reuben.a Posted December 29, 2012 Report Share Posted December 29, 2012 so i purchased a uvb bulb, its an exo terra compact 2.0. my question is, would 2.0 be enough for a water dragon? i was told by the pet shop it would be fine but i thought i better get everyone elses opinion before i get the dragon. enclosure is fully set up now with water area, heat lamp and a bit of room for a hatchling btw just need to sort this uv lighting out now :facepalm: haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FACEAnthrax Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 so i purchased a uvb bulb, its an exo terra compact 2.0. my question is, would 2.0 be enough for a water dragon? i was told by the pet shop it would be fine but i thought i better get everyone elses opinion before i get the dragon. enclosure is fully set up now with water area, heat lamp and a bit of room for a hatchling btw just need to sort this uv lighting out now :facepalm: haha Short answer, No. For an indoor water dragon I would definitely say it needs a 10.0% bulb as they spend a lot of time in the sun and other open areas naturally in Aus. From memory 2.0 bulbs are for nocturnal and ones like frogs that spend a lot of time under cover. 5.0 are for ones such as turtles or those that spend a medium amount of time in the trees and a 10.0+ is for desert and open area reptiles was my understanding of it anyway. I also recommend tubes over compacts as they can be quite harsh on them and tubes give a lot more spread of UVB throughout the viv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 I always considered water dragons to be more shady reptiles requiring a 5.0 bulb, in the wild they tend to inhabit more bush lined creeks than major rivers with open sunlight. they used to scare the crap out of me in brisbane, nice stroll ,massive splash and big dragon smashing away from you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reuben.a Posted December 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 yeah i was thinking similarly to fishguy as in aussie you often see them perched in trees and shrubs etc but ill just get a 10.0 to be safe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repto Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 it may seem shady,but they can easily move to the sunny spots?they use the overhanging trees for cover from above attacks.You will be hard pressed to find a more alert lizard?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneaky2 Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 if your not 100% use a tube(any u.v rating) and angle a branch from 3 inches below tube ,to the bottom of the enclosure. the waterdragon will find its own happyplace on the branch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneaky2 Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 aaand swap the heat lamp out for a standard light bulb, say 60 watt, and do the same trick with another branch but give it 4 inches from the bulb minimum. heat lamps a waste of time for waterdragons as they dont supply high lumens or light intensity.bright light will stimulate activity. and no point heating the enclosure at night at this time of year,or any time of year. assuming your going to build an outside enclosure next spring?personaly id put it in an outside enclosure now as a hatchling till at least late march. n then either leave it out for winter to hibernate or move it back inside.not so good for taming but best situation for waterdragon health.GROW IT SLOW FOR THE FIRST YEAR. IT WILL ALMOST DOUBLE ITS LIFE SPAN,AND TRIPPLE ITS FERTILITY. get a fly trap goin as flys give them heaps of exersize and sharpens there aim,stay away from mealworms for at least the first 6 months.small locusts or wild grasshoppers good for handfeeding to tame up.put a smallamount of finely choped carrot,butch white lable dog roll and dandylion leaf n flowers in equal parts in the enclosure,the flies will land on it n the dragon will lunge at them and eventualy make the conection n then you got a base food with live bugs for fill in. make sure you change the mix every day to minumise disease risk. earthworms good food,those jet plane looking lacewing hoppy things reeeeeal good.n any other bug thats not toxic or flysprayd .iv seen hatchlings smash wasps but always makes me nervous n would'nt recomend them till w dragon at least 10 inches long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reuben.a Posted January 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 okay thanks, really helpfull advise! :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reuben.a Posted January 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 just a probly stupid question but would you mind telling me what the definition of "slow growing" is? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 don't keep them heated all year round and power feed them nice and natural is always best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reuben.a Posted January 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 i have a water dragon now hes soo cool, around 15cm incl tail. hes doing really we and im already able to hand feed him after a day of having him! :happy1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinefish4life Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 i have a water dragon now hes soo cool, around 15cm incl tail. hes doing really we and im already able to hand feed him after a day of having him! :happy1: defiantly a cool looking falla , post a pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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