10 Chinese Water Dragon Facts You Must Know

Firstly, if you are reading this article, then it either means you are thinking about getting yourself a Chinese water dragon or you have already purchased one. Either way, congratulations! Water dragons prove to be wonderful pets. If you take proper care of your water dragon, then it’s very likely that you will have a very tame and wonderful pet on hand. To help you with taking care of your new family member, I have compiled a list of Chinese water dragon facts.

I want to help out the amazing water dragon owners, such as yourself so that you can make the most out of having this amazing pet. I hope that you embark on the journey of pet ownership with a lot of confidence. So without further ado, below are some Chinese water dragon facts.

1. Are They Real Dragons?

One of the main water dragon facts is that many people in the area where Chinese Water Dragons live think that water dragons are real dragons. But of course they are not real dragons, even though they look very similar. It can reach up to a size of 35 inches and its lifespan is about 12 to 20 years. When Chinese water dragons are babies, their size is around 4 to 6 inches so they can be easily kept in a 10-gallon big water tank but as time goes by and they start to grow, you will have to shift them to a bigger aquarium, eventually.

2. Water Always Has To Be Nearby

Another one of the facts about Chinese water dragons is that they need quite a unique habitat. They usually occupy the land where there is running water or streams. You will often see the water dragons lying on rocks or on trees in the sun.

Those are the places they seem to enjoy the most. If they sense that there is any sort of danger coming their way, they jump into the water and stay underneath it until they feel that they are safe.

3. They Are The "Better" Iguanas

Yet another one of the eastern water dragon facts include the point that Chinese water dragons are getting more and more popular these days due to their inexpensive price. This affordability factor has gotten a lot of people from all around the globe to import them from China or Indonesia.

Another reason why people prefer getting Chinese dragons is that they do not get as big as iguanas for example, as they grow old. So managing them doesn’t become an inconvenience for their owners. (That does not mean that Iguanas are bad, in fact they are absolutely awesome as well!)

4. Sexing Is Pretty Hard When They Are Babys

When Chinese water dragons are young, it is hard for a person to distinguish between a male and a female reptile until they are twenty inches long, because they start looking differently then.

Water dragons are able to breed when they generally reach the age of 2 years. That’s when their secondary sexual characteristics start to develop. Most salespersons in pet shops do tell you that they can see if it is a male or a female even if it is still a baby, but most of them just do that to sell. In fact they have no idea. So be careful!

5. Buying More Than One Baby Is Not A Good Idea

Another one of the Chinese water dragon facts is that you should initially purchase one water dragon if you want to buy a baby. But in that case you should be sure that the shop you purchase your pets from will accurately identify the male and the female dragon from the lot, because as discussed earlier, it’s tough.

Males are very territorial and if you got two male dragons they will most probably fight and that can end bloody.

6. They Just Poop In One Place

One of the weird facts about water dragons is that they almost always poop into water. Almost like humans I just had to mention this, haha.

7. Female + Female = Good!

As I said in Fact 5, males are very territorial. However females are very friendly when it comes to other chinese water dragons. So if you are not sure about the gender of your current water dragon, but you want to get a second one right now, just go for a female. They will get along with a female, if your current dragon turns out to be a female and they will also get along with a male.

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8. They Do Not Only Eat Insects

Another one of the facts about Chinese water dragons is that they are more often, than not, carnivorous but at times they eat vegetables too. If you own those cute water dragons you should at least feed them 20% vegetables, herbs and similar food.

In the wild they also eat small mammals when they get the chance.​

9. They Are Almost Dog-like

Most people think that chinese water dragons are skittish. They do move really fast if they want to, however they become tame pretty quickly if you spend some time with your dragon.

If it is tame you can let it out of the cage and see how they climb on everything and explore everything. They also like to chew on everything, it´s really cute. They will also jump right an your hand as soon as you open the cage.​

10. They Are Part Of The Chinese Horoscope

Last but not the least, water dragons are a part of Chinese horoscopes. Unlike the typical horoscope, Chinese horoscope is made up of five elements which are Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth. So there are Metal Dragons, Water Dragons, Wood Dragons, Fire Dragons and Earth Dragons.