Hi, I am going to be getting a CWD soon and I currently have a size 20 long aquarium, I wanted to know what size should I eventually upgrade to?
You need an enclosure around 6ft tall, 4ft long, and 4ft deep. A 20 gallon long is not large enough even for a young dragon. These animals need tons of room, and become easily stressed in enclosures that are too small. Stress can cause refusal to eat, sickness, injury, and even death if a dragon is not housed properly. There are lots of nice lizards out there that are smaller that would do great in a 20 gallon long, so you may want to choose a little guy for that, and custom build for your dragon.
I plan to do a custom build for my dragon but I don't know what materials to use, I was thinking to use plywood and plexiglass.
That's what most people do. Make sure you water-seal all the wood that you use. And be sure to give the sealant time to cure and air out so you don't have toxic fumes in the enclosure. Its best to have the enclosure built and completely set up before you get the dragon. I wish I had done it that way, it would have saved a lot of headache.
Then you should work on getting the custom cage first. Here's a tip: if you can get the cage and lighting set up perfectly before you get the CWD it will save you alot of money in vet bills. CWDs are fragile and alot of their health issues are from poor husbandry either through neglect or ignorance.
That sounds like a great plan so I guess I have no choice but to follow through with it as soon as I get a job lol.
I'll look into it, I've been doing some planning for a huge enclosure it's going to be 4'x4'x6' it's going to have a sturdy and weight supporting base made from wood with the inside lined. (I don't know what with yet) The top will be made mostly of screen so not as much Uvb is blocked and I haven't really thought of the inside much beside the fact of my 20 gallon long will end up being a pool for him. I plan to save up for the 36" uvb light as well for the top.
Instead of plexiglas, go with real glass. Plexi scratches too easily. Which will make it a nightmare to control heat and humidity.
By you opening the door twice a day. Tai's enclosure seen here: http://www.herpcenter.com/general-construction/44252-chinese-water-dragon-corner-vive.html is a good idea on how to construct a CWD cage. What I did with the lights is built a box inside his cage and then put chicken wire down to seperate him from the lights and make it so tai can't reach them when climbing.
Okay It sounds like a plan so I will just open the cage when I switch the lights and spray the cage for the humidity.
Well and to feed and clean the cage. Honestly you don't need to go out of your way to leave the doors open or anything. The time it takes you to feed, water, clean, and pet (you know your gonna) is plenty of time for air circulation and you should be doing these things at least twice a day.
