Hello everyone...

My name is Alex, I'm 18 from Toledo, Ohio. I am a new Chinese Water Dragon owner as of yesterday.

I'm wondering, how should I go about taming my dragon to stay in my hand, or just generally be calm when let out?

I don't know if any of you use any particular techniques to hand-tame them, or?

Also, I have a 150 Watt UVA-only light sitting on top of the aquarium facing down in, and the dragon has a branch it sits on about 3" from that hot bulb, is that safe?

Last, how do I tell the dragon's sex?

Thanks in advance,
Alex

First, to answer some of your questions and help you with your new dragon, some questions:

How long is the dragon?
What is the size of the enclosure?
Could you describe the enclosure set-up, or better yet provide a photo?
What are the temperatures?
What is the humidity?
Do you have a UVB light?
Do you supplement the food with calcium?
What does the dragon's diet consist of?

You need a UVB light source if you do not have one. A good UVB fluorescent tube light would be the Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 (that is the linear version; NOT the compact - avoid compact UVB lights). You can buy a good UVB light online for far less than a pet store would sell the same light for:
Full Spectrum Fluorescent Bulbs For Reptiles UVB & UVA
UVB Fluorescent Lights, Mercury Vapor Bulbs
In addition to the UVB light, be sure to supplement the dragon's food with a pure (phosphorus-free and vitamin D3-free) calcium supplement. One without the other is useless.

Whether the heat light is safe or not depends on the temperature.

The dragon's sex cannot be determined until it is at least 14+" snout to tail length - at 14" snout to tail length the sex can only be guessed; the longer (older) the dragon, the more accurate the guess. By 18+" snout to tail length, the sex is obvious.

A reptile is not "tamable". It can learn to tolerate your presence, but it will not become "tame" or "domesticated" - it is still a wild animal with wild animal-instincts; it is not a cat or dog. Handling should be kept to a minimum. All in my opinion.

You should avoid handling right now. He is in a new home - handling will only stress him. Give him at least two weeks to adjust.

You can gain his trust by hand feeding him food. He will learn then that you, the giant, are not out to kill or eat him. You can get him used to your hands by working in the enclosure. Then, you can hold him for very short periods of time, once a day, increasing the time little by little - the maximum time should only be a few minutes. This all after he adjusts to his new home, of course. And, as I said before, handling should be kept to a minimum. Reptiles do not "enjoy" being handled by a potential predator that is a hundred times their size.

Tame:
1 : reduced from a state of native wildness especially so as to be tractable and useful to humans : domesticated <tame animals>
2 : made docile and submissive : subdued
3 : lacking spirit, zest, interest, or the capacity to excite : insipid <a tame campaign>

Techinicaly, some reptiles can be tamed, there is a difference between tamed and domesticated, Examples would be Argentinian B & W tegus that are leash trained, or a iguana that knows what "Home" means.
while they may not be completely tame, they are tamed.

Other then that I agree with dragonpaw, before your WD will be truly handleable, he has to lose the idea that your a threat.
most reptiles see things in two ways, Food, or Threat.

Before it wil become handleable, it has to lose the idea that you are a threat, seeing how its about 1/100th the size of you, that can be tough.

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

A reptile will never be "tame" as most people consider the word. This implies that it is harmless and can be trusted like a dog. This is not the case.
Reptiles can be socialized to tolerate human contact but they never lose their wildness.
Thinking otherwise will get you in trouble!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

If tame implies "harmless and can be trusted like a dog", no. but if you really get into the definition, there is some degree they can be considered tamed.
But I agree not tame like you would consider a dog or cat tame. I suppose you could say, in relation to, there are reptiles that could be considered tame, though tame in comparison to other reptiles.

So, using the word taming, is understandable, even if not 100% correct.

__________________
"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

Here is her Intro thread that we started discussing all this in....
Hello Everyone...

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I believe the dragon is about 10" long from nose to tail end. The enclosure is a 20L 30" x 12" x 12" and I plan to up the size as soon as I can. I only have on thermometor in there, on the side of the tank near the basking light, and it reads 80-82 F at night. 82-87F in the day. His current humidity is 70-75% but it drops to 50-60 sometimes. I've been working hard to improve humidity, and I've got it at 70-75% now. He got a ReptiSun UVB 18" tube yesterday for UVB lighting. I could not find ANY supplements in the pet store without Vitamin D3 which I don't want to give him, so no, he is not getting calcium. Where can I get him calcium? His diet consists of mealworms, waxworms, crickets, blueberries, collard greens and green been since we got him... but he has only touched the crickets - not the worms or veggies.

You can get pure calcium at any health food store or place where they sell vitamins for humans. You just powder the tablets.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Thanks for the info Merlin! I just noticed that my reptocal has D3 and panicked. Fishing online...and guess what? No one sells calcium supplements without it...even the ones specifically for Water Dragons. I take calcium myself...older aged ya know...lol I can buy a bigger container and share.

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"Dare to Dream! Without dreams, there is no Hope."
***Tami***

Are you monitoring the basking spot and other areas of the enclosure? The basking spot should be 90-95°F; the warm side 84-88°F; the cool side 75-80°F. The warm side of your enclosure has good temperatures.

Here are examples of calcium supplements without vitamin D3 and without phosphorus:
Rep-Cal Supplements
JurassiPet. JurassiCal
Zoo Med Repti Calcium WITHOUT D3


Human calcium supplements can be used (from what I have heard), but I would suppose that they are more expensive?

Dragons will rarely eat fruits, vegetables, or greens. Mealworms (chitinous with little nutrients) and waxworms (fatty and possibly addictive) should be offered only occasionally. Crickets may be used as a staple food, but dragons often get bored of them, so be ready with other food sources if that occurs. Variety is key to a healthy animal.

No need to panic. Vitamin D3 is advised against in supplements because it can be overdone and harm the dragon. Dragons make their own vitamin D3 with UVB; as long as a UVB source is available to the dragon, it can regulate the vitamin itself.