Hi all!

I wanted to share the new home my Water Dragon was moved into over the weekend. It is 7 feet by 4 feet by 2 feet with the actual cage part being a little over 4 feet high.

As you can hopefully see, there are PLENTY of climbing branches and vines for him to do his thing on. The cage itself is mesh/ chicken wire all around so I have it next to a window in my living room (hence the big screen TV in one of the pics) so that the natural light will shine on the whole right side of his cage and keep the temperature a bit higher. The last 3 days here in Phoenix have been around 115 degrees and even though the window is closed Rush seems to be LOVING the natural sunlight!

He has one basking spot lamp (125 watt) and 2 UVB lights. 1 came with the cage and I think is a 5.0 so I just transported the 10.0 from his baby home and set it on top to ensure he's getting enough UVB. I'm wondering if I should set the other 100w spot lamp up for good measure?

I keep 2 thermometers at the bottom of the cage and have recorded his day time temp at 90-95 degrees and night time temp around 80. There is also a humidifier at the bottom of the cage that I let run once I get home around 4 or 5 until bedtime (for him that is) which is around 9:00ish. I am thinking that I'm going to need to pull the bottom out of the cage and figure out how to make half of it a pool for water and the other half regular turf. Any ideas on this would be helpful!

So, some of you may remember me mentioning in another thread how Rush would never eat from my hand and seemed very standoffish with me... Yesterday, he ate a waxworm from my hand! It was strange, he sort of opened his mouth and tilted his head back for me to drop it in there and then just held in his mouth for a few minutes before chewing. I guess he wanted to make sure it was safe??? Today Rush ate 2 worms from the cup as I held it up to him so it seems we're making progress!

Quick question- Rush is STILL a darker brownish color... he hasn't lightened up as most people said he would after being in his new home for a while. Does anyone know why he would still be this dark brown color? Or is that just "his color" like how humans come in many different shades of skin color? Any advice would be appreciated! I have had him for almost 2 months so I'm feeling like he should start to lighten soon if he is going to at all.

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Well, moving into the home just this weekend will cause stress, so that could be part of the brown.

2 questions.

First, the entire outside screen? If so you are going to have humidity problems. Do you know what your current humidity is? I do see a humidifier in there, so I was wondering.

2nd, is the top the same screen? If so you need to change that out to a hardware cloth with 1/2 inch squares. This will make sure all the UVB you are giving him comes through. I know he is basking in the light that comes through the window, but remember, he doesn't get UVB from that. Pay close attention to your temps to be sure it doesn't get too hot, but you don't have the problems many do with a glass enclosure. I will give you props to being eco-friendly on heat.

Looks good!

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

If by "chicken wire" you mean the circular holed thin wire that they make chicken coops out of, that needs to be replaced. That stuff is known to cut off toes!
A mesh cage will also make it impossible to control heat and humidity.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Oh wow ok I am glad I posted those details. Thanks for the feedback.

To answer some questions:

1. Yes, the top is a screen material. So, the
UV rays will not penetrate this???

2. The chicken wire is on the OUTSIDE of the screen so Rush wouldn't ever actually come in contact with just the chicken wire. I believe it is there just for reinforcement.

Do you think I should have plexiglass or something mounted on 3 of the sides then???

I have a humidifier in the cage and I spray the cage 3 times per day. You don't think this will be enough? Every time I check the temp it is around 90 degrees so it seems to be warm enough in there... also, when I pick Rush up his body is warm which should be a good sign, right?

Your feedback is really appreciated.

One more thing, would his brown color be indicative of him being wild caught? He has been brown the entire time I've had him!

Thanks again

one more thing for clarification: by "screen" I mean a soft, meshy type screen... the type that would be found on older screen doors if that helps.

He has the 125 watt basking bulb just outside of the cage on top and one UVB florescent IN the cage mounted towards the back of the top of the cage. There is another UVB on the top on the outside. Are you saying this wouldn't be enough?

Here are some pics taken of him today. Would you be worried about this color?

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ANything with holes less than 1/4 inch will greatly reduce, if not nullify the UVB getting to your water dragon.

I know you have posted temps, but what is your humidity? You need an actual reading to see if the humidifier is doing its job.

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

humidity is showing at 70% but that doesn't seem right... the gauge hasn't moved (noticably) since I put it in there. I will get a digital one this weekend...

I suppose I am going to end up needing to get attach plexiglass to the 3 sides considering what you both have said about being able to control temperature and humidity.

By the way, Rush has started shedding and the skin underneath is very green... I guess it was just his old coat that was causing him to look so brown.