Water Dragons vs Beardies

[pogismom]

Okay, so I made a decision I would not adopt another beardie so I can spoil my Rocky and give him my attention. BUT, I didn't say I wouldn't consider adopting another reptile...(hope my husband isn't reading this! LOL)

So I am curious as to what other folks have on the forum aside from Beardies. I know folks have crested and leopard geckos, tokays.... But has anyone had a Water Dragon? I want to get a sense of the difference in their nature to beardies and especially their care. I know they are tropical which means a different set up all together...but wasn't sure if it would be better to consider a gecko instead for they do not get as big. Not sure I can handle a reptile that is potentially much larger than my beardie Rocky will get. So if Water Dragons are like Iguanas...then no for sure. Or if their care is more than what a beardie needs...then no again.

And although I swore up and down I'd never get another reptile from the Petco...they have a water dragon who just got separated from his tank mate who was sold and he has been acting pretty needy of attention. He is still a baby so he is deceptively small. And he will be half price next weekend. I doubt I will buy him....my family really is against us adding to our large menagerie. Not because they don't love pets, but they know how time consuming their care can be. But my curiosity propels me to ask about other critters regardless....I am seeking a reality check that will help me quiet the drive to 'save' all animals. :shock:

 

[Bishimon]

Had a water dragon a long time ago. They are like iguanas, including set up requirements with daily fresh water pool, but less aggressive, more skittish than beardies, mostly insectivores/mice and you'll need very large cage 6x6x6 feet. They love to run and bash their snout severely and break their jaws on anything smaller. They are beautiful lizards.

http://www.anapsid.org/waterdragons.html
http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/dragoncr.htm

 

[JenessaDent]

I had a water dragon and an iguana as a kid. They do require A LOT of care. Think your beardie has very specific needs? Water Dragons are a whole new ballpark of do's and don'ts. Obviously, once you get into the swing of it, it gets easier, but they still require a lot of special care. My other issue that I had with my Water Dragon was temperament. He was a large male and we housed him in a massive, multi-level viv. I mean, this thing was huge. When we first got him as a juvenile, he was very sweet, tame and calm. This totally changed over time. He became aggressive and unpredictable, and very difficult to handle. Our vet told us (before the personality change) that not breeding them will leave them with pent up aggression, so at his suggestion, we bred him. He turned out a lovely bunch of gorgeous dragons, all whom (luckily) got mom's calm disposition. So if you end up do getting one, I suggest a female. I realize that not all dragons are the same, but I know a few other water dragon parents who are now going through the same or similar situation with their male dragons becoming aggressive. They can do A LOT of damage when angry, both with claws and tail. I would suggest starting with a baby. While it is more work, and you would be putting in more time, this gives them more time to get used to you and you can socialize them how you see fit. I wish we had gotten this guy as a baby, because at the point we got him, he had one previous owner who got him for looks and did not take the time to properly socialize and handle his animal. This caused him to have serious issues later in life.
Best of luck to you if you do decide to get a dragon! I do not wish to deter you by making you think that they are all aggressive, they most certainly are not. I have friends who just had a baby and their water dragon loves to cuddle up with that little baby So it depends on the handling for sure

 

[pogismom]

Thank you! They are gorgeous and elegant looking creatures. But once I realized that cute little baby might be as big as my dog I passed. He was adopted during the Petco reptile sale. I only want one big boy and that's my beardie Rocky!

I did, however, adopt a crested gecko! So I am learning new things about their care but in a smaller enclosure. I also appreciate that they are on different cycles from each other. Day time belongs to Rocky and night belongs to Petrie

You bring up an important point... For sake of both the animal n the owner pet stores need to be far more knowledgeable in helping customers decide which one will work best for them. I overheard a sales rep at Petsmart explaining the difference between the beardie n crested n I wanted to scream out STOP! because she made it sound sooooo simple line you just bring rm home and that's it! I am beginning to feel like they shouldn't sell pets at all... And just stick with the supplies.

 

[JenessaDent]

Oh yeah those guys can get real big! One time, he escaped (that's the other thing, they are MASTERFUL escape artists. Lenny could open doors, cupboards, windows, drawers, ANYTHING) and came face to face with my male english bulldog, Hemingway. Hemingway was a pretty built pup, if not a little short, and was never afraid of anything. He took one look at Lenny and put that little stump tail down and ran like the wind. So yea, they get REALLY big. Especially given the proper room to grow.
Geckos are SO fun!! I just babysat my friend's leopard gecko for a few weeks and they are a lot of fun to interact with! They're incredibly intelligent and quite affectionate! It has me thinking I might want one but I think my fiance would kill me if I came home with another pet before we move into a bigger place haha. Let us know how it goes with the new crested! They are lots of fun!
Good luck!

 

[pogismom]

That is pretty funny about your dog n Lenny! My bichon had a similar reaction to my beardie. I like to put him on a fleece blanket that I make and sit by me. Maggie my bichon jumped up on the couch and came face to face with Rocky. She took a good whiff of him n then proceeded to try n bury him with his blanket by nudging her nose on the blanket to cover him. Then she made a face of disgust and jumped off. We decided she thought Rocky was something dead! So now we imagine her looking at me with great pity while I carry my 'dead' pet around! She tried to bury him again the other day when he was sitting on his pillow I made with his blanket and she nudged them and almost knocked him over. it is pretty funny. Rocky wasn't harmed but I think he is starting to feel rejected by her! LOL

My new crestie Petrie is awfully cute! He is so small, soft, n fragile compared to a beardie. We are doing some bonding with lots of hand walking. He actually ate some food from my finger n some dubias I offered him! I'm glad to be able to share the dubias with him. Course the ultimate bonding happened last night when he delicately took a poop on my arm! He was so cute it really didn't bother me. Much easier to clean up n less stinky than Rockys poop for sure!

 

[JenessaDent]

Haha yeah, mammals never really know what to think about reptiles. My cats are sure confused when I take my beardie Odin out of his enclosure. They'll sit there and watch him and then reach a paw out to give him a little nudge. One of my cats (she's decidedly fat, and quite lazy) even lets him sit on her while she's flopped on the floor in prime nap position. She'll just kinda stare at him for a second, then me, then him like "I dunno what this thing is, but his tiny claws are prime for itching my back!" then just flops right back down and goes to sleep haha.
The best thing about geckos is that they're naturally quite trusting. While with my beardie I had to work very hard to get him to think I wasn't going to eat him, with Loki (the leopard gecko I just babysat), LOVED me. He was particularly fond of taking naps in my hair, which I've never seen any reptile do besides a snake. He would just curl up in the inside of my bun, and take a nice little nap. As soon as I'd come home, he'd be on the wall of his enclosure, staring me down like "your home, why am I not out yet??" Funniest thing! I wish you the best of luck with your new little guy, I'm sure it will go phenomenally!

 

[Sauzo]

I've had tons of other reptiles over the years including Nile and Savannah Monitors, Tokay Geckos, iguanas, Ball Pythons, Red tail Boas, Anoles, box turtles, painted turtles, Horned frogs and all kinds of other stuff. By far the impressionable ones were my Nile monitor who was a giant 5 ft puppy dog, my red tail boa who is a lap snake and my beardie who is just a cuddler and watcher. I think overall any reptile can become a good pet with work, just depends how much work you want to invest into it...well except Tokay geckos, those things are just inherently evil.

 

[pogismom]

Great experiences with so many fascinating creatures!!! What happened to them? Did they die of natural causes or did you have to adopt them out, like the Monitor?

The thing I worry about sometimes is the longevity of my pets vs. me. They could easily outlive me. That's why I hesitate raising anything that at this point could have ten or more years on me.

 

[Sauzo]

A lot of the smaller things just died from age and the bigger stuff I had to rehome. Only things I got at the moment are my lap snake red tail boa and my fat beardie :lol: