Normal growth is a big indicator of how healthy your Chinese water dragon is and how well it is developing. In this post, you will find a list of possible reasons of why your Chinese water dragon is not growing, and how to help your Chinese water dragon grow faster.
Your Chinese water dragon might not be growing due to a range of factors, including lack of heating or UVB lighting, bullying or other cage mates, diet mistakes, and another illness.
1. Cage mate competition or bullying
If you have a pair or trio of Chinese water dragons, and one of them is not growing properly, it could be due to them being in one tank. All Chinese water dragons are different, and some will have a much better appetite than others.
This could mean that your Chinese water dragon doesn’t get as much food as another dragon. What is more, there can be competition for a basking spot, especially in a smaller tank. A more dominant Chinese water dragon might also cause another dragon stress, making it lose appetite etc.
Always make sure that both of your Chinese water dragons get enough food. If one doesn’t let another one eat, you can feed them in turns or take them out and feed in a separate container. Or, you can separate them. Also make sure each has its own basking and hiding spot.
2. Parasitic infection
If your Chinese water dragon has a parasitic infection, it will stunt its growth. That’s especially true if it hasn’t been treated for a long period of time. Parasites not only stunt the growth, but also can cause weight loss and further complications.
That is why it’s important to take your Chinese water dragon’s poop for a full fecal examination once you get it. That’s still as important even if the seller said that the animal is captive bred. Make sure to quarantine your Chinese water dragon for 2 months before introducing to another settled dragon.
Higher parasitic loads can also develop in settled animals. This can be caused by improper living conditions and a weakened immune system. That can be a result of low temperatures, no UVB and many other stress factors.
3. Diet mistakes
Chinese water dragons are omnivorous, but they mainly need to eat live bugs. If you are not feeding enough protein in a form of insects and worms, your Chinese water dragon will grow much more slowly.
In general, you should offer around 85-90% live bugs, and only 10% of vegetables, greens and some fruit. This way, your Chinese water dragon will be able to develop properly. Not all Chinese water dragons will readily eat vegetables, either.
Gut-loading all live feeders (Phoenix worms might be fed without gut-loading) for 24-48 hours is crucial. That is when you place bugs in the container and feed them nutritious foods. Before offering, you also need to sprinkle them with a pure calcium/multivitamin on specific days.
4. Improper lighting and heating in the tank
To promote healthy appetite, as well as digest food, your Chinese water dragon needs heat. They are cold-blooded lizards, who only rely on external temperatures to keep them alive and going.
Without heat, your Chinese water dragon won’t be able to digest food, won’t eat or poop regularly. This will then lead to weight loss, stunted growth, immune system weakening and more. Make sure to regularly check temperatures with an infrared thermometer like this, as well have thermometers in the tank and a thermostat that controls heating devices.
Apart from heat, your Chinese water dragon also requires proper UVB lighting in the tank. UVB helps Chinese water dragons produce vitamin D3 in their skin, which then helps to metabolize calcium. Without proper UVB, your Chinese water dragon will develop a metabolic condition. The effects of that can be irreversible and even life threatening.
Chinese water dragons will benefit from 6-10% UVB in their tank. UVB % for Chinese water dragons depends on how tall the tank is, and the distance between the light and your dragon.
Even very high heat is dangerous for Chinese water dragons. Anything higher than 90 F (32 C) for background temperatures or higher than 95 F (35 C) for a basking spot is too high. Keep temperatures lower in a cool spot – at around 75 to 80 Fahrenheit (24-26.6 C). 75 F (24 C) at night is optimal.
High temperatures can cause low appetite and energy, muscle weakness, heart failure, overheating, dehydration and even death. Please check temperatures regularly and make sure you have a thermostat.
You can read a full lighting and heating guide for Chinese water dragons in this post.
5. Another illness
Other health issues can also cause stunted growth. For example, Metabolic bone disease, which is a group of health issues mainly caused by lack of calcium in the diet or lack of vitamin D3. Gut-loading live feeder bugs for 24-48 hours as well as supplementing them is crucial, same as having UVB lighting in the cage.
Too much phosphorus in the diet can also lead to low levels of calcium in the body. Choosing higher calcium foods and supplementing with calcium helps avoid these issues. Optimal Ca:P ratio in the diet is at least 2:1, but at least 3-4:1 is more preferable.
You can find a list of common Chinese water dragon diseases here.
How fast do Chinese water dragons grow?
Chinese water dragons grow at moderate speed. Most Chinese water dragons reach their potential full size by the age of 18-24 months, with growth spurts at around 6-12 months of age.
After that age, they can still grow more slowly to reach their full potential size. That is especially true for males, which can grow until they are around 4 years old, to reach the size of 3-3.3 feet long.
Summary
Thank you for reading this post! Please remember, that if your Chinese water dragon is not growing, that could be caused by various reasons. The first thing to do would be to take its poop to rule out a parasitic check and review the setup.
You can read more about Chinese water dragon cage setup here.