I have really come to depended on syringe/dropper water delivery for
hydration. If I drop some water on her nose about every two days - she will began to drink from that and she stops when she’s done - she stops licking. For the days I’m not doing this direct oral
hydration, I definitely hope that her greens and her feeders supply some water for her - but I don’t rely 100% on that b/c there are always some days when dragons may not want to eat / isn’t interested in food that day - I think this is especially true for senior dragons like my girl, as they start to naturally slow down a bit.
I do not use a water bowl in her viv - for the main reason it would just sit there and she would not drink from it. I also used to fully rely on her baths for
hydration - either her
drinking from her
bath or vent water absorption - but I feel like I’ve seen information on forums that vent water absorption may be “iffy” in recent years ... (that could be accurate, might not be, idk for sure?) so I really do maintain her
hydration through direct delivery.
It might be worth a try to offer your dragon water this way ... at first she seemed to be like - what the hell - but now, it’s a routine that she has become very familiar with and readily laps up the drops now. My girl is 10, and I did not start this method consistently until she was about 8 years old ... so it was very new to her at first - having lived out the majority of her life without it! I just know
hydration truly is so important - and I feel it can get overlooked a lot. Perhaps it’s something just makes me feel better that I can visually measure and know for sure the amount of water she’s getting? Either way - it seems to work well for both of us! ?