He's not a pet - can I feed him?

[Jones]

Hi All,

I'm afraid I'm a bit out of the loop here. I have a few dragons that live in my back yard and wander about sunning themselves on a big rock and occasionally chasing bugs. The small ones are very shy and run away whenever I go onto the balcony, but the big fella has no fear, and is perfectly happy to watch me from his rock. Today I tossed him a tiny piece of hot cross bun, which he promptly ate, then sat there looking at me for more. I have two questions:

Is it bad to befriend the dragon? This is a rented unit, so I am concerned that if I move out and the next crowd aren't dragon-friendly, they might abuse his trust. I don't feed him every day or anything. I tossed him a tiny bit of fruit about 3 months ago, and nothing since. Is it okay to give him occasional treats? He's wild and looks after himself, and I don't want him to become dependent on me (and the next occupiers) for food.

Second: If it is okay to feed him, are there rules about what I shouldn't feed them? I mean, is hot cross bun bad? There was no butter or anything on it, but I really don't know the first thing about these little guys and I'd hate to make him ill.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Red Ink AUS]

G'day mate,

First where are ya mate?

Second hot cross buns really are'nt the best.

Third, no worries mate you can feed them just not hot cross buns and any kind of lettuce. Toss out some kiwi fruit and bits of pumpkin for them and they'll love yopu for it.

Fourth are they Eastern or Central (well your location will tell me that anyway)?

Cheers,

 

[Jones]

I'm in Auchenflower, pretty close to Brisbane City Centre. I wouldn't know the first thing about dragons really, but I'd guess Eastern coz Brissie isn't really central. I have a photo of him, but I'm also not good at forums and can't figure out how to put it up! He's got stripes.

 

[Jones]

Aha, there he is!

 

[zebraflavencs]

First... Welcome Jones ! This is our little corner of sanity...Most of the time!
It may be my old eyes.. but is that a Frill ?

Janie

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

GIME GIME GIME

 

[zebraflavencs]

You can have him, or his mates, Tom...Just move South!...lol
Janie

 

[Jones]

Hi guys,

Janie, I'm pretty sure it's not a frill - but then, as I said, I'm not familiar with reptiles at all, so I could be wrong. Definitely, he's never flared up at me, even when I go into "his" territory. He's pretty fabulous though - I couldn't think of a cooler lizard to have in my back yard!

 

[zebraflavencs]

Mate... He is beautiful ! You are so lucky ! I can't begin to tell you how many of us are quite envious of your "back yard" (Outback) !
I'd follow Francis's advice... He is certainly a keeper though ! Wild or otherwise !
Thank you very much for finding us, and sharing that photo !
Janie

 

[Jones]

;D Thanks!

 

[zebraflavencs]

Quite welcome !
Janie

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Welcome to the site. I need one of those. or an outback.

 

[ladyknite]

FANTASTIC PIC!!!!!
It's so nice to see that type of natural beauty. Thanks for sharing.

 

[crypticdragons]

just to clear things up a bit its not a frillie or a beardie that is a aussie water dragon, eastern I believe. Very similar diet to a beardie so the opinions that francis (redink) gave ya are still good to go. you can leave out some leafy greens from time to time to. man itd be awesome to look out my back door and see something like that just running around wild.

 

[corrine]

That would be very cool! very cool friend you've got there.

 

[Jones]

Ah, thanks Crypticdragons! I thought it was a beardie and did a google image search but all the beardies on there looked more like the pics you guys have up. I couldn't find any stripey ones like Big Daddy (I've taken to calling him that). I wondered if he was just a very different stripey beardie, or if I was completely off the mark. I did a google search for eastern water dragons, and you're definitely on the money there.

 

[Jones]

I thought some of you might be interested in this:

http://www.blueswami.com/eastern_water_dragons.html

Interesting read.

 

[Red Ink AUS]

Jones,

Mate your lucky if you have one in your garden, though being so close to the centre i would think that it is an escped pet. Check if it is friendly or hand feed. In the meantime it will take care of any snails or slugs you have in the garden lol. Check with the local reptile societies to see if anyone has reported an missing Eastern water dragon. Get a peice of wongbok and see if it will hand feed and place a largish container of water for it out there in the yard to soak in.

 

[Jones]

Well, there are three or four of them around. How probable is it that a couple escaped and bred? There was a baby one here when we moved in (October) as well as a couple of middle-sized ones and the big fella. The smaller ones are all very shy and run and hide in trees when I go onto the balcony. When we first moved in here, the big one was skittish too and would go hide under the stairs when I went out. He's settled down a lot now - mostly after the chopped-up peach I gave him a couple of months ago.

I'll try to get hold of a big tub during the holidays and put some water out. But I've been here for 6 months and they seem to be getting along okay.

Thanks for the info.

 

[crypticdragons]

Jones,

Mate your lucky if you have one in your garden, though being so close to the centre i would think that it is an escped pet. Check if it is friendly or hand feed. In the meantime it will take care of any snails or slugs you have in the garden lol. Check with the local reptile societies to see if anyone has reported an missing Eastern water dragon. Get a peice of wongbok and see if it will hand feed and place a largish container of water for it out there in the yard to soak in.

I was thinking the same thing just by how well taken care of he looks. He doesnt have the "look" of a wild eastern. I may be wrong as I have only ever seen em in pics in the wild (not lucky enough to be in australia).

Well, there are three or four of them around. How probable is it that a couple escaped and bred? There was a baby one here when we moved in (October) as well as a couple of middle-sized ones and the big fella. The smaller ones are all very shy and run and hide in trees when I go onto the balcony. When we first moved in here, the big one was skittish too and would go hide under the stairs when I went out. He's settled down a lot now - mostly after the chopped-up peach I gave him a couple of months ago.

I'll try to get hold of a big tub during the holidays and put some water out. But I've been here for 6 months and they seem to be getting along okay.

Thanks for the info.

As to the possibility of a breeding pair having taken up shop in your backyard and bred im sure its possible. Im not sure on the social characteristics of eastern water dragons, so they may live in social groups so it is possible that you are seeing parent and offspring.