water dragons outside

[contos]

my dads friend is offering me a pair of ewd for cheap and i just need a few things cleared up please two cages on offer a parrot cage and a cat cage. would i want height (as theyre semi aboreal) or more floor space? also can i feed them white stripe marsh frogs that i find in my pond? and what are they like at night. like can they take the cold
ive seen them in backyard so they should cope outside
thanks

 

[sweetangel]

first of all cages are a bit dangerous as they can get caught in the wire. if u do get a cage u will need to make sure the it has some sheltered areas and full sunlight. and NO U CANNOT FEED FROGS TO WATER DRAGONS. all reptiles are protected in aust so it is illegal to feel reptiles appart from some skinks. also water dragons eat insects and vegetation mainly. u can feed them some mice or cat food and occasional pinky.

they can live outside all year long but u will need to provide adequate insulted hides so they can keep out of draughts and the cold.

also the size of those cages is important, how big are they? water dragons need alot of room! and also need a source of water to swim in.
so i wouldnt just take those water dragon because they are cheap, because they are cheap in general. dont rush in to something if u dont know how to keep them happy and healthy!

 

[cris]

They dont really need much height, provide a large pond and plenty of branches. I wouldnt keep them in anything with less than 2 square meter floor space, preferably much bigger. Put something smooth around the bottom 300-450mm of the mesh to prevent nose damage. They do well outside in most parts of Australia, the gippsland type are better suited to the cold though.

You arnt allowed to feeed them frogs, frogs can also carry parasites that may harm your water dragon(more so if in combnation with bad husbandry).

 

[contos]

nah im not rushing into it ive been researching this for a while and i read in my reptile care book that they feed on frogs so i thought why not
they are a two year old pair who have been in a 4 ft tank so it is an upgrade to what im putting them in.
what about burmating outside? do people usually do that? thanks

 

[contos]

thanks for that chris. umm i wouldnt need to clean any rocks or branches before i put them in the enclosure would i?

 

[contos]

also what foods beside mince and bannana can i give them?

 

[r3ptile.boy]

u can feed them many fruits, insects and dog/cat food.
i feed mine woodies, crikets, small amounts of dog food, apple and carrot.

 

[contos]

do they require sunlight for all of the day?

 

[beatlloydy]

do they require sunlight for all of the day?

I am building an enclosure currently and thinking of water dragons also...also in Sydney...from what I read they need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.

It is also a good idea to give them a pond with a branch over it...they can sit on the branch and when they feel threatened they can drop off into the water...I see this activity all the time with wild ones around my area.

They are also quite good jumpers/climbers so you really need something quite high and not easy for them to climb.

The pit I am building is 2 besser blocks high, followed by a 1.2 m sheet of 3mm perspex and then I am adding .5 m of snakewire to fully enclose it. The enclosure will be 7m by 4m wide in a triangular shape with the narrow end only 1m (to take advantage of the layout of the land).

I am also putting turtles in there eventually and will probably reconcile myself to the fact that they may lose the tips of their tails to the turtles but this would also happen in nature.

I will post pics once it is built...it is only about 25% done so far...almost finished cementing in the blocks...not tradesman like quality but all 100% done by myself ...must confess I was born with all thumbs when it comes to construction but still, it is satisfying to build something even if it is not as good as a tradie could do.

 

[contos]

well i dont have the space to build an actual pit so im using an old bird avairy :S i wont be putting turtles in it. maybe pink tongues if theyre compatible. thatd be cool thanks man

 

[1234callan1234]

they dont need sunlight all day just a basking spot because easterns are tropical i guess. they need lots of branches and stuf mine i just built enclosure for it is 5 ft long 3 ft wide 5 ft high it doesnt need a ccage that heigh but they do realy like it XD. and if anyone nos how to tame em i would love to no

 

[1234callan1234]

oh lol some 1 already answered question XD can some1 answere mine though

 

[contos]

yehh im geed to set up all pretty n stuff should look good

 

[1234callan1234]

woh beatloydy dp is mad, i jst got new guitar random but im bored

 

[beatlloydy]

woh beatloydy dp is mad, i jst got new guitar random but im bored

yeah...thats actually a darwin on it...I change my avatar and signature when I'm bored I have tried a lot of different guitars and was a Gibson person originally but this tele is just so sweet to play. (totally irrelevent to the topic)

Sorry..dont know the answer to taming EWD's ...I guess I will find out eventually...probably a lot of patience...my shinglebacks are still skittish and its been 2+ monts now.

 

[Costa]

i would be cleaning the rocks and branches before you put them in. they could carry parasites and what no.
i just use hot water and some disinfectant in a bucket and fully emerse the rocks in it for 6 hours.
then i rinse it and put it in some hor water for about 20 mins agin just to get rid of anything else and then dry it.
they hot water for 20 min also heta it up so that when you put it in the enclosure, its nice and warm and they can perch up on it for heat