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Chinese Water Dragons

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What is a Chinese Water Dragon

Chinese Water Dragons (Physignathus Cocincinus) are sturdy and beautiful
creatures. They are native to southern parts of China as well as southern/southeastern Asia,
Laos, eastern Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam & Cambodia. They can be found in
forests near rivers, or anywhere near fresh water. They are very similar to an Iguana, yet Chinese Water Dragons
are much smaller than iguanas, tending to grow only to about 3 feet long. They also make wonderful pets and do not require
alot of care.

Appearances::

Chinese Water Dragons are green, ranging from a dark to light green. Vertical slanted stripes of deep green or turquoise are found on the body. Their bellies are white or pale yellow, and their throats can be very colorful (yellow,peach,or orange,). The tail is long and narrow and the designs on it are bands of green and brown They can also use it as a weapon to defend themselves. . Adult males are distingished by their large heads while the females head is smaller, and develop larger crests on the back of the head and neck.

Feeding your Chinese Water Dragon

Correct Food to feed a Water Dragon

There are many things that you can offer your Water Dragon but there are also things that
you shouldn't offer. Here are a few things that you should offer to your dragon:

Things you should feed to your Dragon

Crickets
Wax worms
Earthworms
Pinkies (baby hairless mice) Tofu
·Small feeder fish (such as goldfish)
Lettuce (but has no nutritional value)
Carrot
Kail (alot of the dark leaved foods)

Watering ideas

Alot of Chinese Water Dragons like to swim and sit and soak in the water so please be sure that you have a big
enough water bowl for your lizard.Be sure it is cleaned at least every other day. Your
Water Dragon will probably use the water bowl as a toilet. So if you do wait a couple days
to change it, you might want to get a filter or pump to keep it cleaner longer. Room temp.is fine fine for it. When you clean the water container, be sure to use a mild soap and rinse well making sure all of the soap is gone.

Sources of calcium
You can find the calcium powder that your water dragon needs at your local pet store.
Make sure it is Phophorous free and that it has Vitamin D3.
You can also get multivitamin powders you can find at the pet store to help with your Water Dragons growth and health.
Water dragons love to be misted down so you can add a bit of the Herpavite to the water and let the vitamins soak into their skin as well.

Chinese Water Dragon Resources

Things pertaining to Water Dragons

Chinese Water Dragon
The Chinese Water Dragon: Info & Resources on Care, Habitat, Diet, Cage Setup of Chinese Water Dragons
Tricia's Chinese Water Dragons
Water dragons are wonderful
lizards! If you get your dragon going properly you will have a fairly tame, non
aggressive pet! I have written this care guide
specifically for Chinese water dragons but there are a few other species
kingsnake.com - the information portal for reptile and amphibian hobbyists.
kingsnake.com - the information portal for reptile and amphibian hobbyists.

Things You dont Feed a Water Dragon

Foods that will harm your Dragon

You do not want to feed your Water Dragon something that might be too big and would bind it up so make sure that the bites are the appropriate size. The size of the food item should be no longer than the length of the head, and no wider than half the width of the head, and preferably about one third the width of the head. Water Dragons love pinkie mice and can tolerate them, just make sure they are not too big for them to digest.

Things not to feed your Dragon

Broccoli
Tomatoes
Oranges
Tofu
Or anything acidic

Water Dragons

Chinese Water Dragon...Reptile Cuisine
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Care of your Water Dragon

Care and Housing of a Chinese Water Dragon

Caring for your Chinese Water Dragon
Chinese water dragons make some of the best pets. If you want to keep a Chinese water dragon as a pet, here are some helpful tips to help you care for your new pet:

Enclosure - Chinese water dragons need large enclosures. The smallest sized enclosure you can get for an adult is an enclosure that is 6 feet in length, 3 feet in depth and about 6 feet in height. But hese enclosures will have to be custom made and will be expensive. , it might be best if you keep only one Dragon til you find out the sex of your dragon. a male and a female usually get along, but two females or two males will always show aggression unless they have a lot of space.

Furnishing the Enclosure -Water Dragons are climbers so you will want alot of branches for the to climb and bask on. Be sure to choose furnisings that will not harm them if they scratch or ingest it. sphagnum moss is good to cover sterilized potting soil.You can also use things such as cypress mulch, peat, sand, clean soil or paper. Ferns and hibiscus and staghorn ferns and dracena make good plants to add into your enclosure.

Water and Humidity - Chinese water dragons need a lot of water. The water source should be deep and large so that the dragon can comfortably submerge itself in it. Clean the water on a daily basis. Humidity should be kept at around 80 percent and the enclosure needs to be misted at least once or twice daily. Live potted plants will help with the humidity.

Lighting and Heat - Ideally, daytime temperature should be kept somewhere between 84 - 88 degrees F, with a spot for basking at 90 degrees F. The night temperatures should be dropped to 75 - 80 degrees F. A combination of ceramic heat element, basking light, under tank heat tape and heat pads should be used. A UVA/UVB fluorescent lighting fixture can also be used.

Illnesses and Infections to watch for

Signs that your Dragon may be sick

Parasites

If you think your Dragon has a parasite or an infection you need to learn what signs to look for. that your lizard have a parasite infection or want to know what to look
for, If they have parasites, they will tend to be less active. Their eyes don't seem to be
too much open. Their stool could be less formed and could smell really bad. If you see
those signs in your Dragon(s), take them to a vet for actual diagnosis and to get the right medicines for it. Before
you go to get him check out, you'll need a fresh stool sample to take it. If you get it the
night before you go, it can be stored in the fridge over night. Do not store it in the freezer. Be careful and try not get
the white clumps. That is their urine.

Eye infections

If your lizard eye has puss in it and is closed alot, there is a possibility it has an eye infection. What
you can do is buy a turtle eye rinse at a local pet store and put it in its eye a couple
times a day. This might be caused by the bedding you use. If you use wood chips as
bedding you should probably change it if this happens more than once. If keeps happening
and doesn't go away after using the eye rinse, you should take it to a vet to see if
there is any serious eye damage.

Stomatitis (mouth rot)

Stomatitis is a bacterial infection that settles into the water dragons gum tissue, palate or tongue.
If yousee this take it to the vet for treatment. because if you do not right away it can spread all the way to the jaw bone. This can be caused
by snout damage. You can tell if your lizard has it by looking in its mouth and seeing it has
yellowish whitish plaque on its gums. You will probably even see spots on its gums.
This is a serious matter, so be sure to take your lizard to a vet if this occurs.

Shedding problems

Shedding problems are caused by the humidity levels being too low. Moisture is what
gets the shedding off. Be sure to keep the Humidity around 80 percent to help with the natural process of shedding.

Constipation/Diarrhea

It isn't that hard to tell if your lizard is constipated. They usually do their business in or near
the water. To help your lizard get back to what it needs to do, put a drop or two of mineral
oil in its mouth (make sure it swallows it) and even rubbing some on the rectum helps. If
nothing happens in a day or so, repeat the process untill something happens. If still nothing,
take it to the vet. If your lizard does do its business, but its diarrhea, it's most likely it has a
parasite infection. To read more about that, go back to the index and click Parasite Infection.

Breeding and Incubation

How to care for the eggs

Breeding/incubation

In the winter months when the photoperioud has lessened your male water dragon should
become more sexually active. It will chase the female(s) and will bite their necks and hold
them down. This is normal so don't worry about it if you see it but moniter the female well.
She could start to get open wounds on her neck. If you see an open wound you should
seperate them untill her neck heals, then put them back together. Also make sure that
she doesn't start to hide and that she still gets food. You won't be able to know if she is
pregnant untill after a month or so. Her stomach will start to get bigger if she is. Some
time after January she should be due. Make sure that she has a spot to lay her eggs. You
should make the substrate a mixture of sand, soil and peat moss and make it about 8 - 12
inchs deep. After she lays her egg's, make sure that you get to them before the other
female(s) does (if you have another female). When you handle the eggs, be sure to wear
sterilized gloves. .

Incubation

There's two things that you can do to incubate the eggs. You can either go to your local
pet store and buy a "Hovabater", or make your own. If you wish to make your own, here's
what you need. I have always just used an incubator from the pet store but I found this one that can be made, on the internet.

20 gallon aquairium
75 watt submersible aquairium heater
small plastic container
thermostat to control the heater
1 or 2 bricks
styrofoam for the lid
electronic thermometer

Now how to make it. Take the 20 gallon aquairium and fill it with 3 inchs of water. Place
the bricks down in the water and set the plastic container on the bricks. Put some vermiculite
in the container along with the electric thermometer's sensor and put the actual thermometer
outside the tank. Place the styrofoam on the on the tank and let the water heat up for a day
or so. Adjust the thermostat untill it reaches 85F exactly. After the cage is set, place the eggs
into the container (using sterilized gloves) on the vermiculite and cover the eggs with some
sphagnum moss. Monitor the temperature everyday and make sure it's at 85F. Take a look at
the eggs too. If you see one that has become discolored or rotten, remove it because it will
make the other eggs go bad too. If you take care of them well they should hatch around
60 - 70 days.

Temperuature and Lighting of your Enclosure

To keep your Dragon Healthy and Comfortable

Water:
A large water bowl for soaking, swimming, and drinking is required and also helps with raising the humidity. A water bowl should be available at all times and should be deep enough to go halfway up the side of your Water Dragon. A rock or branch placed in the bowl can help the dragon get out without any difficulties.

Basking Temperature:
A basking temperature of 85 degrees using a basking lamp on one side of the cage over supportive branches is ideal for a temperature gradient. Ambient temperatures can be around 75-80 degrees. UVB lighting is also required for proper calcium and D3 levels. Be sure you have a cool down area as well for them, and the water helps.

Humidity Requirements:
Chinese Water Dragons require high levels of humidity of 80-90 percent to shed properly. You can mist the cage several times a day with a water sprayer, or purchase a mister to do it for you. A water bowl positioned in a warm area of the cage can also help raise the humidity.

Chinese Water Dragons In The News

SpaceX to finish historic mission to ISS this week
It takes approximately four and a half hours for Dragon to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere from the ISS. Once Dragon lands in the water, boats will carry an experienced dive team to the floating spacecraft. They will secure the vehicle and tow it to ...
Award-Winning Documentary "The Keeper of the Keys" Helps People Thrive in Change
?2012 is the Year of the Water Dragon, which occurs every 60 years. From a Feng Shui standpoint, the year of the Water Dragon brings many possibilities for good fortune. In Chinese legend, dragons are shape-shifters, and water shares the same ...
Dragons on the water
By Jeff Labine, tbnewswatch.com Christina Haveman has returned to defend her former school's title as champion of the Youth Dragon Boat Festival. Haveman, a Grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute, returned to her ...
Animator Cotty Kilbanks Sets Up Shop in Easton
... animation to water color painting to fashion illustration. There's also classes in animae -- the popular Japanese artform -- and something called "Dragons, Monsters, and Robots," which Kilbanks says is as popular with adults as it is with children.
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Setting up the Enclosure

You will need a cage or aquarium that can hold humidity, as Chinese Water Dragons require high humidity environments. You can use an aquarium and use saran wrap over the screen on top (only part way so you don't
overheat the cage) to retain humidity. Make sure the saran wrap doesn't get too close to the heat lamp as to cause a fire. As your dragon gets bigger you might have to build a custom cage. You will want to consider using heavy plastic for sides, or some other material that will retain humidity.

Cage Setup:
Chinese Water Dragons prefer to live in the trees. Lots of branches with foliage and basking areas are ideal for a Chinese Water Dragon. There are many substrates out on the market today that you may use.So a cage that is taller is better than one that is wider at it's base.

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Chinese Water Dragons Feedback

  • aalite Apr 28, 2012 @ 9:07 pm | delete
    The water dragons look great! I wish I could keep them but they are two big for my small flat. I'm restricted to small reptiles, I'm afraid!
  • r2fish May 30, 2011 @ 4:20 am | delete
    These little monster looks amazing and so fascinating.
  • LizMac60 Oct 12, 2010 @ 4:02 pm | delete
    What charmiing little creatures.
  • LoKackl Sep 16, 2010 @ 3:16 pm | delete
    Very helpful to anyone curious about Chinese water dragons for pets. Blessed.
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Neisie

Hi, My name is Denise or Neisie Carlson, whichever you prefer. I love to read, and ride horses and raise bearded dragons. I work at Sugar Creek Foods... more »

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