What should I feed my water dragon and how do I know its gender?

Submit a stool sample to your veterinarian or an experienced herp vet to diagnose intestinal parasites or bacterial overgrowth. Confirm proper environmental parameters. Low temperatures can affect activity, appetite and digestion in reptiles. Soak him in a warm 50 /50 solution of water and unflavored PediaLyte for 20 minutes. This can warm him up and may treat or prevent minor dehydration. Offer appropriately sized crickets and mealworms as well as fresh, chopped greens and fruits. Follow the link below for more information regarding care. http://www.anapsid.org/waterdragons.html

Thanks for reaching out. Water dragons are predominately insectivorous. Typically live insects attract the attention of the dragon, stimulating appetite. You might try pinhead crickets or small mealworms. Hand-feeding might be an option to start. Intestinal parasites or an infection, might also be a possibility, a veterinary visit needs to be scheduled for a diagnosis and treatment plan. Good luck.

She may continue to lay eggs through the breeding season regardless of whether or not there is a male present. Increase her diet and calcium supplementation. Waxworms can be used, albeit sparingly, to get some weight back on her. Feed mealworms, crickets, dubia roaches and Phoenix worms. Gut load all prey for 24 hours prior to offering to maximize nutritional value.

Here is a great website for Bearded dragon husbandry: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmth/local_resources/pdfs/cape/Care_of_Bearded_Dragons.pdf http://www.thebeardeddragon.org/ The last one has a growth chart.

Some of it depends on the age of the beardie. If young, make sure any live food is small enough for it. Meal works, crickets or even pinkie mice Here's a good recipe for a reptile salad. Basic Salad Recipe 1/2 cup shredded raw green beans 1/2 cup shredded raw orange-fleshed squash (such as acorn, banana, kabocha, spaghetti, and pumpkin) - you can occasionally alternate with carrots 1 medium or 2 small raw shredded parsnips (in areas where these are seasonally hard to find, you can substitute with asparagus or cooked or canned lima, navy or kidney beans that have been well rinsed and minced or mashed. If you use beans, add extra calcium to offset their high phosphorus) * 1/4 cup mashed/minced fruit (strawberries, raspberries, mangos, papaya, figs, cantaloupe, cactus pear) Alfalfa ** Multivitamin and calcium supplements * If parsnips are a seasonal vegetable where you live, you can use 1/2 cup shredded asparagus, trading off with 1/2 cup drained, rinsed, and chopped canned cooked lima beans, plus additional calcium to make up for the lousy calcium:phosphorus ratio in beans. Cooked beans are acceptable for short term use only due to their phosphorous content and other chemicals that can impede the uptake of minerals and trace elements. Asparagus is comparable in protein to parsnip, but does contain oxalates, so should not be a long-term staple. ** The quantity of alfalfa you use will depend upon the alfalfa product you are using. You want to add about 15 grams of protein. That is about 1/2 cup of alfalfa rabbit pellets, or about 1/4 cup or less of alfalfa leaf tea or a tablespoon or so of alfalfa powder. The older the healthy iguana is, the less protein they need, so you may end up using only a couple of teaspoons for an adult iguana. Thoroughly mix all the Basic Salad Recipe ingredients together. Makes about 3.5-4 cups. Add in a multivitamin supplement (any multivitamin supplement for birds or reptiles is fine, but the best, actually, is powder from a crushed Centrum tablet) and a calcium supplement. You do not need to get a calcium supplement that has phosphorous or D3 in it, as the iguana is already getting considerably phosphorous from the plants and multivitamin, and their D3 is best manufactured in their bodies by regular exposure to direct sunlight or special UVB-producing fluorescents. And more good info on husbandry and feeding isnhere. If temperature is not correct they also may not eat. http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html

Thanks for reaching out about Perceval and including a photo. First, check heat and other husbandry parameters, and fix any concerns. If too cold, there appetite center is depressed. Reptiles will often not eat because of other illnesses such as intestinal parasites or infections, kidney disease, dental disease, etc. A veterinary visit is recommended to help. On the photo, Perceval appears thin. Offering a Gerber's baby food (chicken, beef etc) might provide some nutrition until the primary cause is determined. Good luck.

You can mist him/her 2-4 times daily. Monitor the humidity in the tank though, as high humidity can promote bacterial or fungal growth. Feeding amounts depend on age. Juveniles will eat more and more frequently. Feed in 10 minute periods 2-3 times daily. It is very important to feed appropriately prey, no bigger than the space between your beardie's eyes. Adults can be fed less frequently and should be fed more vegetables and less prey.