🦎Chinese water dragon: gear and buying guides

The Chinese water dragon is a bright green, lively and endearing arboreal lizard, but a nervous one: it easily injures its snout on glass when cramped. It demands a large, tall and humid enclosure with a genuine swimming area, decent UVB and 70 to 80% humidity, which suits experienced keepers.

Profile : 80 to 100 cm including tail for an adult male, 10 to 15 years of lifespan, intermediate level.

Chinese water dragon gear, family by family

• 🍖 Food

  Mainly insectivorous: crickets, roaches and worms, supplemented in adults with a little fish and some greens. Regular calcium-D3 dusting and varied prey prevent food boredom.

• 🧴 Care & grooming

  Regularly inspect the snout and chin: rubbing against enclosure walls causes frequent lesions. Swimming water must be filtered or changed very often, as it readily defecates in it.

• 🎾 Toys & enrichment

  Sturdy angled branches, dense plants masking the glass and a large water section to dive into: it leaps into water from branches when threatened, a behaviour to accommodate rather than prevent.

• 🏠 Bedding & habitat

  An enclosure of roughly 150 x 80 x 150 cm minimum for an adult, a 32-35 °C basking spot, UVB, 70 to 80% humidity and a water basin covering a good share of the floor. Visible walls benefit from planted cover.

• 🧳 Travel & safety

  A dark, padded rigid box, as it panics and leaps: never transport it in a transparent container. Keep trips short and maintain warmth and humidity.

• 🧰 Accessories

  An automatic mister, basking and UVB lamps, a basin filter, a hygrometer and robust plants such as pothos. A complete setup often reaches 600 to 1 000 €.

Guides to read

• Complete bearded dragon setup: what starting budget should you plan for?Bedding & habitat

  Terrarium, UVB, heating, decor, food: everything a complete bearded dragon kit includes, with a realistic starting budget of 400 to 700 €.

• Complete leopard gecko setup: what starting budget do you need?Bedding & habitat

  An 80 cm terrarium, heat mat, hides and calcium: what goes into a complete leopard gecko kit, with a starting budget of 250 to 450 €.

• Which terrarium for a corn snake? Size, security and budgetBedding & habitat

  Minimum dimensions, secure locking, thermal gradient: how to choose a terrarium for an adult corn snake, with a detailed budget.

• 3D terrarium backgrounds and decor: polystyrene, cork or resin?Bedding & habitat

  3D background decor for terrariums: cork panels, carved polystyrene or resin, prices, installation and safety for geckos, bearded dragons and snakes.

• Branches, vines and climbing supports for terrariums: choosing wellToys & enrichment

  Natural branches, flexible vines, hammocks: which climbing supports to install in a terrarium, how to disinfect them and at what price.

• Combined LED + UVB lighting: the two-in-one terrarium fixtureAccessories

  Combined LED + UVB fixture for terrariums: benefits, spectrum, prices from 80 to 200 € and the species concerned, from bearded dragons to tortoises.

• Dimming thermostats and timers: regulating your terrarium smoothlyAccessories

  Dimming, on/off or pulse thermostats and day/night timers: how to regulate terrarium heating and lighting, with prices from 25 to 120 €.

• Temperature probes: where should you place them in the terrarium?Accessories

  Where to place temperature probes in a terrarium: height, basking spot, thermostat probe and control thermometer, plus mistakes to avoid.