sleeping dragon

Question
QUESTION: I have purchased a juvenile water dragon. All it does is sleeps. It does not seem to eat much. I keep it in a 10 gallon tank till it shows signs of growth. I have had it for 10 days. IT rarely opens its eyes. I have ask the people at the pet store it this is normal, and they said yes. I have introduced crickets to it this weekend and it has not even noticed them in the cage. Any idea as to what to do?

ANSWER: Hello Ricky, you NEED a larger cage. Not even a hatchling should be housed in a ten gallon. The minimum for an adult is 4ft high 4ft wide adn 2 ft deep. As a juvie I would suggest at least a 55 gallon but they need height more then anything. If you can not meet these requirements you should probably think about returning him. Or selling him to somebody who can. The small spaces can cause a lot of stress and this can cause him not to eat. It also sounds like it could be sick and the pet store just wants money from you so next time try to get one from a breeder that knows more of what they are doing. Take him to the vet to make sure that there is nothing seriously wrong and go from there. Here is a site with recommended vets, look up your location and see what you can find
http://www.herpvetconnections.com
Good luck and let me know how it goes!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Since I have introduced crickets to its environment, it will attack them hardily. I have also increased the times a day I mist water to him. I am planning to build a larger area for him. So it will be fine to do this now I take it. Also, can you link me to a site that will give examples of proper cages.

Also, once I make a larger cage how would be a good way to keep the humidity up for it. This seems to be a problem that I have now. I have to spray 4-5 times a day as is. I looked at Petco for a humidifier, but it will not work because I have a topper for the tank that is as large as the tank itself. used for climbing. I really don't want to get rid of it. So steer me in the right direction.

Ricky

Answer
Well try some different kinds of worms... Butter worms, Silk worms, etc. wax worms are fatty and should ONLY be a treat. And meal worms are very low in nutrients so not a good idea.

I will attach some links at the bottom of the answer.


Raising humidity can be tricky and the topper is probably the problem. It is a screen topper correct? To keep the humidity up try to cover all the areas where water could escape. Higher heat causes the humidity to be lower but you don't want to lower the heat too much. Try a large water dish, a moisture holding substrate, cover 3/4 sides of the cage with wood or something solid, Foil seems to work but you don't want him to freak at his reflection. Oh and a damp towel wrapped aroung the topper will help too! You just have to hold in moisture. Also if you don't already have one I suggest a digital thermometer and hygrometer, the stick on ones are not very accurate. You can find them less expensive then pet stores at places like Home Depot, Lowes and sometimes wal mart.

HOME MADE HUMIDIFIER:
http://www.baskinglizards.com/automatedmistingsystem_free.pdf

CUSTOM BUILT ENCLOSURES:
Ok this is a site that I visit regularly and its a forum where members can post pictures, information, ask and answer questions, be involved in photo contest etc. If you own or think about owning or once owned a water dragon of any sort or size. So check it out and become a member. This is a post made by a member for everybody to post pics of enclosures. So take a look and see what you think

http://www.repticzone.com/forums/WaterDragons/messages/1224414.html
Also the same site has a forum just for cages and enclosures you might want to check that out too.
http://www.repticzone.com/forums/CagesandEnclosures/index.html

This is a great site for water dragon information also and this link specifically is about the enclosures
http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/enclosur.htm
Here are some more links
http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/vivarium.htm
http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/cheap.htm
Good luck I hope to see you at the forum.