crested water dragon feeding

[cwd222]

Just wondering if anyone knows if a crested water dragon is sheding... will he be eating?
and also when would be the best time to feed them to eat...do they eat in the day or is it mostly at night?
thx

[Yungair23]

"Most" lizards a Diurnal. This means they sleep at night and are up basking, eating, running around during the day. Feeding for a Water Dragon should be done sometime around 2hrs after the lights come on. Just when the lizard has basked enough to sustain a nice temp to go forage (look for food).

Shedding is known to cause some amount of stress. Stress means they eat less. So yes its possible that he will stop eating when he is nearing a shed or shedding. The humidity should be high, baths should be reqular during sheds. Not enough moisture on the skin and he will have problems. The most common area where the shed gets stuck is the toes. It builds up constricting the toes causing the blood to stop circulating to them and they lose their toes! Sooo just keep the humidity high and give him a bath or better yet allow a pool in the cage big enough to soak.

[VoodooChile]

You mean a Chinese Water Dragon? I haven't seen a crested? Unless its just something I'm not familiar with.

If its a Chinese Water Dragon we are talking about: mine ate fine during shed. Most young ones are insectivores and will only eat crickets, mealworms, some waxworms, roaches and other insects. Make sure you dust your insects with a good calcium/phosphorous dust 2:1 ratio, and provide a good UVA/UVB light source to help process D3.

I usually fed mine morning and night, and offered greens such as turnip greens, mustard greens & collard greens. Odds are, they won't be interested in greens and as juveniles, but most will go to a more omnivorous diet as they age.

I believe we have a caresheet for Chinese Water Dragons here on the forums, I'll have to look for it and link it for you.
Also, Tricia's Chinese Water Dragon, Reptile and Amphibian Care Page (Water Dragon care, Reptile care, Amphibian care) is a good site for info, as well.

Here's the link to the RTB caresheet for Chinese Water Dragons http://redtailboa.net/forums/lizard/...ocincinus.html