Water Dragon

[bodon]

GDay all.
I get a lot of water Dragons coming under my fence and they lay on the deck. One in particular comes most days for my mince and and fruit. He had a tick under the left eye which has now dropped off. The eye is glazed. The vet said he would look at him if I can catch him. I and it wont like that..he will be peeved for sure. What sort of bite am I going to receive or use my fishing net and scare him to death.

 

[Sdaji]

Just leave him alone. As you say, he won't like it. If it's actually a he, taking him out of his environment for treatment means he'll likely lose his status in the hierarchy (Water Dragons are quite social), and taking him to a reptile vet poses a very real risk of contamination with diseases which you can then transfer to the wild population if you put him back.

And of course the lizard is going to hate you for it. Which doesn't at all matter for the lizard's sake, but if you enjoy having him around and not being scared of you, don't break the trust.

So much damage is done through good intentions, it's generally better to just let nature take its course, this is generally true with pet animals, but especially true when it comes to wild animals actually in nature - we should observe, admire and enjoy it, not interfere.

Having said that, if you do decide to catch him, it's quite easy to catch them without being bitten - I've caught plenty and haven't ever been bitten, even when I was a stupid clueless kid catching my first ones. If a big one actually does bite you, it'll hurt, but probably won't ruin your day unless you're a little girl.