How to Keep a Chinese Water Dragon? Care Methods and Precautions
The Chinese water dragon, also known as the lizard, is a reptile of the family Iguanidae, genus Physignathus. It is very docile in temperament and can grow healthily with proper care. Its belly appears white or light yellow, the male has a relatively large and broad head, and a longer dorsal crest. If you like keeping docile lizards that love swimming, the Chinese water dragon is an ideal choice. Let's take a look below at how to keep a Chinese water dragon!
Chinese Water Dragon Market Price
The price of Chinese water dragons varies by region, generally around 500 yuan.
Chinese Water Dragon Keeping Environment
The main principle for the Chinese water dragon's keeping environment is to maintain humidity, set up in a tropical rainforest style. Because water dragons are all diurnal, semi-aquatic reptiles, the substrate can be made of bark chips mixed with sterile soil, humidity should be kept above 80%, and water must be sprayed at least 2 times a day to maintain high humidity. UVB is also essential. In addition, what is of course indispensable is a large water basin, as water dragons love to sit quietly in the water and soak. As long as the terrarium is large enough, water dragons can be kept with multiple males together.
Chinese Water Dragon Food Selection
The Chinese water dragon is an omnivore with a relatively carnivorous leaning. Juvenile water dragons can be fed mealworms, crickets, grasshoppers, earthworms, snails, etc., sprinkled with calcium powder and vitamin powder. Adult water dragons can be fed mice, sparrows, small fish, etc., and can also be directly fed small pieces of pork, beef, etc. At the same time, a small amount of chopped vegetable leaves, fruits and vegetables and other plant-based foods can be given. Remember, if you want your water dragon to grow up healthily, calcium powder and vitamin powder are essential. Juvenile water dragons should be fed every day, and adults 3 to 4 times a week.
Chinese Water Dragon Rearing Methods
1. 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 being tenacious in life, 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 and then die. 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. Usually, small birds such as sparrows or small mammals such as pinky mice are also fed.
2. Sunbathing: Water dragons are ectothermic animals. Basking in direct sunlight can easily lead to dehydration in the water dragon, and a rapid rise in body temperature can cause sudden death. The correct way to sunbathe is to bask between 9 and 10 in the morning for one hour, and during sunbathing, observe it frequently to prevent sudden death. When conditions do not allow, using UVB for 4 hours a day is enough.
3. Parasites: Most water dragons in the hands of keepers are wild-caught and carry more or less parasites internally. Once in the hands of a loving owner, comprehensive nutrition also makes those bad guys reproduce and grow faster, affecting the healthy growth of the water dragon. After buying a water dragon, it should be given a bath to see 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 twice with an interval, which should be carried out over one month to one and a half months; if its constitution is poor, then the time needs to be longer.
4. Bathing: The water dragon is an amphibious lizard, so the keeping environment has relatively high humidity requirements. Bathing can help it excrete and digest food, and can also prevent others from saying the water dragon smells bad.
5. Calcium supplementation: Water dragons rarely suffer fractures unless due to human factors or calcium deficiency. When proper feeding of the water dragon is ensured, there is no need to supplement calcium at all, because its food already contains a lot of calcium such as bird bones and the bones of mammals.
6. Temperature difference: Although the water dragon 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.