I currently have 2 water dragons-one that we adopted about 9 months ago and another that my sister got but was unable to care for. The smaller of the two is very active and very green. The one we adopted has been a little stressed because of the cats (which we finally got trained to stay off the cage) and doesn't seem to care for a lot of noise. I moved him to the bedroom which he seems to like a lot better. The last time he shed though he didn't seem to shed all of his skin and now has brown patches around his head, stomach and legs. I have been putting him in the bathtub at least a couple times a week, and bought the spray from the pet store that is supposed to aid in shedding. He still has the patches though. He eats great and is moderately active. He seems a little on the small side and his tail doesn't seem to be as long as the smaller one. Of course it's hard to tell what he had gone through before we got him. We try to give him a variation of crickets, meal worms, and super worms. He won't touch veggies or fruit at all. I gut load the crickets and generally they are dusted. He does need a larger cage which we are hoping to take care of after Christmas. He is currently in a 29L. For that tank we have the UV lights-one for day, one for night; the temp is usually between 80-84 but the humidity is pretty low normally (around 40%). Is there something I should be doing but am not? I just wanna make sure he lives a long healthy life. Sherri
Hello and welcome to the forums I have a couple questions for you... 1. Could you clarify your lighting situation. You mention you have UV lights - one for night and day? I just want to make sure you have the correct lights. You need to have a basking light for warm temps, but also a UVB light. Many basking bulbs are sold as "uv" lights - but they only have UVA not UVB. UVB is essential for growth, calcium absorption and overal health. Its important you have a good UVB bulb, and that it is replaced every 6 months. There are many brands of UVB bulbs out there - and some are better than others. Make sure you use a good bulb - an excellent brand is the Repti-sun (not glo) 10.0 - you want the straight tube variety, not the coiled or compact variety as these have been known to cause issues. If you are unsure as to whether you have a good UVB bulb or not - you should go buy one to be on the safe side. A good way to tell is the amount of money spent on the bulbs...regular heat bulbs usually cost a few dollars, UVB bulbs at the petstore will cost 40-50$. The reason i suspect you may not have the correct bulb is you mentioned having a uv light for night and day - this makes me think you have a black or red light bulb for the night time - which would mean you have a heat bulb, not a UVB bulb. 2. The humidity needs to be higher. Ideally they should have a humidity level of 80%. Do you have a digital thermometer/humidity gauge? A dial variety is not acurate so digital is going to be key. Do you have a large water dish in the tank (a kitty litter pan works well)? The dragon should be able to sit in the dish and be half covered by water - and the dish should be large enough to splash around in. Are you spraying down the tank? A misting bottle (I prefer the pressurized pump action variety over the hand sprayers - you can buy them at any hardware store, walmart, home depot, lowes etc) spraying the tank down several times a day will help with the humidity. Live plants such as Pothos will also help with humidity. 3. How large is the dragon? Unless he is very tiny you are quite right that a 29g is too small. 4. The temps are a bit low - should be closer to 85-90 degrees in the basking site. Again, are you using a digital thermometer? A digital thermometer is essential to make sure that the temps in the basking site are really the temp that you think they are. Dont stress that he isnt big on veggies - a lot of them arent, but keep offering them as ideally he should be eating some. Just to clarify - the dragons arent housed together, are they? from your post it sounds as if they arent but i just wanted to check - if they are then this is likely a huge stressor on him and he would benefit from his own cage. Check out http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/dragoncr.htm for GREAT CWD info - it has all the care info you need
