Hi all!

My newly purchased Water Dragon seems to be ill. I know from experience that when Water Dragons are under stress or their environment is changed they can turn a dark brown color but I thought that his color should turn back to bright green after a few days. It has been over a week since I brought him home and seems to be getting darker and darker and more listless!

He is a juvenile, his head is probably an inch and a half long and his body about 6 inches.

I have attached a picture of him eat a waxworm- he has actually been holding the worm in his mouth for 10-15 minutes.

If I pick him up he clasps his hands around each other and just lays in my hand semi-limp. When I go to set him down back in his terrarium he doesn't bother to put his legs down at all.

He is not gaping or making any kind of noises however when I got home from work today both of his eyes were watering and he seems to have a small piece of bedding in his eyelid. I removed that and rinsed him off in cool water about 1 hour ago.

The lights I am using are:

20W Repti Glo 5.0 UVB 24" florescent light

and

100w Zoo Med Basking Spot Lamp

His cage temp is around 88 degrees with a basking temp of 90-95.

I have been feeding him medium crickets (with powder), strawberries and waxworms and he always he fresh water.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what is causing these symptoms?

Attached Images

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I would suggest getting him to a vet. He sounds like one sick puppy. When you go to the vet, make sure it is a certified reptile vet, not just a general cat and dog one. Here is a link to the Reptile Vet Locater page. Reptile Forums - The HC Network - Reptile Vet Locator

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Thank you.

I called the vet closest to me (in Phoenix) but they were closed- I missed them by about 20 minutes!!!

I held him for a bit and he seems alert although he would not unfold his front arms. I set him back in his cage under his light and he finally jumped down off of his branch after several minutes.

Both eyes are still watery but he is moving around... he has yet to eat another worm though and has been pretty good about eating for the week that I've had him.

I'll call the vet tomorrow and see if I can get in... in the meantime I would appreciate any tips or advice or words of wisdom that anyone can give me!

You can bump the temp and humidity up a bit. Other than that you really need to see what the vet says. Check the list again to see if there is an emergency vet in your area. It sounds like your dragon is pretty listless and that's not really a good sign.

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I know your UVB bulb will need to be changed. CWDs have a very high UVB need and a 5.0 isn't enough. If you want to keep using a strip light, you will need to get a 10.0, however you can kill two birds with one stone and get a Mercury vapor bulb that produces a better quality UVB, lasts twice as long and produces heat as well.

Welcome To ReptileUV - Mega-Ray® UVB lamps for reptile lighting worldwide

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

Thanks for the advice on the bulb. I find it strange that the woman who sold him to me would suggest an inefficient UVB bulb? Oh well, at least I found out early on enough.

Anyway, he is doing much, MUCH better. Actually, last night we rinsed his eye out again and I gently worked the remaining debris that was in the corner of his eye that seemed to be causing it to water. After that his whole demeanor changed and he started bouncing around again!

When I got up today and turned his lights on he got right up and today after work he seemed to be back to his old self.

His appetite is back but his color is still off. I will try the new light and see if that helps his color. I did increase his cage temp and that seemed to help a little bit.

Thanks again for the advice!

You would be surprised at what people will say when they are trying to sell an animal. They don't want to scare you off by telling you just how expensive everything they need is going to be so they tell you the bare minimums. On the flip side they will also tell you that certain things are ok, just to get a sale (calci-sand, hot rocks, ect).

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What substrate are you using that got in his eye? I would consider changing it to something else to avoid it happening again.

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

For a very long time the reptisun 5.0 was the leading UV light recommended for all UVB requiring species. The past 5 years have produced lights that are much better than the 5.0.

The 5.0 isn't necessarily inefficient. If the water dragon can get within 10 inches of the bulbs surface, and the light is replaced every 6 months, it would be putting out enough UVB where the water dragon would be able to create the D3 required for calcium absorption.

The Mercury Vapor that schlegelbagel linked is a great light. Not only do the SB series produce UVB and heat, but they out live the fluorescents by more than a year! I have a light that I have been running for over 1.5 years and it is still pushing 85+ uW/cm2 at 14 inches. That’s more than double the output of a brand new fluorescent, and this light is over 1.5 years old!

The 10.0, while it has an initially higher output than the 5.0 (10 uW/cm2 more), it has the same decay rate as the 5.0 and also needs replacing every 6 months. Using a reflector increases the uv by almost double. If you are using a fluorescent, make sure you have a reflector hood to house it. If you are using a normal fishtank hood, take some aluminum foil and smooth it out. Then line the inside of the hood with it. That will help raise the output by reflecting the uv that the top of the light is producing back into the enclosure.

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Thank you. I am going to pick up the vapor bulb tonight.