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An
introduction
There a
several different types of "water dragons," but this site will be based on the Chinese water dragon, or Asian or Green water
dragon. The scientific name is Physignathus cocincinus.
They are found in many South East Asian countries where
they live in the tropical rain forest. They are aboreal creatures, which means they spend their lives up in
the trees. They also love water and will come down from their homes in the trees to swim, soak and drink.
Sadly,
most of these animals are wild caught and brought to the United States and other countries, in horrific conditions. These
are called 'wild caught' and are often sold in the big chain pet stores. There is a minimal amount of 'captive bred'
dragons, although they have grown in numbers over the last few years. Often times when wild caught dragons are transported,
many of them die or make it to the pet stores, only to have the horrible conditions that they live in continue.
I would love to educate others in the care of these amazing creatures, as they should be able to live a long and happy life.
Water dragons
can live anywhere from 10-15 years if they are taken care of properly. They are handable lizards, but not the easiest
to tame. They stress easily and can be jumpy with handling. With more and more handling, they do get better, but
will never be completely tame, as they are, truly at heart, a wild animal. Sometimes it is best just to watch and enjoy from
outside of their cage looking in.
Well to top off the introduction of water dragons, I guess
I will introduce myself somewhat. I am a Registered Nurse who over the last couple years, have found my way into
the reptile scene. My infatuation with the cold blooded kind started with my husband begging me to get a lizard that
we saw at a local petstore. We found out it was a Chinese water dragon. We did the research on the little fellow and
bought her and her supplies a week or so later. Home came our dragon Rogue. Knowing what I know now, I would have done things
a little differently. But on we go....A month later we built a huge vivarium and decided we needed another little friend.
We came across another local pet store that had about 10-20 dragons in a small 10 gallon tank. I was horrified at the
conditions and decided we had to at least save one. This is when Stormie came into our life. Now I have two beautiful,
healthy, female dragons who I completely adore. They both are approximately 2.5 - 3 years old. I have
had them 1.5 years as of May '06. I hope to give them the best life possible and by making this site, I hope to give other
dragons the same chance.
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