# Long Nosed Water Dragon information



## KaotikJezta (Apr 28, 2011)

Does anyone keep/breed these dragons.​


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## longirostris (Apr 29, 2011)

I have several large groups of longirostris. I have been keeping them for 10 years or more now. I have bred dozens of them in that time mostly in the last 5 years. I have also sold and swapped about 40 or so that I have bred over the last 2-3 years into the hobby so it is reasonable to expect that over the next couple of years they will become quite common. There are currently 9 or 10 keepers around the country with my animals offspring and there are also a couple of others that also keep them that I cannot speak for who have different bloodlines.

By the way you should not jump to conclusions or assume anything because you do not get an instant reply to your post. I actually only saw it for the first time at 11.20 this morning and then I tossed up in my mind whether I wanted to respond to it or not because of the negative assumption.


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## KaotikJezta (Apr 29, 2011)

longirostris said:


> I have several large groups of longirostris. I have been keeping them for 10 years or more now. I have bred dozens of them in that time mostly in the last 5 years. I have also sold and swapped about 40 or so that I have bred over the last 2-3 years into the hobby so it is reasonable to expect that over the next couple of years they will become quite common. There are currently 9 or 10 keepers around the country with my animals offspring and there are also a couple of others that also keep them that I cannot speak for who have different bloodlines.
> 
> By the way you should not jump to conclusions or assume anything because you do not get an instant reply to your post. I actually only saw it for the first time at 11.20 this morning and then I tossed up in my mind whether I wanted to respond to it or not because of the negative assumption.


Sorry, didn't mean it to sound negative, I was more disappointed that it looked like no-one had them, I will edit it to get rid of that part. Thanks for letting me know. I am a huge fan of all water dragoons and have been interested in keeping these ones for quite some time. Could you give me some info on husbandry requirements etc.


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## fugawi (Apr 29, 2011)

What sort of price do they go for?


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## longirostris (Apr 29, 2011)

kaotikjezta said:


> Sorry, didn't mean it to sound negative, I was more disappointed that it looked like no-one had them, I will edit it to get rid of that part. Thanks for letting me know. I am a huge fan of all water dragoons and have been interested in keeping these ones for quite some time. Could you give me some info on husbandry requirements etc.



They are an arid zone species that like high tempretures and low humidity. They are also semi arboreal so they need branches to climb on. They particularly like bushy shrubs and small spindly trees. They are insectivorous and the ones I have eat quite a lot of food for their size. They are extremely agile, very fast if they get out of their enclosure, and can jump vertically from a standing start as much as 12-14 inches, which I have always found impressive. They tend to be territorial although I have some enclosures with 5 or 6 animals in them. They are quite active although not inquisitive like some dragons. They can be skittish but not overly and not all of them like some EWD's.

Hope this helps.



fugawi said:


> What sort of price do they go for?



I sold my animals for $150 each. My original animals I acquired 10 years ago cost me $250 each back then. I have also bought long nosed dragons in from WA. which cost me even more then that. By the time I paid the government royalty and other on costs they were very nearly $350 each.


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## KaotikJezta (Apr 29, 2011)

So they are water dragons, do they need water to swim in, just wondering if they are semi arid and don't like humidity.


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## dihsmaj (Apr 30, 2011)

kaotikjezta said:


> So they are water dragons, do they need water to swim in, just wondering if they are semi arid and don't like humidity.


 
Water Dragon is, as far as I know, a false name for this species.


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## longirostris (Apr 30, 2011)

kaotikjezta said:


> So they are water dragons, do they need water to swim in, just wondering if they are semi arid and don't like humidity.



Where did I say in my response that they are water dragons. They most definately are not. The first line of my response to your initial request for information on this species was "They are an arid zone species that like high tempretures and low humidity". Obviously they need water to drink, like any other animal. They DO NOT NEED water to swim in, although mine will bath in the water bowl on occassion. Sometimes this happens after the females have just completed laying a clutch of eggs or prior to sloughing but I see no more predisposition amongst longirostris needing and using water then I do with any other arid zone species I keep in my collection. I mentioned EWD's in my last line because I was trying to make a comparison between the 2 species regarding their skittishness. There are no other similarities between the two species. 

I hope this clarifies my earlier response


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## KaotikJezta (Apr 30, 2011)

longirostris said:


> Where did I say in my response that they are water dragons. They most definately are not. The first line of my response to your initial request for information on this species was "They are an arid zone species that like high tempretures and low humidity". Obviously they need water to drink, like any other animal. They DO NOT NEED water to swim in, although mine will bath in the water bowl on occassion. Sometimes this happens after the females have just completed laying a clutch of eggs or prior to sloughing but I see no more predisposition amongst longirostris needing and using water then I do with any other arid zone species I keep in my collection. I mentioned EWD's in my last line because I was trying to make a comparison between the 2 species regarding their skittishness. There are no other similarities between the two species.
> 
> I hope this clarifies my earlier response


Sorry, I think you misunderstood my question. I asked as they are called water dragons and wondered why if they don't actually need water, which I figured from you saying they were arid. Just wondering how the name came about is all. 
EDIT: Just reread my post, I meant to say are they not they are.


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## jinin (Apr 30, 2011)

Yeah, basically its a false name, Long Nosed TaTa or Long Nosed Dragon is more appropriate to prevent confusion.


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## KaotikJezta (Apr 30, 2011)

jinin said:


> Yeah, basically its a false name, Long Nosed TaTa or Long Nosed Dragon is more appropriate to prevent confusion.


 Ok thanks, I still love them and it does make enclosure set-up a little easier.


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## sookie (May 2, 2011)

i have no idea about the dragon in discussion right now,but i would like to know a little more about actual water dragons.are ewd tamable?


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## KaotikJezta (May 2, 2011)

sookie said:


> i have no idea about the dragon in discussion right now,but i would like to know a little more about actual water dragons.are ewd tamable?


They can be but usually not to the extent of something like a beardie, I don't really handle my girl so she is quite flighty, if I am feeding her she will jump out of her enclosure but quicckly wants back in again when she realises what she has done. One day she jumped out and ran across the room, she then freaked out and ran straight up me onto my shoulder. I put me arm out into her enclosure and she scooted back in. She never hides though and she's happy to be looked at. My baby gippsland water dragon juvies are very flighty but the smaller one will eat from my fingers.


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## Bluetongue1 (May 3, 2011)

There is a good reason why these dragons are or where called *water dragons*. Along with _gilberti_ and t_emporalis_, they frequently live adjacent to water courses where they make use of the trees and shrubs as perches survey to their surrounds, make hunting forays from, retreat to for safety and sleep in at night. If pursued from the safety of the trees and shrubs and there is water available they will readily enter it, submerge and swim to safety underwater, staying submerged for some amount of time. It appears to be entirely a predator avoidance strategy utilised if available and if needed. They are not known to forage for insects in or at the water’s edge, preferring more open ground. 

Blue


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## KaotikJezta (May 3, 2011)

Thanks for that Blue


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## longirostris (May 3, 2011)

Bluetongue1 said:


> There is a good reason why these dragons are or where called *water dragons*. Along with _gilberti_ and t_emporalis_, they frequently live adjacent to water courses where they make use of the trees and shrubs as perches survey to their surrounds, make hunting forays from, retreat to for safety and sleep in at night. If pursued from the safety of the trees and shrubs and there is water available they will readily enter it, submerge and swim to safety underwater, staying submerged for some amount of time. It appears to be entirely a predator avoidance strategy utilised if available and if needed. They are not known to forage for insects in or at the water’s edge, preferring more open ground.
> 
> Blue



Thanks for your comments Bluetongue 1. 

I have observed all through 3 species in the wild and certainly from my observations I can confirm your comments regarding gilberti and temporalis. I have found both species in large numbers right next to and indeed sitting on rocks and branches in open water courses. A great place to see this was at Cable beach Resort in Broome where there were literally hundreds if not thousands of gilberts dragons all around the open water course that ran around and through the resort. Admittedly the watercourse was not much more then a drainage ditch 3-5 feet wide but it did have running/moving water albeit slowly and it was 18 inches or so deep. Same thing in Darwin where I have found temporalis around hotel swimming pools.

In the case of longirostris I have not found any within any proximity to water. The ones I have been able to observe usually being on relatively open ground in very arid environments. Occassionally I have observed them in shrubby bushes. I think this is more because they are harder to spot in the bushes then on the ground. Having said this I have no doubt that longirostris would be found along watercourses and I just have not been lucky enough to be in the right place to find them. 

I say they are not water dragons in the same way that I say they are not arboreal. In my view they are definately more arboreal then aquatic. But in the true definition of both terms longirostris is neither. I started keeping Long Nosed dragons 10-12 years ago when they were still commonly referred to as Long Nosed Water dragons and set them up initially in enclosures very similar to enclosures that I was housing EWD's and Gippy's in because quite literally I thought they were water dragons. Whilst the EWD's and Gippy's would actually use the large body of water to swim in and would indeed remain in it for long periods of time, the Long Nosed dragons did not ever actually behave in the same manner as the EWD's and Gippy's. They did not wilfully enter the water unless it was to take flight, usually when I opened the enclosure. They did not submerge and appeared to be uncomfortable in it, although they could swim and maintain themselves on the surface. They would get out of the water as soon as they could, usually within a couple of minutes of my closing the enclosure door. I kept my Long Nosed dragons in this enclosure for about six months before deciding to rehouse them in an enclosure that presented a more desert like environment.

I actually decided to rehouse my Long Nosed dragons following a visit to Central Australia where I first observed them in the wild in open sandy desert country with no obvious water course nearby. I said in my earlier post, from my experience with them in captivity and limited observations in the wild they have no more predisposition to use water then any other desert species. Perhaps this comment was a little off the mark and should be qualified by saying that they will use water in the manner you described as a survival behaviour, which I have observed with my own animals. I guess the other thing I should say is that I have never actually tested whether this behaviour is peculiar to Long Nosed dragons or whether other desert dragons would behave in the same manner. My belief is that in the captive environment most desert dragons will probably end up in the water. In a natural (wild) situation they would likely avoid the water in their effort to flee. My interest in this discussion is how much alternative effort does longirostris go to before using the water to make an escape.

I guess I can see why Boulenger decided to put longirostris in Physignathus in 1885 after first describing them and placing them in Lophognathus in 1883. They do demonstrate a very similar behaviour to Physignathus species that is most readily observable by virtually everybody that sees them near a water course. They can and sometimes will dive into the water to make their escape from danger. This would have been immediately interpreted as the species being a water or semi aquatic species. 

Once again thanks for your comments Bluetongue 1, it is always really good to get a well balanced point that elicits or requires a more detailed response. As I have already said I have no doubt of the accuracy of your comment, just that I have not observed it. Have you been lucky enough to see this behaviour yourself? If not could you please refer me to the litereture or source where you gathered this information, I have a strong interest in this species and would like to learn more.

Cheers


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## Bluetongue1 (May 3, 2011)

Longirostris,

Thanks.

I owe you an apology. My comments were inclusive of the group and I should have pointed out that the least dependent and least likely to enter water is _longirostris_. This species is definitely found in quite arid environments where there is unlikely to be any standing water for some considerable time. I have personally not seen them submerge but they are capable swimmers and will cross a body of water to escape a pursuer. 

As for their degree of arboreal behaviour, if there is a vertical object nearby and they feel pressured, they will readily climb. I might add, I have not seen another lizard that climbs as quickly and that includes a Lace Monitor in a vertical hurry! When caught in open ground they will most often use their not unsubstantial speed to put distance between themselves and the perceived threat. If pressured they will go to cover and if further pursued they will climb, if available. They do spend a lot of time in shrub and lower branches of trees. They are found in numbers in the vicinity of dry creeks and rivers (as well as more permanent water bodies) and I believe it is the combination of taller vegetation and shrubs that they are making use of. At the same time they are found in open malee and acacia shrub lands. I have yet to find them in grassland habitats yet my reading says they do occur there. I would definitely classify them as semi-arboreal from my experiences.

To a large degree, I think we are both on the same page here. I do enjoy any discussion that broadens my knowledge or understanding or that allows me to share mine with others who have similar interests.

One last point. I know what you mean about the Gilberts Dragons in Broome. You can often see 6 or 7 at any one time and easily get to within a metre of them if you approach slowly. Quite amazing! Try and do that with_ longirostris_ on open ground! 

Blue


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