Australian Water Dragon

Australian Water Dragon
Physignathus lesueurrii

BUT AREN'T THEY JUST DIFFERENT COLORED CHINESE WATERDRAGONS?

No.
After owning an asian for a short period of time and aussies to date, I can honestly say the only similarities are basic diet, cage size, set up requirements (aboreal) and love of water.
Aside from the obvious differences in appearence, there is a definate difference in personality, hardiness, endoparasitic resistance and tolerance in environmental changes. The truth is, chinese waterdragons (CWD) are very difficult to keep alive and healthy. They require proper and almost perfect humidity, temps, lighting ...and even then it might not be enough. So many heartbroken owners write in to lists and forums asking what they did wrong.."she looked fine" or "I did everything" and still the animal dies. Go to these lists/forums. Take a mental note on how many posts you see from aussie owners and how many from asian owners. The results might suprise you. So far I have seen one out of hundreds. 99.9 percent of CWDs are wild caught. The subject of wild caught importation cruelty will be kept for another topic heading, but it might suprise some readers to understand that all the australian waterdragons people see for sale online and in stores are 100% captive bred. How do I know for sure?

Simple.
Australia does not legally allow exportation of animals. All have been captive bred here in the states and 90% can be traced back to Agama International.
The Langerwerf's have a page on their website (agamainternational.com) with excellent info on keeping aussie dragons and comparisons to asians (they have bred both).

1. CARE OF HATCHLINGS
One hatchling AuWD can start off in a 10 gallon tank with a reptisun/iguana light lamp across the top and a nocternal basking lamp (from 50-75 watts) on one end. If needed, one can also utilize an UTH as well. You can set the basking light and UTH on a thermostat to avoid problems, or you can buy a temp gun and regulate it yourself.
Ambient cage temp in coolest area should not fall below 75 and basking sites should go from 80 - 100. Give the dragon a choice even with basking temps. Utilizing branches, platforms and rocks at different levels starting from 5" from the top ...down to the bottom where you can place a slate rock--will let the animal decide how much heat it requires. The wattage of the basking light will depend on the season and ambient temp of the house. Temp gradients are important with awd's as with all reptiles. The more choices the better. Better to go with a lower wattage heat lamp and provide different levels of basking then to go very high and give the animal no choice but to bake or hide. I recommend tube lights rather then UV heat bulbs for a 10 gallon
tank because the mildest Powersun, HighNoon or FSS lamps will be way too strong for that size cage (or even your average 20 gallon). By the time the tube begins to wear out (sooner then you think) the dragon would have long since outgrown the cage anyway. Some people believe you should go large immediately with enclosures..
...and monetarily this is a good idea. For aussies it may be wiser, if you have the resources, to have the cage grow with the animal. For taming purposes this is the best method. If however, you are looking for a pure terrarium animal that you plan
to observe more than cuddle, then go as large as you wish immediately. Just be sure the dragon can find it's food and water
I strongly suggest, making the switch from tubes to UVH lamps for larger cages for many reasons. (See file enititled UV lamps or read Jan 2004 issue of reptile's mag on lamps for more info). In the properly sized and stocked cage, these bulbs are wonderful for color, health and longevity. They mimic the sun better then any other indoor source and are well worth the extra money. For day/night cycles get a 24 hour timer or even better: a day/night powercenter timer by ESU, this timer does it all on one strip. For new babies set the timer for an hour or two before you wake or an hour or two after the house goes to sleep. This will give the dragon time to explore it's new surroundings with no outside stimuli. A day cycle is about 12 -14 hours depending on the season. Nightime temps can go down a bit but for new arrivals keep the cage on the warm side for a couple of weeks. If you get your dragon in the summer verses the winter every thing is relative so use good judgement.
Email with any questions and I will do my best to answer them, or direct
you to a person who can. Be sure and include hidecave/box for security. It's important for AuWD's to feel secure and safe within their home. At first they will hide alot. They all do this and it's no need for concern. For taming please see the file entitled

TAMING LIZARDS.
For hatchling food, use a clear plastic sandwitch container, that you can buy at any supermarket. Count out the properly sized crickets or worms and make sure the dragon has another container right next to it with water. I put a log or rock in between so the animal can get in and out. For hatchlings, these containers are ideal for many reasons.
For one: since the container is clear the movement of the food can be seen at any angle. If the dragon is high it can see from above---but it can also see from ground level as well.
For another: The items are inexpensive and easy to clean 3: They work If leaving live prey items in the cage overnight, also leave some sort of food item for moisture, like an apple slice or vegetable matter piece. This will encourage the insects to stay in the pan. As the animal gets a bit larger a paint roller pan or cat litter pan is ideal. Water should be changed once a day when utilizing a non filtered source of water. I like to use bottled water for all hatchlings, but this is a personal choice. Water quality varies from place to place and for babies I want to be sure. They are always stressed out enough upon arrival. If you are waiting to see your new aussie dragon eat you are in for a long game of cat and mouse. They are shy eaters and they have made more
then one new owner panic because "My dragon isn't eating!". Your dragon will eat when you leave it alone and stop watching it :-) I sware, it's like these lizards can sense a pair of eyeballs on the back of their heads.
Mine will slowly turn around to face me as if we were in some B horror movie and then lock eyes with mine. Either that or a quick glare to let me know they feel my presence.

Very intuitive creatures.
This lizard does well if handling is put off
for 2 weeks as they get accustomed to your presence
and home.

2. FOOD/SUPPLEMENTS FOR HATCHLING Au DRAGONS
Buy a quality supplement like Repti powders or sticky tongue. Dust
food as follows:

*Dusted Crickets (1/2 inch max)
*Young Dusted Mealworms
*Waxworms (weekly treat)
*Silks & butters

Fruits/vegetables can be attempted but do not be suprised if your dragon is like most and does not show an interest. D3 supplementation should not be attempted by anything other then an advanced herper with many years of experience and veterinary imput. It is very easy to overdose the animal and it is not required with a quality uvb lamp.Ph to Ca ratios should be considered, and PH-free is recommended. Many people feed cat food to their reptiles. This should be done in small quantities as the D3 content in most canned petfoods is high, therefore unsuitable as anything except an occasional treat.

3. HUMIDITY FOR HATCHLING Au DRAGONS
Humidity should be kept at a higher percentage with babies and new additions, but happily it is still not the priority it is with Asian dragons. For the first 2 weeks with healthy specimens, a 60-70% humidity will be fine. With enough water to soak, your dragon will regulate themselves after that. I use a reptarium (screened cage)for my adults, and a 50 gallon, filtered pool. Ambient humidty is never a factor in successful sheds or overall health. The AuWD's will soak when they need more moisture. I have never seen a difficult shed once. Too much moisture however, can contribute to everal forms of skin rot and/or bacterial problems. It's is much better to let this animal care and decide for itself. An AsianWD faced with low humidity and temps might suffer from bad sheds and URI which kill some animals. This same scenario in an AuWD cage would produce dragons who soaked/swam alot to keep up moisture and if temps lower substancially the animal would brumate.

4. SUBSTRATE FOR HATCHLINGS
Reptile Supply Stores/Homedepot/nursuries

*Reptilawn
*Bed a Beast
*indoor outdoor carpeting (turfless)
*newspaper
*Peat moss

5. SUBADULTS AND JUVIES
You can now use a pyrex lasagna pan or any large, clear, rectangular tray. This is so the dragon can get in and eat and still see movement from all angles. You can begin feeding mouse pinks and larger insects. In some cases if the dragon is a large child, you can start day old quail.You can put the dragon in a 65-75 gallon cage. It's a good idea to begin to provide a "dirt box" of substrate for females to get aquainted with if you are using carpeting, newspaper or papertowels. As with most reptiles, a female without a proper place to lay her eggs might become eggbound, so it's best to begin as soon as you sex the dragon.

6. ADULT AuDRAGONS
Sexing AuDrgns is easy most of the time. Males get a dark salmon to red chest and belly; a strong, high crest; larger thicker heads and bodies; starker coloration, more black and white (females have a more blurred grey pattern) and whiter lips. The femoral pores are much more apparent on the males as with asian dragons. I have two males that share a cage with no problems, in fact they appear to like eachother. If your dragons will be raised together from hatchling size, are the same size, two hides are provided, you follow the guidelines below, there are only 2 to a cage, and you do not plan on hibernating them for breeding, you will have no problems. If more then one adult will be sharing the same quarters, you will need multiple basking sites and at least 2 feeding trays On opposite ends of the cage.
A larger filtered pool can be utilized. (You can see more under FILTRATION FILE)
Adult AuWD's can eat day old quail (being tree dwellers I bet the access to birds is more abundant then access to rodents), hoppers, larger fish, and rat pinks. As an occasional treat (pick one or two days a month) you can feed chicken hearts (found in the gizzards of supermarket chicken) dusted with Ca, and a teaspoon of ground turkey dusted with vitamins.
I have heard reports about these animals relishing cubbed fish like snapper, and chunks of chicken breast. Be moderate in any food that is not whole prey and be sure to make it count with some sort of supplement. Nice natural Ca supplements are bone meal, cuttlebone and ground egg shells.Adults will sleep on branches under CHE's or nightlights, I took the caves out at this point to provide more climbing area. You can go into a 260 reptarium for 2 adults max. Either caver 3 sides with softrays or make sure the cage is in no way in the middle of a heavy draft in the winter (like near a front or back door).
An inexpensive way to create a larger indoor cage is to put 2 260 gallons together and to use ties to keep the cages together. If you use black ties (available from a local dollar store) you will not even notice them. With a 260 (alone or in pairs) lying flat or tall, you will need a heater for the bottom. Anything from an UTH to a heat mat will do. I use a Kane's heat mat for the WD cage. It can get wet and is thick and heavy. You can put your carpeting/substrate right on top with no problems.

BEHAVIOR THROUGH THE STAGES
As babies they will hide and take off at the second you approach the cage. As juvies they will stay but still have their guard up. As young adults they will watch as you put the food in the cage and in some cases become extremely tame. This depends on how much time you put into them and what type of pet you want. It also varies with individual personalities.
They are dinosaur like in appearance as adults. Very much gluttons if you allow it. Keep treats as treats and not staples and you will have a healthy pet for many years to come. If you become restless, feeling tied to the cage, you can allow hibernation to occur each fall and be "petless" until the spring. Enjoy your waterdragon, you have made an excellent captive choice.