wel im going to build a water dragon enclosure for 3 cwds this will house them for life i hope its 8ft long 4ft wide and 4ft high is that good for a trio?
I would make it at least 6 feet high, otherwise, it seems okay. Be careful on those lifetime pairings. Male-male mixes can really stress one another out, especially if there's a female in there. In that scenario, they might outright fight. In male-female mixes, he can actually overbreed her, causing a calcium deficiency through the laying of too many eggs that will greatly shorten her lifespan.
why is it that it has to be 6 feet i know that they are aboreal but wont 4 feet of climbing space be fine?
well that depends....when you are playing with multiple animals your best bet is to give them as much space as possible. The smaller the space, the more likely they will fight or stress each other out. If 4ft is "ok" but 6ft is great, why not go with great? Mim
because to go from ok to great will cost me an extra 90 dollars on top of 160 dollars that i dont have. the time is an other thing i could get the 8x4x4 done in a matter of a mounth but to get a 8x4x6 it will take me 3-5 months because malimine comes in 8x4 pieces and id need 3 more to build it to "great" spefs. and having to modify the cuts to inter-lock with a butt joint takes hours on end just to do that to one sheet.
well i just called my buddie who owns a pet store and has delt with water dragons and he says that i am giving them more space than most people do with their wd's so its no longer a problem because he knows what hes talking about.
Your best bet is to see if you can get the water dragons to a keeper who can afford their care. What happens when they need to go to the vet because one of them nipped the other's foot off? Just some things to think about. Did your friend mention any of this to you? Is he going to be there to loan you the money when an unexpected problem arises? Let me guess, he sold you the dragons. Please be careful, these are living, breathing, feeling creatures and some people fail to realize that before they actually have to watch the poor thing suffer and die right in front of their face. It's a hard lesson learned, my friend. The people here are the ones you want to listen to unless your friend can prove to you that he's up on the most recent care information for these animals. Just ask him where he's getting his knowledge from. If he shows you a book take a look at the publish date and if it's more than 3 years old it's old information. The people here are actively researching and seeking the most up to date care for these animals. Just be smart about the decisions you make or before you know it you'll feel like crap because you know you killed your pet. After all what choice did it have but to live the way you forced it to. Good luck....
I used to keep 3 dragons (2 male, 1 female) in a cage that I built; the cage was 4 x 4 x 6 feet. I can tell you that this cage wasn't close to being large enough, and this before they were full grown. These three dragons were quite crowded in there. We converted to just letting them run wherever they want in the house (as long as they're adults, juvies would be able to hide to easily), but they usually just keep to the fake trees we got at the store ($20 a piece), and the dragons LOVE them. I would personally only keep dragons in a cage if there was one in a cage by itself AND it was that large; that would be the only way that my dragons would be happy. Also, just because you give a dragon more room than the average person doesn't mean that it's plenty of room; I've seen people stick full grown dragons in cages that they can hardly move around in. Good luck.
Guignoff, do you think I could keep one male and two females in an enclosure that would be 6'HX5'WH3'D? Right now I only have two WDs and they are babies (in a 33g), but I plan on possibly getting one more female, to altern for the male.
I think if anyone is not willing to give the max space as possible then maybe they shouldn't be getting water dragons. If it's going to cost more money and they are thinking they can't afford it, then maybe they should try something lower maintence, lower cost. I'm not trying to be mean but often people see water dragons and see their colouration and how they act and can't bear to be without one. But if they can't afford to keep them or can't think about any future costs without shuddering then they shouldn't be having such a wonderful lizard after all. These lizards are exotic pets, you can't domesticate them as such and get them to fit in the space you want. You have to bear in mind that you will have to be capable of providing all you possibly can. AND IT'S HARD WORK! We have to choice to have a bigger flat/house/room. These precious beings don't. They get given what we give them. Again, this is not designed as a lecture, or to tell anyone off, but just a thought.
Actually, it's not too expensive to make a fair sized enclosure. You just have to think outside the box, or you can forget about boxes all together. If you buy lumber, you have to think about what type will best suit the conditions, if you go with screen/mesh you have to worry about injuries (burns/scrapes/cut) more frequently and humidity. Glass or plexiglass can run a pretty penny, depending on where you live that is. I can easily make a simple 3'x3'x7' for well under $120 canadian. Go to some of the smaller hardware stores and look for "replacement" materials instead of going to a big chain store, ie. Home Depot/Revy's/Ronas (for north americans), and paying through the nose for over priced materials. On a side note. BE CAREFUL WITH MELAMINE/MDF/PARTICLE BOARD. It swells like mad if it gets wet.
why do people ask for advice if there not going to take it?! morons i feel bad having my single baby WD in a 3ftx1.5ftx1.5ft aqaurium (only 10inches or so including tail) there was actually 2, buuuuuuuuut one had to get put down, vet was unsure what was wrong with him and i didn't have $400 to figure it out when he would have died anyways. i forget the name, but who said they let their adults roam the house? what about humidity?
I have draclyn in a small tank but she gets to get out a roam alot. SHe really only in there when I am not home or asleep. It's kinda of like crating a cat or dog. But it has enough room for roaming and jumping and playing at the moment. I am getting her a bigger one as soon as I can afford it because I think she is about to hit a growth sprut... And as far as Humidity in the house.....I love having those small desk top water falls. I have three in my bed room, one is perfect for a water dragon. It pools at the bottom to create a nice little swimming whole for Draclyn. Even the snakes like it too. ANd the water doesn't fall to harsh. ANd the heat in my room in that one area crates a nice bit of humidty that my venus flytrap thrives wonderfully.
It was me... lol... well, yes the humidity is a problem. Personally, I would not let baby's roam the house as they are more susceptible to problems that result from humidity, but the adults are much more healthy and prepared to take on any potential problems. My dragon is an adult. So, to the question about humidity. I steam him often. I bring my dragon into the bathroom, put him on the towel rack, and turn the shower on hot. I just leave the bathroom, come back 10 minutes later and turn the shower off. I do this several times after the steam has gone. It sure brings that humidity up really high. Even if it is just for a short period of time, at least he gets that moist air. I would like do do this more often, but i prolly do this about twice a week. I have not had any serious health problems with my dragon, and I live in a desert (new mexico) and he has been an adult for about 4 years, so I do think that this works well... at least in my situation. Hope that helps clear things up for ya. Cheers, Quignoff
i have to say that your dragons would benfit more from the hight then the lenghf so 6 to 8 feet high would be more benificial as dragons like to clime at different hights, this is good for exersice as well as different tempertured areas.
