chinese waterdragon

Question
Hi there,
I have a 3 year old female chinese waterdragon which is currently shedding. I came home from work to find her upside down in her water enclosure, i thought she had died!. When i touched her she moved and climbed back up her branch. I have had her for over a year now and have never seen her do this before. She is as lively as ever now, have you seen this behavior before?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Russell

Answer
Hi Russell,
It isn't normal for them to lay upside down in water like that. Is it possible that something scared her and she went into the water like that, although, being upside down doesn't explain that. They will dive into water when scared. If the water is too deep,they can get flipped over and not right themselves sometimes.  Other causes can be a neurological problem, which a vet would have to diagnose.
Do keep an eye on her to see if she does it again, and also if she is loosing her balance at all while walking or climbing.  If she is, then a vet visit is recommended.  Also, you may want to put less water in her pond if it is deep..just in case it happens again. The hard part is that you don't know how long she was like that.  WD can't be held upside down as they can't breathe properly so its important to find if there was a cause to her being upside down.
A good link for WD care info is at http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/faq.htm  although it is not up to date on proper uvb information.