Hi.
I bought two Water Dragons about 3 months ago that were captive bred and very healthy. I keep them in a viv that I built that is 41'x36'x18' with glass sliding doors. They have 2 basking sites, one above a shelf with 100 watt bulb (88-95 degrees) and one below the shelf with a 40watt (78-82) with a heat mat on the same side. They also have a cooler side which normally runs at about 75 to 80. They have a large water bowl, some branches and two dragon plants on their cool side.
The problem started about 1 month ago when the smaller of the two (about 3 and a half inches snout to vent length) stopped getting in his water bowl, which he normally did. He also stopped being as active as he was and had a reduced appetite. He was struggling to shed properly which i've been told is a sign of poor health and one night I saw him gaping. I thought respiritory infection straight away and took him to the vets next day. He confirmed this and gave him 3 jabs of antibiotics over the next week. He looks a bit better now but he is still not 100%. I am very worried because the larger one (5 inch snout to vent length) has now been gaping although he has not dropped in condition and still eats like a pig. I feel really bad because I feel like im making them suffer, but I try to do everything by the book. I was told by the pet shop that the night time temp could safely drop to 65 so I did not regulate this properley for the first few weeks thinking it would be fine. Any help or info to help get my babies healthy again will be great because the vet isn't much help other than providing medicine. Thanks again.

I know nothing about Chinese Water Dragon's but you should refer to our caresheet: Chinese Water Dragon Caresheet
We have alot of well educated Chinese Water Dragon keepers here and i'm sure they will be along shortly to help out.
I would recommend seperating the dragons, dragons of diffrent sizes as well as sick dragons should not be kept together. Also if you suspect a resperitory infection I would get the dragon to the vet as soon as possible, URI's are best treated early.



Also we edited your post to make it easier to read, please refer to this thread: http://www.herpcenter.com/3320-posting_language.html
Please pay special attention to capitalization and punctuation, we have alot of international members who have to translate the pages.

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The one could be gapping so that he can regulate his body temp, this is how some dragons react instead of moving. The smaller could have decreased in health if the larger one was being dominant, this causes stress and you may need to seperate until the smaller is healthy again or catches up in size.

The size of tank you mentioned will not be big enough as they start growing, which will also cause stress.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

I dont think hes regulating his body temp by gaping as he has also been doing it at the cool end???I am going to get another set up this week so I can seperate them until better.the slightly bigger one was moving his arm around earlier at 90degrees like waving.is this a sign of him being dominant?I will also get a much bigger enclosure as they grow but at the minute they are still very small.

Yes, waving would be a sign of dominance. I will see if I can find more info for you about gaping.

Arm wavng:
Dragon Tips - Important information and tips about Chinese water dragon care (ill, sick, care, cage, diet, problem)

Gaping
Dragon Tips - Important information and tips about Chinese water dragon care (ill, sick, care, cage, diet, problem)

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Thank you venus thats really helped., Defiantly going to separate them as soon as possible but just means getting whole new set up. I'm going to get to the vets with the larger one asap and keep an eye on floyd (the little one)to see if the antibiotics make him better. Is there a good chance they will make a full recovery because I know how delicate these creatures can be.

Seems like you are catching the illnesses in time, with proper meds and care, I am sure they are going to be fine. Keep us posted and share some pics with us if you can.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

I think you should keep them seperated to avoid spreading infection and stop the larger one from domintaing the little guy. They will make a full recovery if you keep up with the meds and proper care...good luck! And keep us posted.