Water Dragon Owners

[CornSnakeMan]

Hi!:D I'm getting a water dragon soon and I was wondering how big a 5 inch could last in a 10 gallon and how big is your tanks?:w

[NewLineReptile]

maybe a few months or so but i would think off getting a bigger one before then i have four and they are in a 100 gal but they are much bigger then 5 inches :)

[CornSnakeMan]

how long dos it tke to get full length?

[NewLineReptile]

well these one's range from 2years to a year the one on the bottom is about 2' and the others are about 1 /12 feet
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/502/1639dragons.jpg

[andrea88]

A 10 gallon is not big enough for a 5 inch waterdragon. Start with at least a 33 gallon. They grow very quickly so start planning the final enclosure right away. (Ours is 6 foot tall, 4 foot wide and 2 foot deep, this is minimum size for an adult....)
My waterdragon went from 7 inches to 22 in a year, and then added another 8 inches soon after that.
A good care page is http://www.icomm.ca/dragon

Good luck!

[andrea88]

Not trying a personal attack here burmese python, but a 100 gallon is WAY TOO SMALL for 5 dragons!!!! Those poor things need much more room and what you are keeping them in is cruel.
They would look much healthier and do much better if you were to provide proper space for them.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/502/388dec02-01.jpg"></center><p>

[NewLineReptile]

well when i got them they all came in the 100 gal and i did get rid of two of them and they seem to be just fine in the 100 gal i am only guessing on the tank because it is a home made one but it is like 4' L x 2 1/2' W but another thing if you read my reply instead of jumping to post your reply you might of seen i said i have 4 not 5 and the pic i put up does not have the big dragon in it and i might of been wrong on the size of them i dont know to much about them as i only got them a short time ago but as of health they are in good health and i think the enclosure that they are in is just fine and i am far from CRUEL TO MY REPTILES!!!

[Tim and Julie B]

I have a pair in a 4fthx 4ft L x 16"W. Lots of room to climb! They are pigs! Always hungry!:D

[andrea88]

burmese python,
I am not saying that you are a cruel person, I am saying that the conditions that you are keeping your waterdragons in is cruel.
Waterdragons need 200-400 gallons of personal space EACH. You have given your dragons 25 gallons each. Clearly, you can see the problem.
You say your dragons are healthy. Are they? Have you taken any of them to a qualified reptile vet recently? Because what I see is:
#1 poor coloration. (due to poor living conditions/ improper uv/ stress from having no personal space)
#2 small adult size (due to improper care/feeding or not enough space.)
#3 missing/damaged spikes. (Husbandry errors)
#4 snout dammage (due to to small of a cage/ stress)
#5 frail, small stunted limbs (due to improper excersize and lack of room/ improper diet.)

I truly hope that you will not get all defensive and get angry again. These are serious indications of heath problems and you should get on top of them to treat them right away. A healthy waterdragon has a life span of 15-20+ years. Dont let yours go at 5... you may have recieved them in this state, but do not let them continue to live in this state, please!
Do not let your pride stand in the way of taking proper care of your herps.

[NewLineReptile]

once again you have not read what i said i said i got rid of two so do the math that means there is only 2 and that would make 50 gal each for space maybe more being that the cage/tank that they are in is 4' L

[andrea88]

I am trying to help you care for your herps properly when clearly you are not doing it correctly.
I am giving you care advice when your waterdragons clearly need it.
Since help apparently offends you, I wish your dragons all the luck in the world becuse they will NEED it on order to survive.

[NewLineReptile]

Well if you got the time you may want to pick up the book i have
called In-depth information on care for Green Water dragons by
Philippe de Vosjoli better yet i will let you read what he say's about cageing
(Selecting An Enclosure)
All glass aquaria with screen tops are suitable for keeping water dragons. A criterion for enclosure size is that an enclosure should be at least twice the length of the animals being kept and perferably larger.
Although a ten gallon aquarium is suitable for a hatchling ,5 - 8 inches for about 18 months. After that time, you should consider purchasing the final vivarium for your animals.
Folllowing the guidelines for size mentioned above this means that a 4-6 FOOT CAGE OR A 100 GALLON TANK!!!! will be required for keeping an ADULT PAIR!! of water dragons

so i guess if it is cruel to keep my NON ADULT! water dragons in a 100 gal tank maybe someone should tell this guy that wrote this book he is wrong. I am not trying to fight with you i am going by what i have read in books on water dragons. As for what they look like to you i can not say why they are in that condition like i said that is the way i had got them. they are water dragons and they dont grow to be very big so i see no point to have them in a cage to house a big Monitor like you are replying so i think i will take the infomation i have got from books and go with it and keep them in what is required the 100 gal tank that they are in.
so my pride standing in my way as you put has not a thing to do with it i am going by books and other herp owners.

[andrea88]

That book was written at least 20 years ago.
New, upgraded and better information is now available.
Keep up with current care info on your species, or we'd all still be feeding iguanas lettuce and dog food and keeping them in 20 gallons wondering why they get sick and die.

Water dragons are ABOREAL. They need at least 4 feet of climbing room. Yours don't have this which is why their limbs are stunted.
If you do not actively try to improve the condition of your dragons, they will die.
I can't make you care, but I can quarantee this.

Edited to add:
Any moron can write and publish a book. It does NOT mean, however that they know what they are talking about. Books need only contain OPINIONS, not facts.

[reptilesalonica]

I had my adult male GWD at a cage (3 times of his total length in width, 5 times in height and 2 times in deep) It was perfect in health and the hight of his enclosure was what he wanted for a perfect exercize. These are arboreals and need high enclosures and not wide. Let's not exaggerate :) , we must reconciled with the needs of each other (animal-owner), and these dimensions i have kept my GWD are not small. With all the regards, andrea88, if you consult all your customers for such huge cages, i am afraid you won't found a single customer.
PS In any way don't take my post as an offensive posture, I simply believe that these dimensions you are talking about are the ideal and perfect, but of course these lizards can be happy in a smaller terrarium than that
~Greg~

[CornSnakeMan]

wow people lets calm down!:) we're all cool please dont let one little topic ruin bonding and happiness between users. And thanks for the info you guys and the site.

[Greg West]

Its the same old thing. If someone told you to jump off of a cliff, would you? Just because something was written in a book, does not mean that, that is the only way to do things. I do not know much about water dragons, but i do know that they do require more vertical space than what you are providing. As Andrea said already, that book is really out dated as is a lot of books that are still on the market. I think if you are going to keep these animals you should visit more forums, and see that most everyone will tell you that you should have a taller cage. Don't you think that if everyone is telling you one thing, that you should start believing what information you are getting from everyone over what you read in a book, that is now severly outdated. Just my 2 cents

Greg West

[NewLineReptile]

Well i am not saying that you are wrong you more then likely right. Iike i said i dont know much about GWD i am into snakes and the only reason i got the WD was that i guy at the pet store said he had to get rid of them that he needed the room. So i got all 4 for $50 with the tank and i just thought getting them from a guy that work's in the pet store with the reptiles he would of known what he was talking about.
And i was also going by what i have read about them in books so i thought about what you said they needed for space and moved them into one of my old snake's cage that is
6'1/2 L x 4'1/2 H x 3' W so we will see how that work's for them. Like i said i am into bigger snake's and the odd Monitor.
But i never thought that Water dragons their size would need pretty much a tank/cage the size of my bigger snake cages but as for careing for them they are very well cared for maybe not cageing wise but they have a good cage now and they have always ate real good they are out allot of the time being held ECT and are taken out side allot as well for some freash air ECT. The reason i keeped posting and fighting with you was it pissed me off that you said i was CRUEL!. If there is one thing i am not it is cruel to my reptiles i have many reptiles and spend time with each and every one of them and make sure that they have freash water their tanks are alway's clean and they are feed on time and that they get time outside and with people so i think that i was more misslead then cruel in this case if you look in my gallery you will see most of my reptiles and that they are very healthy looking
i do have many big cages and tank's but i was going by what i was told and what i have read that water dragons needed so i guess i could of been wrong but even some of the world's best herp owner's can be wrong sometimes you learn new thing's every day in this hobby. But like i said i have put them in a bigger place now and i will know better if i ever get other Water dragon's

(Burmese python)

[andrea88]

"moved them into one of my old snake's cage that is
6'1/2 L x 4'1/2 H x 3' W"

That should be a good size for your two dragons, they will be really happy in there.

A good site to read up on general dragon care is: http://www.icomm.ca/dragon/
There is also a link to a yahoo WaterDragon discussion list somewhere on that page.
The *other* fourms over at "queensnake.com" have an active waterdragon forum as well and can answer any additional questions you have.
(But, I have to point out, this is why they say research *before* you get a herp...waterdragons are a lot of work compared to most snakes)

[coltiger]

Not starting this up again...just gonna add that I've been to Burmese's place many times. He got his Uro from me and he takes good care in looking after him as well as his other reptiles/snakes. All his collection are treated or should I say spoiled like lil kids lol.....just my two cents :medsmile:

[V.hb]

Philippe de Vosjoli has alot of good literature available on green water dragons. I would not say that its "outdated" information.
He has studied them quite thoroughly and I would actually recommend his book.. Keep in mind those books are sold in pet stores, so obviously they're gonna push tanks as that is what petstores sell. However, there is still a whole section on custom enclosures in the book being discussed..