Tricia's Chinese Water
Dragons
I have been very busy scanning
several of the "Best" pictures that I have taken of my dragons over the years.
I hope that you will find these pictures as enjoyable as I have. I've place
small thumbnails of each picture here, and on the connecting pages for each
dragon. The file sizes are quite small for each thumbnail so the page should
load quickly, but if it doesn't I do apologize in advance for any inconvenience
this may cause you. Please remember that you may click on the thumbnail to see
each picture in it's actual size.
Please click on
the pictures if you would like to have a better view of each
photograph.
 As you may or may
not know, I live with 5 water dragons, 1 large iguana, 2 box turtles, and 2
yellow backed geckos ... oh yeah... and a husband. :) Our home is quite small
but we make the best of it. Our dragons have large vivariums to live in, but
when we are home they are often allowed out and have free roam of the (heated
to dragon loving temperatures!) living room. Many of the pictures that you will
see here, and on each dragons connecting page, were taken in our living room
and even our bathroom!
I've had my dragons since Sept.
'95. The water dragon page, and the waterdragon mailing list have been up and
running since December of '95.
In that time I have learned a great
deal about, and from, my water dragons. I've been very lucky so far and have
not lost a dragon due to illness- but then I've also worked very hard to be
sure they are healthy and I take them to see their reptile vet regular to be
sure of their health.
 Unfortunately we
have had some problems and accidents along the way: Major and minor snout
damage (Night), seizures of unknown origin- no it wasn't calcium deficiency or
Mbd- we had that checked out (Rogue), Dislocated left hip- permanent damage
(Puff), and broken vertebrae in upper tail (Forrest). Fortunately none of the
problems that we have had, have been caused by dietary, heating or enclosure
problems. By this I mean Rogues seizures and Puff and Forrests bone troubles
were not caused by low levels of calcium or other symptoms of MBD ... they just
happened!
 I believe being
allowed frequent free roam in a human environment put them at a greater risk
for falls and other accidents that led to their injuries. :( Puff slipped off a
slippery book and that is how she dislocated her leg. Forrest was always a bit
of a spaz and would fall while climbing a tree- so I think she fell one time
and injured her tail by falling on it wrong. Puff and Forrest are sisters and
it is possible that their is some genetic flaw that predisposed them to their
injuries ... I don't know ... but I do feel bad for them.
 At this very moment-
all of my dragons are healthy and doing quite well. Puff's leg will never heal
but she gets around wonderfully on it, and Forrest's broken vertebrae in her
tail still seem to bother her but she is eating well, active and healthy
otherwise ... and is seeing the vet regularly in order to figure out how we can
fix her up again. Night, Rogue and Cupid appear to be in fine form. Keep your
fingers crossed for me! :)
  All of my dragons live in a
large 6 foot tall by 3 foot long, by 2.5 foot deep vivarium- except for
Forrest, who is currently isolated in a 77 gallon tank in order to prevent
further tail injury and allow her to heal in a safe environment. Overall my
dragons get along, although Rogue can be a bit bossy, Night gets temperamental
when she's gravid, Cupid only thinks about mating and food, and well ... Puff
and Forrest have never gotten along great, it is not uncommon for them to truly
fight when they are together- that is another reason why Forrest is separated
from the others, although it's Puff that usually starts the fights!
 The average day in
the life of my dragons goes something like this: They get fed every morning-
varying amounts of food, and different food items each day. Their food is
supplemented with calcium daily, and vitamins once a week. If it's a work day
the dragons get to enjoy so peace and quite without those pesky humans around!
I wonder what they do when we aren't here?
 I believe this is a
picture of Rogue and Night taken sometime in '96. The appear to be trying to
decide what mischief they can get into....
 The dragons are
allowed out of their homes when we arrive home from work, or during the day on
the weekends. Puff and Forrest love to hang out in their trees. We always have
at least one, sometimes two trees in the living room for them. We've tried
hibiscus and fig trees and I have just decided that the fig trees seem to last
longer and do better in our home!
 No, I didn't pose
them this way! :) Looks like they are dancing or something doesn't it ...
"Everybodies doin' a brand new dance now ... come on do the Locomotion with
meeeeee". :)
 As I said above our
place is often heated to dragon loving temperatures since they are out and free
roaming when we are home. This makes it a bit difficult to have guests over
because they are not used to the heat! Our girls love our friend Andy though,
and simply pile onto him whenever he comes over to visit! :)
   There are times when we wonder
if our dragons are using their water often enough. They do seem to spend quite
a bit of time in their filtered pool ... but if one is acting a bit off, or if
we think they need a soak we put one or more of them in the tub with chest
deep, lukewarm (80 to 85F) water for about 15 to 30 minutes. Water dragons do
not love bath time in the beginning- but if you plan to make a habit of it, do
it every day and within a week or two the dragon will calm down and start to
enjoy the soak. If you have your dragon or even iguana totally free roaming 24
hours a day it is absolutely essential that they are provided with
approximately 30 minutes of supervised soaking time a day.
 In the spring, when
it's fairly warm outside (65 F+), and during the summer, we try to get our
dragons outside for short periods of time everyday. We do this so that they can
have some natural sunlight. However since we have 5 water dragons and one
iguana it is not always that easy to get them each outside on a daily basis ...
so.... we will open a window, make sure the screen is sturdy and secure, and
let them get some sun through the screen. The above picture was taken in the
Spring of '97. Forrest and Night were in the window getting some sun for the
first time since the previous year (they have UVB producing fluorescent lights
in their vivariums year round!) and they were very excited and possibly
nervous.
Well! For a Photo Gallery page this
sure has run on a bit! I hope my comments haven't distracted from the photos
you came to see. I just thought I'd take this opportunity to tell you a bit
more about what life is like in our home with 5 dragons and how we care for
them each day. :) I hope you enjoyed it!
 Green Water Dragons,
Sailfin Lizards and Basilisks (General Care and Maintenance of Series) by
Philippe De Vosjoli
Basic but detailed information
about the care, diet, and health of green water dragons, sailfin lizards and
basilisks.
 Anoles, Basilisks and
Water Dragons : A Complete Pet Care Manual (More Complete Pet Owner's Manuals)
by Richard D. Bartlett, Patricia P. Bartlett (Contributor)
Discussion of the general care of
many species of anole, basilisks and water dragons. Excellent information
regarding enclosures, cage building, and insect care and breeding.
 Eat This
Bug : A Guide to Invertebrate Live Foods for Reptiles and Amphibians by Lynn
Davis
This book is a guide for owners of
reptiles and amphibians who feed insects and other live foods to their pets.
Advice is offered for selecting , ordering and raising your own supply of live
invertebrate foods. More than a dozen species of live foods are discussed. The
book includes instructions on keeping cultures of insects, and recipes &
diets for insects.
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