When in the pet stores I always prowl through the reptile section... Ive never noticed any odd things before... But when I was watching the cute baby water dragon... I noticed it had its mouth constantly open (spent about 15 min watching him) He looked pretty healthy, he was active, Nice bright green in color, but the entire time his mouth was open (not in an aggressive posture) Is there a common problem, that this is a symptom of? I have a year old WD but have never observed this... and I havent been able to find anything online about it...

It can mean a number of different things,,, enclosure too hot, respitory infection and so on. It is definately not normal for it to sit there for long periods of time with the mouth open. Was it trying to intimidate you? Okay I am kidding now ,lol ...... Did you ssay something to the manager?

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

Yea I did say something... Struck me as odd... I havent had any of my critters come down with anything (knock on wood) but anything out of the norm will send me running to the vet... But, I wasnt sure what could cause it... I did think R.I. tho... And my book about WD's doesnt say anything about open mouths... I think its time to find a better book... Anyone know of a really good one I should run out and get?

actually I dont. I have not had one of those in for quite some time. So when someone gives a good suggestion I will have to pick one up also
So what did she say to you? (the store manager)

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

Oh she quicky walked over to him and goes uh oh your off to the vet.... she told on you... I just hope they actually take him to the vet...

Mine actually do this when they are basking in the light or the sun. I am careful not to over expose my WDs to either. I freaked out the first time that Emmie did this as a hatchling but in reading up on this - I discovered it is actually normal behavior and nothing to freak out about. She sometimes opens her mouth when I rub her head a certain way that she loves as well (and sticks her tongue out and closes her eyes) - the first time she did this I thought she was dead. But, she was just relaxed and enjoying her little massage. LOL.

Awe, Water Dragons sure love their massages... I have to rub mines head every night before I go to bed, or else there is a tantrum I have to clean up after the next morning lol...

I don't think it's normal for them to leave their mouths open for too long, though. Maybe for a short while for basking, but usually if it's a prolonged behavior, it means there is a problem. If the water dragon was really calm in the store, and not moving much, it's very likely a respiratory infection.

Unfortunately, that poor dragon is probably going to be sold to someone who's told, "it's the nicest, most docile dragon we have!" I hope he does get some care eventually.

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

Punctuation. It saves lives.

It didnt seem stressed at all, it was a nice bright green, It was moving around its enclosure, the only thing I thought was out of place was his mouth being open, so hopefully, brand x pet store really does fork out the $$ to take him to a vet... but Im sure that he may just get shipped back to the breeder, or stuck in a back room at the store... a $40 water dragon is worth $0 after a vet visit..... Which is a really really sad thing, but a reality when it comes to pet stores....

So anyone know of a really good WD book?

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France