Behavior, Taming and

Handling

People always want to hold your Water Dragon, but they are always are kind of timid and afraid at first and ask " Do they bite?." Well I always say they could but I have never known them to, after all they are not lap dogs they are lizards, and if you are not used to lizard behaviour then you dont know what to expect. Sometimes they will put on a little show like all of a sudden they are aggressive, but that passes as fast as it comes. For the most part Water Dragons are a very docile bunch that settle well into captivity with minimum stress. Hopefully this next section will help to let you know what you can expect.

Water Dragons can be very entertaining at times, they love to climb on everything then go for quick dips in there water. My Guido cant go 1 day without his morning bath and a good scratching behind the ears to get all the dirt off his head. Sometimes they like to chase eachother around and play. With occasional aggressive displays towards eachother in the form of arm waiving, puffing up the throat, head bobbing, tail flicking and aggressive chasing. I have had my male bob his head at me but I just do it back at him then he stops. He might act like he will bite but he never carries it out. But then again I am always careful to not startle them I dont just swoop in and grab them, most of the time I`ll let them see me then scratch the back of there head before I pick them up. Then when I pick them up I will hold them loosely under there arms. Because they dont like feeling squeezed and confined. Some Water Dragons will whip there tails about if they dont want to be held. I will just hold them a little firmer so they dont fall and hurt themselves until they stop. Alot of it is letting them know that , that kind of behaviour is not going to make you go away. If they see that it will then they will always do it. You must be prepared for the occasional tantrum. Water Dragons can be extremely playful and curious always trying to find new things to play with, or climb on, or jump off of. It can be very fun to watch.

Taming

I have owned Iguana`s and Water Dragon`s for some time, and the taming techniques are relatively the same except, Water Dragons take far less time and attention to train. They are far less aggressive and high strung than the Iguana. Dont try to handle any lizard until he has become accustomed to his new home and has been eating well. This will help reduce the stress level. At first try 15 minutes of handling once or twice a day for the first couple weeks then slowly increase the duration and intervals between handlings. For the more skittish dragon you might want to start out with some light petting then slowly working up to handling. Again always be sure to let them know you are there first and dont just swoop in and startle them. They might think they are being attacked by a predator and react aggresively or it could cause alot of undue stress and make them even more skittish. Sooner or later with proper handling and time your Water Dragon will realize you are`nt going to eat them and you are actually the one that gives them what they need. Then you can start to let it out into a small escape proof room and let them roam around for awhile. This will help develop trust and bonding. They may initially want to hide but if you gentle uncover them and place them back in the middle of the room. They will soon realize that it is safe to roam. It may take some time but with daily handling and roaming they will soon become quite comfortable with you around.

Handling

Some Water Dragons enjoy being held more than others. But almost all do not like the two handed hold, the much more prefer to rest on your hand, arm, shoulder, head, lap etc.. Just as long as they dont feel restrained. Guido loves to rest on my chest when I am laying down. Roxy likes the one handed under the upper arm, belly hold. Sometimes neither will sit still and will just explore everything. Talk to your dragon softly before trying to pick them up, this is important in the beginning to help relax them. Hold them with one hand in such a way under their belly and by their front legs as to provide them support but also so they dont feel restrained but they wont get away if they struggle alot. Sounds harder than it is, but with practice you will see what I mean. Do not ever pick them up or grab them by the tail. It will fall off. Do not hold them upside down or on there backs for an extended period, because lizards use there ribs moving in and out to breath instead of a diaphragm. If you do hold them like that for to long there stomach will push on their lungs and make it hard for them to breath, thus causing suffocation.

Dragon Proofing

It is preferable to use a room with a door so you can close it and keep out unwanted animals or people. Or to keep the dragon from getting out into unwanted areas of the house. If there is a gap place a towel or blanket under it. If there is any furniture you dont want them getting under place a towel or blanket at it`s foot. If there are any hloes or cracks anywhere that you dont want them getting into cover them with tape or something. Even open sockets, cover them up. If there are curtains you dont want them climbing raise them where they cant reach. Take a good look around and make sure everything you dont want them into, or under,  or climbing on is taken care of. If you are gonna let them out in this room alot you might want to put in something for them to climb, as long as it is`nt a plant or something that is toxic to them. You will also have to keep the room 80 degrees F or supply a heat pad, and some sort of UVB lighting. That is if you will have them out in this room for hours at a time. Water Dragons are diurnal, meaning they sleep at night and are typically up between 8am -8pm. I keep there lights on timers so whatever time you have them going on and off will basically be the time they wake up and fall asleep. Once the lights go out they will soon be asleep.

Dragon Socializing

I think that Water Dragons are social animals. They have a basic chain of command between them or hiarchy. There is usually the dominate one on down to the least dominate. They will wave arms, head bob, chase,  run or lay down with belly on floor in a submissive posture to get this order straight. The male is usually the leader of the bunch then 1 main leading female with other subordinates. The upper superior animal , if the subordinate does`nt satisfy them with some sort of submissive motion, will charge after them as if to attack them then lay there head on top of them or aggressively lick them. Or they will hiss at eachother and circle one another. They will even head butt eachother with their mouths open but not biting. The leader is usually established when one runs away. The leader always has the best basking spot and whatever food he wants first so make sure in a big group there is enough to go around. All in all they are usually just displays with no one ever getting hurt, but if you do notice that an animal is getting injured from these confrontations you may want to consider seperating them and introducing them slowly.

Check out the new 260 gallon Reptarium I constructed for Guido and Roxy. Click on 1 of my many pics links and go to the mylizards2 album. This thing is Sweeeeeeeeet!!!!!