Chinese Water Dragons

I have always been amazed and liked these little guys. I am thinking about getting one soon. I just would like some inout and advice on them and what to look for, how to take care of, etc...

Never kept them but I think they look amazing. If you get one, please post pics.

This isn't to say they are bad or good but here is my experiecne with one. I got mine from petco like 6 yrs ago and it was the cutest littel thing since it was a baby. Well with in a week the thing went nuts litterally. I mean it started running staright into the cage and then around in a circle like he knocked him self silly then shoving his head into the water bowl all the way down. I freaked out and took him out for a little bit but had to go to school so I put him back and the he started it all over again. Sad to say when I got home he had died.

I bought one today, much to my surprise, lol. I really should have researched first, but you know how impulse buys are. Turns out these adorable little critters need both UVB and UVA light, and require vitamin supplements, so PLEASE read up before you purchase. If they don't get the vitamins they need, they will get very sick and die. (Or so I found out when I got home with him and hit the Net) They are also omnivorous, and eat all kinds of things from crickets, alot of different kinds of worms, small fish, small mice, baby chicks, and some kinds of fruits and vegetables. My sister in law says she had one when she was a teenager and used to take it outside like on a leash to let it sun, and one day it started chasing their chihuahua! They only get like three feet tail and all, but they have SHARP little teeth, and their claws are crazy long. I am headed back to my research, but I hope this teeny little bit helps.

yea the one we have at my petco is crazy when u hold him u have to hold him upside down which puts them in a trance like state and he hand feeds once you have him in the trance you can flip him over and he will calm down and let u handle him. i was thinking about buying him myseld but i dont have the room or the money to invest in something that needs that much work right now. i have 4 bp tanks set up right now and 2 qurantine tanks.

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Originally Posted by Monty

yea the one we have at my petco is crazy when u hold him u have to hold him upside down which puts them in a trance like state and he hand feeds once you have him in the trance you can flip him over and he will calm down and let u handle him. i was thinking about buying him myseld but i dont have the room or the money to invest in something that needs that much work right now. i have 4 bp tanks set up right now and 2 qurantine tanks.

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PLEASE stop holding him upside down!!!! He is not in a trance--he is SUFFOCATING!!!!!! CWD's do not have diaphrams, and rely on their ribs pulsing to pump air in and out of their lungs. Upside down or on their back they cannot breathe! He will be more docile with caring and patient handling consistently, not suffocating him to near unconsciousness continuously.

he seems to breath fine when he is upside down and hes not completely upside down i shoulda been more careful with how i worded that i hold him in a vertical angle he calms down and i never noticed him not breathing i can see him breathing in and out with the way i hold him. sorry if i offended anyone like i said i should cleared up my wording

My bad! I was up all night reading about the do's and don't's, and the most common thread I found was how cute everyone thought it was to lay them on their back and rub their belly to make them go to sleep, and how every CWD "authority" practically screamed through the computer screen to spread the word to quit doing it.

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Originally Posted by Whodinidunit

I have always been amazed and liked these little guys. I am thinking about getting one soon. I just would like some inout and advice on them and what to look for, how to take care of, etc...

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triciaswaterdragon.com has been the most helpful site so far in my research, if anyone has found one better, PLEASE share!

I don't currently have one but I have had one in the past, that site already posted is pretty good. I'll post some pictures of mine later!

I always liked the Australian Water Dragons better.

never seen them pics???

Here's the Chinese Water Dragon we had, we adopted him and decided to keep the name as we couldn't think of anything better (well, not that we could agree on) Anyway, here's Puff.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...o/100_0005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...o/100_0006.jpg

aww hes cute

I personally love my Chinese water dragon Godzilla he eats crickets but he would rather have goldfish he actually refused to eat crickets the first month I showed him goldfishi added another and he was perfectly fine with that he's about 7 months and is already a foot and he's the nicest green with teal strips he's been near "oregano plants" and he was just as green.

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Originally Posted by lovetoy

CWD's do not have diaphrams, and rely on their ribs pulsing to pump air in and out of their lungs. Upside down or on their back they cannot breathe!

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I see that everywhere on forums, it's usually the same quote. Never seen it referenced from anywhere with an established reputation, no studies or anything (that I've seen) do you have a source for this?

I'm not saying it's wrong, I don't know either. It sounds kind of like tonic immobility to me.

I stupidly bought a Chinese water dragon way back in the days before you could get info on how to care for such things on the internet. I did what the pet store told me to do, and I don't know for sure what piece(s) were missing, but sadly the little guy only lived a few months in my care. While I had him, he was awesome. He seemed healthy the whole time and grew a fair amount, but went downhill very fast at the end. It broke my heart and I stayed from reptiles for a long time after that.

I would encourage anyone interested in them to do their research and be sure they can provide proper care, and then go ahead and get one.

I bought one a week ago and I have to admit it's been an adventure . I've never had a lizard before and he was a total impulse buy so I've spent the week researching and modifying his home to give him the best possible chance. Right now the best info I've found was through Trisha (web listed above) but I've also visited 3 reptile stores in my town and talked with people who have raised them. Apparently as adults, and as lizards go, they are pretty sweet that is they rarely bite but will give you a tail lashing if not handled properly.

My little guy is only 3" long right now but man is he energetic. My biggest handling problem is while cleaning his cage he runs up my arm onto my shoulder. I thought this was cute at first until he jumped off me onto the floor (I'm almost 6' tall) and tried to run behind the entertainment center that took my husband the better part of a day to build. Freaked me out! Now this is a regular game with him. So far he has not been hurt but it forces me to put him in another container during cleaning which he hates.

That aside, he has completely charmed me. I love the dinosaur quality in him as he chases crickets and I swear he thinks he's a water ballerina. In the water he puts on quite a show twirling, swimming, and diving.

Things I've learned this week are that lighting, diet, and humidity are vital to his health. Heating is important too but I live in Arizona so that's not hard to accomplish.

We have had one for 2 years now. And he's an A rate A hole. Won't let you hold him and sometimes bites. We are working on a bigger custom cage for him so maybe with more room he'll calm down.

I had one once but sadly in my youth I over fed him meal worms and I'm pretty sure he died of impaction the day before I had a vet appointment to have him looked at... one of those times you wish you resarched more on but that was probably 12 years ago and I've learned much more sense then including to do your research before you buy any reptile so you know what you're getting into. Maybe someday I'll get another and I'm sure it will be more successful than the first.

I absolutely adore Chinese Water Dragons. One of these days I will be purchasing one. I need to do more research beforehand, and make sure to give him/her a great home :D

I use to work at petco and I liked them, but the majority of them seemed to have issues with rubbing their faces raw on the glass.