How to Care for a Chinese Water Dragon: Price, Legality, and Common Misconceptions Explained
The Chinese water dragon, also known as the green water dragon or Indonesian water dragon, is a species of lizard native to the southeastern part of the Asian mainland. It is very docile in temperament and can grow healthily if given proper care. If you like keeping docile lizards that love to swim, the Chinese water dragon is an ideal choice. Adult Chinese water dragons are characterized by coloration ranging from dark to light green, with a white or pale yellow underside. So how much does a Chinese water dragon cost? Is it illegal to keep a Chinese water dragon? What are the methods and common misconceptions for keeping a Chinese water dragon?
How much does a Chinese water dragon cost
A wild Chinese water dragon costs about 120 yuan each for a 17 cm one (around Nanning), while those from breeding farms cost roughly double, with even hatchlings going for 150. Green iguanas are priced by size and color. There are red, green and blue ones; the most common is green at around 150 for a hatchling, while red ones are slightly more expensive and not very common. Blue ones are the most expensive and rarest, with prices varying but even the cheapest being four to five thousand, and that is the price for a hatchling. The chance of coming across one is also extremely, extremely slim.
Is it illegal to keep a Chinese water dragon
This species has been included in the "List of Terrestrial Wild Animals Protected by the State as Beneficial or of Important Economic or Scientific Research Value" issued by China's State Forestry Administration on August 1, 2000 [1].
Note: Illegally hunting or killing wild animals protected by the state will be subject to criminal law sanctions.
Listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species 2013 ver 3.1—-Endangered (EN).
Listed in the China Biodiversity Red List——Vertebrate Volume, with an assessment level of Endangered (EN).
Methods and common misconceptions for keeping Chinese water dragons
It is often said that keeping a Chinese water dragon requires a high-temperature environment, but many have also died from overheating; it is often said that Chinese water dragons should be fed lots of mealworms, yet some have died for no apparent reason. In fact, no matter what keeping method you use, you should not pursue extremes. Today we will address the many misconceptions about keeping Chinese water dragons.
I. The keeping environment for Chinese water dragons
1. Temperature: The daytime temperature should be between 28.9 and 31.1 °C, and at night between 23.9 and 26.7 °C. It is best to set up 2 thermometers in the enclosure, one to measure the cooler area and one to measure the warmer area. Incorrect temperatures can cause respiratory infections, slowed metabolism, indigestion and various other diseases. It is best to equip an automatic thermostat.
2. Lighting: Like many other reptiles, natural light is the best lighting. Unfortunately, however, most keepers cannot provide natural light, because living in an apartment building or residential area means only a small amount of sunlight can reach indoors. So providing an artificial UVB light source is a must. Therefore, a UVB lamp should be installed in the enclosure; incandescent bulbs only provide UVA, not UVB. Water dragons rely on UVB to synthesize vitamin D3 for calcium absorption; without UVB lighting, water dragons will have great difficulty absorbing calcium from food. UVB tubes can only be used for about 6 months; after 6 months they should be replaced even if they still light up.
The wavelength of UVB rays is 290 nm to 320 nm; ordinary fluorescent lamps and tubes used for illuminating plants cannot provide this kind of ray. So when buying, pay attention to whether it provides rays with a wavelength of 290 nm to 320 nm.
3. Heat source: A bulb also needs to be set up for the water dragon to bask under; either an ordinary incandescent bulb or a dedicated basking bulb can be used. Ceramic heat lamps are also an ideal heating tool, but be careful, because ceramic lamps get very hot, so do not let your water dragon come into contact with them.
II. Food choices for Chinese water dragons
1. Feeding frequency: Water dragons of different ages have different feeding frequencies. Generally speaking, newly hatched or juvenile water dragons need to be fed every day, while adult individuals can be fed once every 2 to 3 days, though many people feed them every day. If feeding every day, be careful not to feed too much, to avoid causing them to become overweight.
2. Food types: Crickets, mealworms, earthworms, locusts, small fish; some people also provide some vegetables and fruits for water dragons to eat. If your water dragon eats vegetables and fruits, then these should account for 10% to 15% of the food.
Insects are very nutritious. But they cannot be fed in excess, because insects contain high phosphorus, low calcium, and hard-to-digest shells. If fed in excess, it will affect the water dragon's health, so any insect should be fed to the water dragon together with other more nutritionally balanced foods (for example, adding some vegetables or calcium and vitamins). Some water dragons will eat fruits and vegetables, but most water dragons do not eat vegetables and fruits
III. Misconceptions about keeping Chinese water dragons
1. Misconceptions about food. Many friends who keep water dragons feed their beloved water dragons mealworms as the main staple, not knowing that mealworms have low nutritional value and are tough survivors; after the water dragon swallows them, they bite and damage the water dragon's internal organs, causing the water dragon to stop eating without any external injury until it dies. The correct foods for feeding water dragons are pork, beef, various fruits, crickets, grasshoppers, and various orthopteran insects, which are the water dragon's staple food. In addition, small birds or mammals such as sparrows and pinky mice can be fed as a supplement.
2. The sunbathing issue. Water dragons are ectothermic animals; basking in direct sunlight can easily lead to dehydration and a rapid rise in body temperature, causing sudden death. The correct way to sunbathe is to bask for one hour between 9 and 10 in the morning; while sunbathing, observe it often to prevent sudden death from occurring. If conditions do not allow, using UVB for 4 hours a day is enough.
3. The internal parasite issue. Most water dragons in the hands of keepers are also wild-caught, carrying more or less internal parasites; in the hands of a loving owner, comprehensive nutrition also makes those nasty things reproduce and grow faster, affecting the water dragon's healthy growth. After buying a water dragon, you should give it a bath and check whether there are parasites in its excrement. If there are, do not deworm immediately; it should be done after about two weeks of keeping, when the water dragon is healthy. It is best to use albendazole repeatedly twice with an interval of one month to one and a half months; if its constitution is poor, the interval needs to be longer.
4. Bathing. Water dragons are semi-aquatic lizards, so the keeping environment requires relatively high humidity; bathing can help it excrete and digest food, and can also prevent others from saying the water dragon smells bad.
5. Temperature difference. Although water dragons can tolerate a large temperature difference of “10 degrees”, frequent large temperature differences can easily cause indigestion, colds, etc., so try to avoid large temperature differences.
The Chinese water dragon is one of the more popular lizard species; it is relatively easy to keep, and its environmental requirements are not as high as those of other species, so it is also quite suitable for beginners to keep.