ABOUT CHINESE WATERDRAGONS

Description

The Chinese Water dragon, Physignathus cocincinus, is the most commonly seen Water dragon in captivity. Green in colour they are relatively large, an adult male growing upto 3 feet long from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail, the female being a little shorter and of slighter build. Sex determination in juvenile Water dragons is difficult, but as they mature into sub-adults they usually start to display more recognisable characteristics, ie. the male develops an enlarged crest with a larger head and more robust jowls, and the male will have a row of femoral pores in the inner thighs which are much larger than those seen on the female. Some people think that they are reminiscent of the Green Iguana, although an adult Iguana will grow to be much larger than an adult Water dragon. In fact this is probably one of the reasons why Green water dragons are now so common in captivity, they are large lizards but grow nothing like Iguana's or Monitors for instance, and they are probably one of the easiest lizards to tame.

Habitat

The Green Water dragons natural range is usually on the Southeast Asian mainland and on the Indo-Australian Archipelago. They are aboreal creatures and like to hang out in branches overhanging water. They are very good swimmers, their tail propelling them with latural undulations and limbs tucked close into their body. They usually seek refuge from other predators in the water and can hold their breath for as long as thirty minutes at a time. They can show amazing speed in and out of the water, often running on its hind limbs.

Behaviour

In the wild waterdragons one can usually expect to find one adult male living amongst several adult females, while young juveniles seem to be more solitary. A dominant male is territorial and will defend his area without hesitation, his superiority shown by a display of arm waving and head bobbing, and his colour enanced when engaged in defending his territory or in breeding condition. Its not just the males that bob and wave, though. Adgitated females, especially when gravid, will too arm wave, bob and hiss with mouths wide open at other dragons.

However, in captivity waterdragons seem to be quite sociable. It is not reccommended to keep two males together, although I have done so with no problems. An enclosure most be quite large for two dominant males to have their own territory, thus eliminating territorial confrontations. If given the right care and handled enough you will find that chinese waterdragons can be as tame as a dog and sit with you (or on you) just like mans best friend.