Female Chinese water dragons usually lay six to 15 eggs at a time, and they hatch after 60 to 75 days.
Egg laying: Water Dragons being a reptile, lay eggs (oviparous). The clutch of eggs range between 6 to 18 eggs, with a mean of 9 eggs.
Females can lay up to two clutches of 10–20 eggs each season, which are buried. The sex of each hatchling is determined by the temperature of the eggs during incubation. Water dragons can live up to 28 years in the wild and up to 40 years in captivity.
What exactly is parthenogenesis? Miller: Female Asian water dragons can reproduce sexually or asexually—with or without a male. This is called facultative parthenogenesis, and it comes in handy when an animal is trying to repopulate an area and cannot find a mate.
The female lies above the nest to deposit her eggs and then covers them with soil. The eggs hatch after about three months, and the young are completely independent from birth.
Feed juveniles daily; feed adults every 2 to 3 days. Feed Water dragons a variety of gut-loaded insects such as crickets, king mealworms, silkworms, and waxworms, as well as grasshoppers, roaches, and earthworms. Pinky mice and small fish may also be fed occasionally.
Water dragons can be kept together. Males tend to get along better with each other than females. Watch your dragons closely to be sure that one dragon is not guarding prime resources such as food and basking spots in order to prevent the other from gaining access.
Like most reptiles, water dragons do best when housed alone. They can be housed in reproductive groups of one male to one or more females, or multiple females. Males are territorial and cannot be housed together due to aggression.
Light stripes run vertically across each side of their bodies. They also have brown and green banded tails, large eyes and short snouts. Water dragons can live for 10 to 15 years.
Knowing the sex of your water dragon is important if you want to keep more than one in the same enclosure. Two mature males will fight, and these fights can often result in serious injury or even death. Two female dragons usually get along but they, too, can become territorial and may do better housed alone.
Water Dragons can sleep in the water, with just their nostrils protruding. In cold weather before they go into their winter dormancy (hibernation), sleeping in the water overnight, is actually warmer than sleeping in the open. Water Dragons can eat underwater.
They are also good swimmers and are happy when there is water in their enclosure as well. Chinese water dragons are social animals. They tend to thrive in captivity when in pairs or groups. This is recommended, especially since owning more than one Chinese water dragon doesn't require much more work (or expense).
Water dragons should be regularly fed large insects such as woodies, crickets and mealworms. A lean, salt and fat reduced (less than 1.5%) dog food (not fish) can also be mixed in with vegetables, calcium supplements and vitamin supplements to form a staple part of their diet.
Some dragon owners separate the male and female dragons for a week to encourage breeding behavior. Female Chinese water dragons lay eggs after a couple of months if mating is successful. You need to take good care of the female dragon during the egg laying process to ensure that the eggs are fertile.
Australian water dragons are omnivorous meaning that they can eat a varied diet of vegetation, insects and meat. Though they can eat vegetation we only provide a small dish of leafy greens as this species is normally far more focussed on insects and meat.
Juveniles usually require daily feedings, while adults may only need to be fed every two to three days. You can feed your adult dragon daily if you like, just be sure to keep the portion sizes small to prevent the dragon from becoming overweight.
NORMAL BEHAVIOR & INTERACTION: Water dragons are generally docile and intelligent lizards that will tolerate some handling when tamed.
Water dragons have plenty of stored fat, so they can go without eating for two months, although if you are keeping them as pets, keeping food from them is not recommended.
The female Water Dragons lack the bright colourations on the chest and throat, and have narrower, more delicate heads. The male Water Dragon's head is much larger and angular. In the Botanic Gardens we have Gippsland Water Dragons, lacking the dark stripe from ear to eye. This is a male.
Water Dragons are very social animals, enjoying interaction with their keepers. However, without an appropriately sized enclosure and ample feeding, keeping multiple Dragons at once can be detrimental to the health of the more passive individuals who may not be confident enough to eat with friends around.
Behavior. Chinese water dragons can be aggressive towards both males and females of their species. The good news is that Chinese water dragons are known for being friendly with humans.
Most dragons are not fond of the two hand hold and want to be free. If your dragon struggles or gets anxious while handling, it is better that you leave it alone. You should never try to restrain your pet forcefully or pull its tail. Picking up an aggressive dragon from its tail can cause the tail to break off.
At night the temperature can drop down to 75-80F (23-26C). You will need a ceramic bulb heating your tank 24/7 to provide your night time temperatures and ambient, and then a basking bulb in the hot side of the tank to create your basking temperature.
Chinese water dragons like to swim, so their enclosures should have 10 to 20 gallons of water. You can use something like a storage tub, cat litter pan, or aquarium. This needs to be cleaned daily, as the water dragons often use it as a bathroom.