- Joined
- Apr 11, 2007
- Messages
- 5,438
Hi folks. I recently was talked into taking on an orphaned, sickly Chinese Water Dragon from a friend who was moving and couldn't keep it. He'd taken it from his slacker brother who seemed pretty determined to let it die a slow death from bone disease and malnutrition. So now I have it.
I'm not all that into herps, too much work and they take up too much space for my tiny townhouse, so I had to read up a bit. What I've figured out is that her 36"x12"x18" aquarium (is that a 40G breeder?) is way too small for an adult. I've set her up with a big tub full of water (1/2 length of tank), some slightly climbable logs, a decent light and a heat pad on the side. She's getting suppliments on her diet of superworms and dubias and I'm treating her eye with that vitamin liquid.
Oh yeah, her eye... one eye is shut most of the time and appears to have a cateract over it, she is blind on that side. The whole thing stays swelled up although with regular application of the drops, it seems to get a little better. She also has a fairly bad case of "glass snout" or whatever it's called. (Bangs her nose on the glass constantly). I've tried putting paper up on the glass so she can't see out but she keeps climbing and finding more glass to bang on.
So what should I do? Can anybody recommend a cheap way to set up an appropriately sized tank? They need so much dang room. And by the way, who's bright idea was it to keep these things as pets? They are way to high energy and need way too much space for mpst people to care for them correctly. Not the best pet species IMHO.
Maybe I should find a rescue to take her but then I'd feel like a quitter...
I'm not all that into herps, too much work and they take up too much space for my tiny townhouse, so I had to read up a bit. What I've figured out is that her 36"x12"x18" aquarium (is that a 40G breeder?) is way too small for an adult. I've set her up with a big tub full of water (1/2 length of tank), some slightly climbable logs, a decent light and a heat pad on the side. She's getting suppliments on her diet of superworms and dubias and I'm treating her eye with that vitamin liquid.
Oh yeah, her eye... one eye is shut most of the time and appears to have a cateract over it, she is blind on that side. The whole thing stays swelled up although with regular application of the drops, it seems to get a little better. She also has a fairly bad case of "glass snout" or whatever it's called. (Bangs her nose on the glass constantly). I've tried putting paper up on the glass so she can't see out but she keeps climbing and finding more glass to bang on.
So what should I do? Can anybody recommend a cheap way to set up an appropriately sized tank? They need so much dang room. And by the way, who's bright idea was it to keep these things as pets? They are way to high energy and need way too much space for mpst people to care for them correctly. Not the best pet species IMHO.
Maybe I should find a rescue to take her but then I'd feel like a quitter...
