I recently bought 2 juvenile cwd's and spice is 14" and sugar is 12" and from what i've observed, they show no aggression towards each other so i'm assuming until further notice that i have either a male/female or both females, both eat fine, and do very well with my two different basking spots in my current 40 gallon tank that i'm only using until i start making my new tank with my grandpa. My grandpa has a very large work shop in his basement, he's an incredible architect, and i'm sure if i stayed with him for a week or two this summer he'd love making this with me. i just have a few questions: someone on yahoo answers said that to properly house 2 cwds i would need a 10ftx3ftx7ft lxwxh sized tank. that isn't possible, i have to be able to accommodate this in my room... so i was thinking more of 4ftx4ftx6ft and since i won't be finding something like that in a store, that's where making it will be nice for making it my way. But what should i use for the cage instead of Plexiglass since i don't want my cwds to get rot jaw or anything and are those dimensions good for these guys? i will have 2/3 of the base water and most of the thing just easy to climb and hide in. How on earth would i keep that humid? if i'm not using plexiglass and my room is normally very cold in winter and very warm in the summer, temps aren't my concern until i see how to keep the much larger cage warm, only the humidity. thanks for any help you can give, and if i can go smaller without being to small for my little buddies then please let me know, i just have an issue getting it upstairs in my room unless i make this thing in separate pieces which i'd prefer not to but if it's what must be done i'm willing to! thanks in advance
Don't worry about what people say on yahoo answers,it's generally somebody who just wants to be stuck up but really doesn't know anything...a 10x3x7 ft. enclosure would be great, but not absolutely necessary...I would say a 4x4x6 enclosure would do fine for a couple dragons...i would say 6 feet long by 4 feet deep and 4 feet tall...another suggestion is I have had my CWD's tank 2/3rds water and it really was not a great set up(i learned just how detrimental land was for them and he loves digging)... I would say 1/3 water with some sort of a canister filter would do fine (just make sure it's cleaned out heavily and often)...I mean 1/3 is still a 2x4 foot pool!
oh my god! thank you so much, this is the first feed back i've gotten from anyone on here, and would you think a 36"x18"x16" cage would be alright for them since they are both near 1 foot as of now and they only have to wait until this summer before a) i can make my own or i get a job and buy the larger one?
well a tank that size would be fine until they hit around 14" or so...and let me tell you they grow VERY fast after they hit the 1 foot mark...plus once they begin growing and hit close to 2 feet they will get much more territorial and aggressive in an enclosure under 200 gallons (ideal for 1 CWD)...the bare minimum for two 2 foot CWDs (in my opinion) would be 4-6 feet long x 3 feet deep x 4 feet tall...a 4' x 4' x 3' size enclosure would be just under 400 gallons which is twice the size for 1 dragon by itself...
well i'm probably building one about 4 long x 4 wide x 6 tall for them to climb in, having multiple basking areas/food/etc
Thats a great size for them...a 4 x 4 x 6 (just for your info) is around 750 gallons!! Thats plenty of space for them to cruise around in...just make sure you have enough basking/shade/water ect like you mentioned before...what I've noticed is my WD likes both flat surfaces to bask on and branches...so I would add both if you can Another thing I've seen my water dragon love is screen walls to climb on...idk why but he just cruises wherever he needs to go on them! Just in case you wanna maximize climbing room with screen I build them like this: 1) Get "Egg Crate" from a local fish store (mainly saltwater fish stores, its a crosshatch pattern made of 1/4 inch thick plastic) 2) wrap screening material (for sliding screen doors, buy at Home Depot for $4) around the egg grate 3) Secure the screen to the egg crate with zip-ties and nail the piece to the wood wall in the enclosure They love to climb around and can even go inverted
alright i'll try that, cause i want to be able to keep them both in the same enclosure and i think ones a boy and the other is a girl, and it would be awesome to make sure they can do their own thing without getting cranky and throwing a hissy or anything but do they like length more than height?
"length more than height?" Uh I've seen so many mixed ideas as to that question, to be honest I don't know the answer. My suggestion is your 4' tall by 6' long and 4' deep idea...that is a good enclosure size! The minimum length (I would say) would be 3'-4' but only if you have good depth and heighth. The minimum heighth (I would say) is 25"-30". If you have good heighth (like 3-4 feet or so) make sure you utilize it with branches and vines and plants...nothing looks and functions worse than a huge terrarium with no obstacles or accessories...just make sure you regulate the temperature throughout the enclosure
i've heard that water dragons tend to lik taller aquariums because they are arboreal creatures. i know my little guy loves to climb. i put a vine in there & he loves it.
then i'll probably go with the 4x4x6 as apposed to the 6x4x4 so they can climb and still be plenty long for them
