Yogo

[punkshoo]

Hello, everyone. I'm a new user and a new herp "lover". Recently I was perusing a local pet store where my fiance purchased her beardies some years ago and decided to purchase a water dragon. Before then I never really knew much about herps or dragons at all. I just knew her beardies lived in tanks with lights and ate bugs, lol. Well she told me that we had the stuff at home to make a home for my new dragon. I got home with a bag of fir mulch and a baby CWD and quickly realized that we didnt have what was needed. Later that week I went out and purchased thermometers, a feeding rock, fake plants, a basking lamp, a UVA/UVB lamp and something to make a "pond" out of. I decided to name my dragon "Yogo" (some random word my fiance and I made up ). Now I'm curious, right now I have all listed above set up with some drift wood in a (i think) 10 or 15 gallon tank that we had at home. She seems pretty content but she likes to dig in one corner like she wants out. She also totally flips out when I take her out and jumps and runs everywhere and Im afraid Im going to break her when I grab her when she runs. Also, she seems to be losing some scales around the creases of her legs where they meet the body. She eats like 3-4 mealworms and 1-3 crickets a day and just recently started nibbling at the Iggy Salad Ive been giving her. Ive only had her ~2 weeks so any input would be WONDERFUL!

-Me

[cwddude]

If your dragon is eating greens, most definately encourage it. Some people have a really hard time getting their dragons to eat greens(mine included).

When you say baby, how big is it snout to tip of tail? It will soon outgrow that tank it's in.

When it come to handling dragons, slowely make your way up to alot of handling. Your dragon is still getting used to you and its surroundings. I would avoid handling it as much as possible for another two weeks. You can try hand feeding it, or just putting your hand in the cage and touching it. It will slowely gain trust, which will eventually lead to a tame(at least more tame) dragon.

[punkshoo]

From the looks of it she is about 8'' long or so. When my tax returns come Im going buy a bunch of materials to build her a nice vivarium. Thanks for the handling advice.

[Pooka]

cwddude is on the right track, allow the dragon to acclimate to its new home, feeding schedule, and daily routine it observes outside the cage before getting to gung ho about handling. Maybe give it another week or two of nothing more then putting your hand in the cage for the feeding/watering and a quick pet then begin some daily handling. I'd suggest sitting on the floor in a room that dragon proofed and letting him/her run from hand to hand or just free roam within eye sight. Missing scales is a toughy... If the tissue looks damaged or irritated then you may have a problem if nothing then it may just be wrinkly skin, I checked my dragons and you can't even tell they have scales down there it looks like wrinkly white skin. Any which way about it you should get your new one into a vet as soon as possible with a fresh poop sample. The vet can do a once over check up on the dragon and test the poop for parasites. Its easier to treat them and maintain health then it is to nurse them back from the brink if they go downhill plus it's good to get to know your vet before something bad happens. Digging is usually a sign they need more cage area at that age so its good your already planning a large custom viv. A side note on digging, I use a outdoor carpet cut to fit my tanks, cost is minimal, cleanup is easy, and you don't have to deal with the eye and impaction issues other substrates present. If you don't have carpet in your enclosure seriously think about it. Good luck and welcome to GD.

[Grover]

Keep an eye on the losing scales thing. Pennywise (my WD) turned out to have an infection, almost killed him. Try to get a breeder tank if possible. They are wider. Pennywise is in a 55 gallon, long (about 4 feet long, 2 feet high, but only 1 foot deep). He REALLY hates it, trys to push his way out 4 or 5 times a day. Now I'm looking for remedies to bad snout damage

-Chris

[punkshoo]

Today I went out and bought some ficus and pothos (live) to put in her tank to lush it up a bit and add some humidity. The tank is tiny and I really just want to upgrade her to her final home. Ive been watching the ads for dressers and armoires to modify with no luck. I found a nice armoire I could modify at target but base cost for it alone is 130 minus my discount. Ive been looking since the begining of last week for something to build my viv out of with no luck. I think im just going to get ply wood and make a 6'hx2.5'dx4'w wooden "structure" to place her in. The bad thing is is that she'll still be stuck in the little tank for over a month. Do you all think the size of her "new home" would be suitable til adulthood? My fiance and I just spent over $100 dollars on new lamps, substrate, and dishes for our Beardies. whew...

[Pooka]

The 6x2.5x4 should work for a permenant home for a single animal if you allow her some free roam type excersise from tiem to time. I found doing the math on individual cuts on stock sized sheets of plywood/melamine that you could get a 6x2x4 cage out of 3 sheets with enough spare to make a few shelves, not sure how many full sheets you'd need to do a 2.5 deep, my guess would be at least 1 more then my equasion. If her total snout to tail length is less then 1/2 the length of the tanbk she is in now you have some time though, so think about your purchases and do what is right for both of you.