Well we just got a new addition. A male WD about 5yrs old. He was being kept is a 10 gallon aquarium with barely any water. His jaw is soft, but otherwise he is in good condition. They were giving him calcium, but only had a basking light on him, no UVB at all. So we brought him home and put him in a larger enclosure and have had the UVB on him at least 12hr a day and have been giving him calcium 2x's a week. I am trying to get an appointment with a our vet, but it might take a few days. So I have two questions, first off, is there anything else I can do to help him out with the soft bones issue other than calcium and UVB? Second How long is everybodies WD? Both of ours are rescues, so one is a 4yr old male and 18in long snout to tail, but he is missing some of his face and part of his tail, the new one is maybe 21-maybe 22in and he is a 5yr old male. I thought males were suppose to be longer than that...is it just cause mine were so poorly kept before I got them?

here is a picture, i think

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Hello,

Congratulations on the new addition and kudos to you for the rescue!

The soft jaw (also called rubber jaw) is from the calcium deficiency most likely. The stunted growth will also be accountable for the poor care.

When you see the vet, he will likely run a blood panel to check the calcium levels in the blood and may give some injections. Proper exposure to quality UV and a good diet will certainly help get this little guy back on track.

Most reptiles are very resilient critters and once their care is corrected, will begin showing improvement fairly quickly.

Good luck and keep us posted.

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Woah. How did they ever keep a Water Dragon in a ten gallon tank past the first month? That's crazy. Mine started out in a 55g tank.

This Water Dragon's size is definitely due to poor care. By this age he should be close to three feet long.

I wonder if they got him from a pet store that told them if they kept him in a little cage, he'd stay little. I had a pet store worker try that line on me once - said they kept three small that way. I couldn't help but respond that the only reason why a water dragon stays small is because of severe abuse, and they don't tend to live very long. Sure enough, her dragons only lasted a couple of years.

I'm not sure there's much more you can do except give him his calcium supplements and UVB, unfortunately. Maybe someone else knows a few more ways.

Unfortunately, even with good care from now on, it's likely that your dragon won't grow too much bigger than he is.

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"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

when I first talked to the guy he said he was in a 20 gallon aquarium, when we went to see him, it was a 10 gal. I don't think the guy was trying to lie I just don't think he knew. He said that the 40 gal or so he had, had broken, so he was only in the small one for a month or so. If he thought the 10 was a 20 I can only assume he thought a 20 was a 40. I know he won't get any bigger, I was just wondering if water dragons do actually get to the 3 ft people keep telling me they do All I have are my rescues. I am hoping with a little TLC he will start to thrive.

hey bro I was looking into that dragon to adopt if you did you get it off the internet than we were looking into the came dragon lol

well, first of all, I am also a chick. Second, I thought you were in TX? I am in central CA. This WD was local to me.

Yes, with proper care they do get that size - or close. Each dragon is different, of course, so up to three feet is probably more accurate. But if the one you rescued had been cared for properly, he should have been somewhere in that range.

It's funny with adoptions, once you get used to fixing the problems the previous owner caused, you forget what a "normal" animal's behavior should be. Then when you look into getting a new hatchling or juvenile, you look at the guidelines again and think, "that seems too easy!" It's really great, though, that you are able to give this one better care than it was receiving.

__________________
"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

congrats on your rescues. Its nice these animals have very good people to save them from bad situations.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

i do I was looking into that same dragon though I can swear