Help with my water dragon

Question
I have had my pet water dragon for about 2 weeks, the previous owner who had had her for 3 months did'nt know anythink about them so i done my reserch and offered to take her of his hands after having my paresnts agree and 100% support, i have built my vivarium 4x5x2 feet, the previous owner was not giving the waterdragon and vitamin or calcium supliments, i have purchaced all the right equiptment such as heat bulbs, basking lamps, uvb lamp, hides and i have recently fitted a waterful/pool for her to bathe in, i am not becoming worried as a few days agot the rear end of her tail (1 inch) was missing and now a few cm from the bottom of her tail looks asif it is going to fall of, when i feed her i apply calcium powder to try strengthen her bones, apon inspection i have relised that the water dragons head is starting to become discoloured and has gone from green to a dul greenish grey....is there anythink you can suggest i should do to nurse her back to helth, i have suspishions that she is suffering from stress because of the move of home but please help me.

Answer
Hi Troy, Thank you for the kind comments.  You can email me at Diane@scalesandtails.org


Hi Troy,
It sounds like her tail has a bit of dry gangrene going on.  A vet visit is best as a bit of the tail may need to be removed to prevent the gangrene from moving up the tail and also keep it from getting into her bloodstream.
To find a vet that can treat reptiles:
http://www.herpvetconnection.com
http://www.arav.org/ECOMARAV/timssnet/amm/tnt_mdsearch.cfm
http://www.anapsid.org/vets

As to the color, are you sure that she isn't getting ready to shed?  When they are getting ready to shed, they will take on a dull, almost milky color  to the area(s) that are getting ready to shed.
A very, very good site for water dragon care is at:
http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/  (a bit outdated on uvb info)
Its great that you are trying to do all your best for the water dragon. Taking her to the vet is just one of the very best you can do.I do want to give you some info that is current on proper uvb sources as many times pet stores or even manufacturers don't know the whole story on the uvb that they are selling. Also, please be sure to be using a calcium that does not contain Phosphorus and when using the calcium, you don't want to over do it as too much is as bad as, or even worse than not enough.  
Its wonderful that your parents are with you!!! Please give them a big thank you from me!!!!
LIGHTING:
Supplying uvb can be done in a few ways. By special lights that come in fluorescent tubes or special screw in bulbs(mercury vapor)that are designed to produce uvb and heat.
The tubes do not produce heat. UVB is needed by the reptile to be able to absorb the calcium in the foods they eat.
Without the uvb, they will develop metabolic bone disease.
With the tubes, they must say that they produce BOTH uvb and uva. The uvb needs to be 5% or higher. Repti Sun 10.0 and the Repti Glo 8.0's are a great source for uvb. The old "favorites" are the repti sun 5.0 or the Iguana light..which are the same tube, just different package.
There are tubes that say ''full spectrum'' but they do not produce any uvb.
These need to be positioned 6-8 inches over the reptile for the 5% and 8% and 8-10 inches for the 10% so
that they get the uvb that is needed. The tubes need to be replaced every 6-9 months as that they stop producing UVB long before they stop producing light.Using a fixture that holds two uvb tubes of at least 3 feet in length will provide adequate uvb for your iguana. There has been new studies that have proven that compact uvb lights, both the spiral/coil type and the ones that look like long "U's" laying on their side and a few other brands are causing what basically amounts to snow blindness in reptiles.  To read more on this, you can go to http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm
On the mercury vapor , they also produce heat. They also produce the uvb and uva. The best on the market now are the Mega Rays.(http://www.reptileuv.com) The distance from these are greater than the uvb tubes and the directions must be followed that are listed for the light. When using the mercury vapor lights, you don't need to have one light for uvb and one for
heat. The Mercury vapor lights provide both.
For daytime heat, if using the tube uvb, regular household incandescent light bulbs produce heat. The wattage will depend on the size of your reptiles enclosure. and the room temperature.Of course, the best uvb is from the sun and if you are in an area that you are able to take your reptile outside in a proper enclosure, (Never a tank or enclosed, solid cage)