New To reptiles and forum. Water Dragon Habitat/Injury Help.

Discussion in 'Water Dragons' started by twistedshiek, Apr 21, 2007.

  1. twistedshiek

    twistedshiek Embryo

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    Hi, New to the forums... I Recently got a CWD and been doing pretty good with him atm however some things have come up which I will be taken to vet next week for what I believe he needs is some antibiotics

    Current Setup Which I will be upgrading when some more cash is available in the up coming weeks...

    10 Gallon Tank (tomorrow I should have a 20 gallon long).
    Piece of Drift Wood that is high enough to come and go under.
    Exo-Terra Under tank Heater.
    Tuba ware Dish that he can submerge himself in completely if needed.
    UVB Tropical Florissant Tube and a 75 Watt Bulb for more heat but will be getting a Ceramic Basking. And I Mist the tank once a day... or more if looking to dry...

    He is over 12" Long...

    Recent Problem: Hurt Finger that is swollen and barely used... and bump under the tip of the mouth (expected from rubbing Face against the glass allot)...


    I plan to Buy a 18 x 18 x 24 Exo-terra tank and do some heavy adding to give him a better habitat within the next month or so....

    Any Suggestions would be accepted...


    Note: I’ve been using Neosporin on his finger and under the chin to help as recommended by petsmart and other local Pet places around.

    Edit
    Here is a pic of my lil buddy

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  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. Tux

    Tux Well-Known Member

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    RE: New To reptiles and forum.. Tips Requested.

    moving to water dragons forum and modifying title to fit subject better.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. Spazzy3

    Spazzy3 New Member

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    Re: New To reptiles and forum. Water Dragon Habitat/Injury H

    Whats the temps in the tank? With such a small tank and that big of bulbs it might be getting to hot for him.
    What the humidity level at?
    I mist my tank 5+ times a day trying to keep the humidity up until I have enough money for a fogger/mister.


    Just IMO if your planning on keeping him in the tank for that long I could go with a 40+gal at least, a 20 gal tank is just big enough for 2 anoles, even for a 12" water dragon its still really small. Plus if you get a good size one now, you wont have to change it for a while. Changing environments stresses them out a lot.
    Remember, Chinese water dragons need more "up" space, than floor space. They're deffinetly climbers and would much rather have a taller tank, than wider. Make sure you give him plenty of branches to climb on too..


    For the nose rubbing, mine used to do that too. Just put anything that they cant se through around the outside on the bottom of the tank. Probably about 2-3inches high. Like brown paper, duct tape, etc. Doesnt exactly look that great, But it works.

    Hope this helps..
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. twistedshiek

    twistedshiek Embryo

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    Re: New To reptiles and forum. Water Dragon Habitat/Injury H

    Thanx... for moving to correct forum for me.. was super tired last night trying to sleep because had to be at petsmart ( my new job ) at 7am and didnt sleep till 4am hehe... figures ..


    Yes Currently in his small tank i have Green Folders Tapped there so he cant see out... but in the front i have a small peice of wood in the way so he can still see out but not when on the ground..

    I am planing on buying a 18 x 18 x 24 Exo-Terra tank shortly but not stopping there i am gonna be Merging like 2 of the together to make a Really Nice interesting tank for him..

    Tank Temp is 88 - 92 Depending on room temp it changes a bit..

    Also on 5th i will be buying ZooMed Ceramic Heat Emitters, and a few more things to help plus a mister

    Today bought more Crickets and some "TetraFauna Reptocal Powdered Nutrition supplement" For him
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. Spazzy3

    Spazzy3 New Member

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    Re: New To reptiles and forum. Water Dragon Habitat/Injury H


    I think the tank temp is kinda high. The basking spot should be 90-95 but the general tank temp should be around 80-85.

    Do you know the humidity level?
    It should be at 80%
    It can be kinda hard to keep it up in a tank if you have a screen top like I do. I f you do just cover half of the top with plastic to help keep it in, it usualy works pretty well.
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. twistedshiek

    twistedshiek Embryo

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    RE: Re: New To reptiles and forum. Water Dragon Habitat/Inju

    Actually i think i will do that, Cover half of it... Humidity i dun currently know i still have to buy a meter which i will be getting in the new 2 days... or soon as i work again.

    Well i have the Main light till i buy the ceramic heat emitter is a 75 watt bulb but its only on the one side of the tank to give a Gradient....

    But once i have the Temperary ( 20 Gallon Tank ) i can monitor a lil bit better.
     
  12. Spazzy3

    Spazzy3 New Member

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    Re: RE: Re: New To reptiles and forum. Water Dragon Habitat/


    Do you have a UVB light? If not you really need to get one.
    Do you have a pic of the setup?
     
  13. shortygirl

    shortygirl Well-Known Member

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    RE: Re: RE: Re: New To reptiles and forum. Water Dragon Habi

    Hey there,

    Well, your lil guy is cute, for one! :lol:

    He does seem to have the beginning of nose rub. A good amount of foliage is needed to keep these guys (specially babies/juvies) faces intact. I get my plants from the dollar store for much cheaper than the pet store.

    Humidity is a big requirement for these guys. Prior to moving them to their "Teenage Tanks", I had my guys in 40 gallon tanks. I use a Tropic-aire air exchanger & it worked great. For the larger tanks (measuring 4' tall x 4' high x 2' deep) I use a regular room humidifier, got it at Ace.

    All UVB's were not created equally! Depending on the brand you have, that could be a reason for the swollen limbs. A good tube is the Repti-Sun 5.0 or 10.0. These guys don't have the higher UVB requirements as say, a beardie, so the 5.0 will do just fine. I personally use Megaray's because my tanks are way to tall for a tube light.

    They need a basking spot, and being dinural lizards, it's best to use a light emitting bulb. Basking temps should be 91-95 degrees, with an ambiant of 82-84 degrees. At night, I keep my tanks in the 70's. That's when you can use the CHE, since they don't give off light, just heat.

    What foods are you offering & what kind of supplements do you use? Also, have you checked out Tricia's Water Dragon Page? It's a good source of info on care & such.

    You'll definately need a new tank ASAP. I started mine in 40's, and they grew out of them in, oh about 5-6 months (possibly quicker, I can't rightly remember). They need space to climb, but also enough ground space, with a large water source with an air stone (or something else) to make the water move. It should be deep enough so they can completely submerge if they want to, and large enough for them to stretch out in it.

    I'm going to post pics of my females set-up, maybe it will give you an idea. I think I spent about $100 on construction. It's 4x2 pieces of sealed melamine, with a 4x2 plexiglass front. I use organic soil, moss & repti-bark as substrate, and the tree is a regular house tree from Lowes. The water is an extra large kitty litter pan.

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    Hope that helps some! And welcome to RR too. :)

    ~Michelle
     
  14. twistedshiek

    twistedshiek Embryo

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    RE: Re: RE: Re: New To reptiles and forum. Water Dragon Habi

    Thank you for the welcome.... And yes gives me more ideas....

    I have a 3d Program i am working on... Soon as i get a 3d Model of what i am going for i will post it.

    I will keep updates on how he is doing


    Edit: I will post a Full Picture of the setup soon.... but i didnt buy much at this stage because i was already planing for a bigger tank
     
  15. twistedshiek

    twistedshiek Embryo

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    RE: Re: RE: Re: New To reptiles and forum. Water Dragon Habi

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  16. shortygirl

    shortygirl Well-Known Member

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    RE: Re: RE: Re: New To reptiles and forum. Water Dragon Habi

    Hey Twisted,

    He definately needs more foliage & cover. They're from the deep jungles, often found hanging out in partial clearings by moving water such as rivers & streamlets, but prefer to be able to hide & will retreat to the trees & heavy cover if startled.

    He may not use that water dish as much as he should...they don't "recognize" water that isn't moving more often that not. A simple air pump & stone will do just fine.

    I hope you're upgrading the tank size soon, he's much to cramped and there's no height to speak of unfortunately. Also, the round dial gauges should be relaced with digital ones. The dial gauges are good for ambiant, but not basking (and they've been known to be up to 20* inaccurate). You might want to cover a portion of your tanks top so that the humidity stays in (just another good use for Press~N~Seal).

    ~Michelle
     
  17. Sensation

    Sensation New Member

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    Since you are trying to save money you should just buy a huge rubermaid container for him to live in (preferably clear plastic). Its definatly better than a 40 gallon and its way cheaper. Cut part of the lid off and use metal screaning to hold the lights on ontop of the lid. I have used rubermaid containers for many of reptiles and it works great. Good luck.
     
  18. twistedshiek

    twistedshiek Embryo

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    Actually its not that i am trying to save money infact money doesnt matter to me its that i just havnt had it over the last 3 weeks... Some Over Due Bills came up...

    Yes i am upgrading his tank extremely soon... i have big plans...
    He actually goes int he dish all the time ..... He sat in it for a few hours last night infact.

    But yea i am buying a 18 x 18 x 24 Exo-terra tank and after buying another and putting together for a really tall tank....
    Will have the Rock Wall on it plus lots of plants and stuff and i am working out plans for an actual Stream inside of the tank that uses filter systems for clean water and a Trap for waste
     
  19. Sensation

    Sensation New Member

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    Im afraid an 18 x 18 x 24 Exo-terra tank wont be big enough for your dragon. That would only be good for a baby wd. I suggest you just buy or build a big enough tank for him to last his life. Hes still going to be cramped in a tiny tank like that. Or like I said before just get a big rubbermaid container. Good luck with your dragon.
     
  20. twistedshiek

    twistedshiek Embryo

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    well as i was saying its not just 1 tank its gonna be to so its 48 tall

    its basicly being made in cubicals right now but he will have plenty of room... .after i am dun
     
  21. Gargoyle

    Gargoyle Member

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    Just to give you an idea of the space needed for these guys - I keep mine in a 5x4x2 viv. He has three different height levels to give him a good range of temps and climbing spots. Plenty of foliage with 2 UV tubes - 1 at the top, 1 halfway down and a neomydium sun glo spot bulb for a basking spot. His water bowl covers 1/3 of the floor space.

    From looking at your set-up apart from it being too small there really is no where for the little guy to hide. This will cause him to get stressed really easily - and as we all know stress is a killer in reptiles.
     
  22. spazzmitazz88

    spazzmitazz88 New Member

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    hey michelle whta type of plant do you have in your cwd's cage??
     
  23. shortygirl

    shortygirl Well-Known Member

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    Mine are all fake plants from AC Moore & the dollar store, with the exception of the tree, which is a "house tree" from Lowe's. She LOVES her tree. I find that the fake plants are the way to go with these guys, they will trample anything else. The tree holds up well enough, but I still have to replace them occasionally. I have a piece of tree limb across her whole tank, which is also real (though dead).

    ~Michelle
     
  24. spazzmitazz88

    spazzmitazz88 New Member

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    oh nice i relly want a cdw right now im balencing between a b&w tegu and sav monitor oor a cwd i have no attention span i cant make a decision.

    -patrick- :D
     
  25. tomtom

    tomtom New Member

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    I agree with everyone, he looks very cramped in that tank and 18 x 18 x 24 wont be big enough, I understand you are going to put 2 tanks together, and I hope that works. my plans that I am building very soon are going to make my cage 5 ft tall, 6 ft long, and 2 ft deep. I'm cutting a hole in the floor for a big rubbermaid container for the water, with a drain and a filter. Im lining the floor with carpet, rocks, branches, and moss. the whole setup I estimated to cost around $300, but there are ways to save money. I think you should really invest in a very large enclosure that will last his whole life.
     

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