Anorexia in my Chinese Water Dragon?

Question

Since getting my WD almost three years ago, he has spent over a year combined being anorexic. The longest that he's gone is about 9 months without eating voluntarily. I've had to buy this tube of gunk that can be shoved into his mouth and squeezed out that is supposed to make his appetite come back and to give him an energy boost and the right kind of vitamins and such for a starving lizard. I understand that this is something common for this species. Do your lizards do this? What do you do? Is there something else I could do for him? Is there a specific reason that he isn't eating, something in his environment that isn't right? I've managed to keep him alive thus far, but his behavior is tiring.

Answer 1

Water dragons are notoriously picky eaters!  My girl will strike for days, though I can usually tempt her with her favorite (roaches!).  What are you feeding now?  It may be that he's bored and wants something new.  Diversity is the key with these guys, I really highly recommend Discoid Roaches; they're nutritionally balanced, easier to breed & keep in quantity that crickets and my die-off ratio is much less.  I also find supers get their attention.  

Some things to double check...your basking temps can be raised to ensure proper digestion.  I keep my basking site temp at 95*F, monitored with a digital/probe thermometer.  Your ambiant temp should be in the 80's with fairly high humidity.  Also, CWD's will strike if their enclosure is too small or too barren.  Depending on the size of your drgaon (bigger is always better) you should have no less than a 4x4x2 (length x height x width) enclosure for him.  Make sure there's plenty of greenery and things to climb as they're arboreal.  Also, make sure there's a decent water source they can swim, dive & submerge in...I use extra large kitty litter pans in my enclosures and they work well with a filter & bubbler.  Also, make sure your dragon has access to a good UVB light.  I use MVB's (www.reptileuv.com) in mine because of the height of my tanks...if you use a tube light, make sure it's a Repti-SUN 10.0 linear light & replace it every 6 months.

I would recommend a vet check from a qualified HERP vet, I found mine from www.arav.com.  Good luck!

~Michelle