 

[TwistedSerpent]

Water Dragons can be a challange, their well being depends 100% on their enviroment and its often not the easiest thing to get right. I've never kept any, but thats mainly why its too much work. They have very specialized humidity, heat, food, and lighting needs, and also gett pretty big nothing a standard glass aquarium can hold, they need something custom built.

Also they often are not the nicest, handling just tends to stress them out. There is really no such thing as a 'tame' reptile, but some species tolerate us better then others and these guys arent one of them. They wont be sexable until about 6 months old, and two males will probably fight.

Very few people actually breed them, most are farmed out of the country and shipped by the thousands for cheap to petstores, in return most petstores dont know how to care for them properly and many do die.


There are many sites out there with good information, research as much as possible for a month or so. Most of these guys are boughten impulsivly and most end up dying.

 

[georgialee]

I used to work in a petco and the one thing I remember the most about the water dragons are them constantly getting sores on their faces from rubbing against the glass and being sickly in general b/c they needed such strict living conditions (I took many of them to the vet over the year I worked there). That being said, as long as their environment is maintained properly I think they would be great pets to have to look at... not necessarily to handle.

 

[chunkydunk]

Yeah these things are not easily handled. They have some serious claws!In my 38 years of dealing with reptiles these critters are alot like tokay geckos. Nasty buggers. They also arent the sharpest peanuts in the turd either. They will repeatedly ram the aquarium glass.Now if you just wanted something to put in a terrarium they are neat but require serious climate control. If their environment varies a good bit from day to day they will stress so bad they will kill themselves to get out and away.

 

[Rainstorm]

Wow, many different views. Well to answer the first question, we'd be getting as babies and the males wouldnt be together any longer then maybe a month till she can pick hers up

I posted this on a reptile forum also and the replys I got was their timid as babies but become great human lovers as they mature with human contact and is one of the easiest to tame - said from multiple people.

 

[TwistedSerpent]

What forums? I used to Admin on a few of them, many of the forums out there are full of kids who just have no idea.

I have a very hard time trusting answers from anyone who refers to any reptile as tame and loving humans, especially as babies. Anyone with any experiance will tell you just about every baby no matter the species is going to be flighty. All our comments here all said the same thing too, they are very specific in their habitat and they really shouldnt be messed with, even established animals stress pretty easily. All of them I have experiance with have not been handleable.

If your willing to put in a lot of time, money, and labor into a good custom enclosure that is able to maintain an enviroment exactly what it needs for a lizard that you wont be able to handle then it wouldnt be so bad. Most people I know who want one just want it because they look cool however believe just sticking them in anything will be good enough. There is a reason why you dont see many adults around, most just dont survive.

It can take a lot of dedication and upkeep to keep them healthy and thriving, most people just arent into that long term once the newness wears off.

 

[Rainstorm]

Quote:
Cant think of the name right now (on favs on a different PC) but i think it was snake something (lizards to) but anyway, I just talked to cousin and she got hers today and so far its calm and lets her hold it and all. Not saying your wrong or anything I am just wondering IF with the time and habitat they COULD become pets?

 

[Rin]

Quote:
Cant think of the name right now (on favs on a different PC) but i think it was snake something (lizards to) but anyway, I just talked to cousin and she got hers today and so far its calm and lets her hold it and all. Not saying your wrong or anything I am just wondering IF with the time and habitat they COULD become pets?

No offence but if it's a baby and letting her handle it... could just be ill or in a stress shock? Either way you might want to give it time to make sure it's not dying on her.

 

[TwistedSerpent]

She shouldnt be touching it at all right now, it needs to be left alone for a week at least.

When I first get an animal especially a baby if it doesnt try to run away or kill me I really start to worry. Those are basic survival instincts that baby reptiles run on, if they arent displaying them then usually something is wrong. I also have seen them go into a sort of shock from all the stress of being handled, they just sit there.

No, time and habitat wont change instincts. While it might get used to you water dragons in general just dont like being bothered. If you are looking for a pet to play with and interact with water dragons are not a good choice, reptiles in general arent good but some do much better then others. If either of you dont give them the exact care it will die, maybe not quickly as theyre tough buggers but it will ultimately catch up to them.

Bearded dragons would be a better choice for something to handle, as well as they arent quite as touchy when it comes to their care. They allow for a certain degree of mistakes that they can get through without a problem unlike water dragons.

 

[poultryhaven]

I had 4, 2 died. I force fed the youngest one and it lived. The male I got first and I got him as a baby and held him everyday, I did everything with him, he wasnt in his cage much.
He never once bit me but my friend thought he was funny when he picked him up by his head and it bit him.
I miss him. He lived awhile. The other one was friendly too and she would always be with me too when she got older but one day she died. All I gave them was a big dish of water, a heat lamp and crickets and mealworms. They were fun and I wouldnt mind getting them again.