Every owners starts worrying when their Chinese water dragon doesn’t eat properly. While sometimes it might be normal if your Chinese water dragon is not eating for short periods of time, it might also indicate issues. In this post, you will find possible reasons of why your Chinese water dragon is not eating and what you can do about it.
In general, a Chinese water dragon might be not eating if tank temperatures are too low or high, humidity is too low, when it’s impacted, is suffering from stress or illness, is a picky eater and more.
Reason #1: Low cage temperatures
If your Chinese water dragon is not eating, it could be caused by low cage temperatures. Optimal temperatures in the tank can’t be stressed enough. That’s because improper temperatures can lead to a chain of problems.
If cage temperatures are too low, your Chinese water dragon won’t be able to digest food, leading to improper digestion, low appetite, inactivity, metabolic issues and so on. If you are misting the tank, make sure water is not cold, but lukewarm (not hot either).
Optimal temperatures in your Chinese water dragon’s tank are:
- 81-87 F (27-30.5 Celsius) – ambient temperature in the cage
- 88-95 Fahrenheit (31-35 Celsius) – basking temperatures under the heat bulb
- 75 to 80 Fahrenheit (24 to 26.6 C) – cool side temperatures
- Around 75 Fahrenheit (24 Celsius) – night temperatures
- 80-85 F (26.6-29 Celsius) – soaking/swimming water temperature
Make sure to have 1 basking spot with higher temperatures and a branch/platform for your Chinese water dragon to bask on. The bottom of the enclosure should have lower temperatures, so your dragon can move there when it’s hot.
Make sure to place a digital thermometer with a probe on each side of the tank to check temperatures. Also, please check temperatures in various spots of the tank using a handheld infrared laser thermometer like this.
This way, you will get accurate readings. Avoid stick on and even analog thermometers. Even if a setup is ideal, please check temperatures regularly. Make sure you use a thermostat with heating devices to regulate temperatures.
You can read all about lighting and heating in this post.
Reason #2: Very high cage temperatures
While appetite loss can be because of low temperatures, it can also be because of very high temperatures. While Chinese water dragons require a rather hot basking spot, very high temperatures are dangerous.
Basking temperatures for a Chinese water dragon must not be higher than 95 Fahrenheit (35 Celsius). You must also make sure that there is a cool spot, so that your Chinese water dragon can thermoregulate.
Avoiding the basking area, soaking and even digging would alert that temperatures are high. Very high temperatures and no cooling spot (75-80 F/24-26.6 C) will cause muscle weakness and lethargy and even death. Make sure to check temperatures regularly and use a thermostat with heating devices.
You can read all about lighting and heating in this post.
Reason #3: Constipation or impaction
If your Chinese water dragon is constipated or impacted, it will not want to eat. Also, it won’t be able to poop properly.
Impaction can be caused when your Chinese water dragon accidentally ingests loose substrate or other small objects. If you are using loose substrate, make sure to feed your Chinese water dragon outside the cage or in a spot with tile/paper under the food bowl.
You can also cover any loose substrate with large bark pieces that can’t be swallowed. If using topsoil, make sure there are no fertilizers, perlite, vermiculite, as your dragon will be drawn to eat them.
While all loose substrates pose a risk of impaction, non-loose bedding doesn’t create a naturalistic environment or help with humidity. However, you must use non-loose bedding with baby Chinese water dragons until they reach approximately 8 inches (20 cm) long.
Another cause of impaction might be very large feeder insects or weak muscles to facilitate swallowing. When feeding your Chinese water dragon, make sure you don’t offer very large bugs or whole prey. If bugs have sharp legs, cut them off before feeding, or they can cause tears in the guts (and bleeding).
Other causes of constipation are digestive system issues, parasites and more. If your Chinese water dragon has trouble pooping or its poop looks/smells strange, take it to the vet. Poop shouldn’t be too runny, have an abnormal smell or have blood it.
Also make sure that your Chinese water dragon is properly hydrated. Apart from a soaking bowl, always have a drinking water bowl in the cage.
You can read more on best and worst substrates/bedding for your Chinese water dragon in this post.
Reason #4: Your Chinese water dragon is a picky eater or bored with same food
Believe it or not, Chinese water dragons can quickly become bored with same foods. Chinese water dragons are omnivorous. So, you need to offer a big variety of feeder insects, worms and occasionally – fuzzy/pinky mice (once a month or so).
Great choices for live bugs for Chinese water dragons include roaches (Dubia, Madagascar hissing, Discoid etc.), worms (silkworms, hornworms, earthworms, Calci-worms etc).
However, make sure to offer fatty or hard to digest bugs less often. Offering them too often will make your Chinese water dragon addicted and a picky eater. Limit how many mealworms, waxworms, superworms, snails or mice you offer. Those higher fat foods should be offered once a week or less.
In this post, you can find a list of various feeder insects and worms for your dragon and more.
Reason #5: Your Chinese water dragon is new and shy
In general, Chinese water dragons are shy creatures, but get used to their new environment and owners with time. If you have just got your Chinese water dragon, it will be scared and shy. Most new lizards don’t eat for the first 1-2 weeks.
Also, your new Chinese water dragon will be shy to eat when you are watching. Give it some privacy and cover the sides of the tank in the beginning, until it gets more used to its new home and you. Place some moving insects in the tank and leave it alone to eat.
Some new Chinese water dragons won’t be eating if you just leave the bugs in the food dish. That’s because they won’t recognize it as food. Try to instead leave some bugs outside the food dish so that your dragon can see them moving.
With time, your Chinese water dragon will get used to you and be comfortable eating in front of you too.
If you would like to read a Chinese water dragon taming and bonding guide, please see this post.
Reason #6: Low cage humidity
If the humidity in the cage is too low, your Chinese water dragon might spend more time in a cool spot. In a cooler spot, humidity will be higher than in a hot spot. Spending too much time in a cooler spot will not give your Chinese water dragon a chance to warm up, digest food and will also cause stress.
Make sure that the humidity in the whole cage is around 70-80%, and up to 90-100% during misting sessions. Let the cage dry out between mistings and humidity to fall to 55-60%. You should have humid conditions in the tank, but also let it dry out to prevent any infections.
If you are having issues with maintaining humidity, you can get an ultrasonic misting system like this, or a fogger like this. Some owners use both if they live in very dry areas or if cage is made of metal mesh, for example. Make sure there is a soaking tub on the bottom of the cage.
Make sure water is warm enough to prevent muscle weakness and drowning. Water should be warm – 80-85 F/26-29 C. If it’s not, heat the water by placing under a bulb or putting a submersible water heater inside.
If you have any issues with keeping optimal humidity levels, see this post for tips and solutions.
Reason #7: Your Chinese water dragon is gravid
When Chinese water dragons are gravid, they tend to refuse food, especially towards the end. Signs that your Chinese water dragon is gravid are: roundness around the belly, loss of appetite, digging and even lethargy.
Chinese water dragons often reach sexual maturity at around the age of 2. Females can lay eggs even without mating with a male (infertile eggs). However, if she did mate before, she can retain sperm for months, later becoming gravid and laying fertile eggs.
Reason #8: Illness
If your Chinese water dragon is sick, it might be too lethargic to eat, experience pain or have a disturbed metabolism to eat.
Any bubbly mucus around the eyes, mouth or nose, wheezing, gaping – indicate a respiratory infection. Loss of appetite, abnormal poop and weight loss – indicate a parasitic or systemic infection. Cheesy pus around the mouth or redness – mouth rot (especially if your dragon jumps at glass).
Loss of appetite and no pooping also indicate an impaction with substrate or other objects. Blood infections, problems with digestive system, heart etc. will all cause your Chinese water dragon to be lethargic, sleep a lot, have sunken eyes etc.
If your Chinese water dragon is dragging limbs, twitching or shaking, has bone deformities or problems lifting itself up – it could be suffering from MBD. Metabolic bone disorder is a range of issues caused by lack of calcium and/or vitamin D3 in the diet.
Vitamin D3 is important to metabolize calcium from the diet. Make sure UVB is less than 6 months old (depends on a manufacturer) and that you gut-load + supplements all foods.
Please take your Chinese water dragon to the vet if you see any alarming symptoms like ones above.
Thank you for reading this post. If you would like to learn more about Chinese water dragon care, visit this resource page.