water dragon

i have a male water dragon in a huge cage and wanted to put another lizard in with him i was thinking maybe a mountain horn dragon what are your thoughts?

Given that water dragons are carnivorous by nature, I wouldn't advise it. Especially, if there is a size difference between the two. An adult male water dragon is like, 3x the size of a MHD.

I would put another water dragon or maybe a basilisk if they are compatible.

a long time ago I housed a water w my bearded dragon I know this was wrong now but I was just a kid they actually got along great

Originally Posted by Focal X

I would put another water dragon or maybe a basilisk if they are compatible.

Another water dragon? Maybe if its the opposite sex and the enclosure is large enough. These 36"+ lizards need a lot of space. I wouldn't attempt it in a 29-gal or anything.

The basilisk? Absolutely not. Basilisks are very easily stressed and while they probably wouldn't directly attempt to harm each other, the larger water dragon may bully the basilisk for the better perches and basking spots. It would be a darn shame for such a sensitive and beautiful species as the basilisk to suffer as second fiddle to a water dragon.

REPTILES ARE NOT FISH! Mixing different species of herps together rarely results in the best well-being of either animal. Things to consider are: parasite & disease transmission, who's getting enough food, who's getting enough hiding shelters and access to basking light, etc, no one's getting bullied. And sometimes species you would not expect be end up chomping down on a cagemate. I once knew a local petstore that kept uromastyx and bearded dragons together. Seemed okay, right? One day, the male Uro went beserk and attacked all the beardies, biting all their tails off. I could cite numerous other examples from personal experience.

If you want to throw different species together in one cage, get an aquarium.

Originally Posted by chelsea0872

a long time ago I housed a water w my bearded dragon I know this was wrong now but I was just a kid they actually got along great

I've definitely made some mistakes too during my younger days, so I'm not going to wag a finger in your face or anything...

but for the sake of future readers of the thread and for belaboring my point....It's not just about them "getting along." Sure a lot of species will get along. But how do you expect to keep a desert lizard and a rainforest lizard in the same enclosure? Its an issue of meeting the environmental needs of the animals ideally. What about diet? Water dragons are mostly carnivorous, while beardies are omnivores. How do you make sure each lizard is getting the proper amount of food, and the right kind, and how do you make sure they don't eat the others food?

If you really wanted to put another lizard in with your water dragon, I would get a bigger female water dragon. Now females stay smaller than males so an older one would be the way to go. I wouldn't even attempt trying to go with another type of lizard. Then you should consider that you would want to quarantine the new dragon for a few months to make sure they are eating and are healthy in every other way. Also have another cage ready because sometimes one of the dragons could get dominated by the other one and wont eat or come out to bask. I know this from personal experience. There are a lot of things to consider when thinking about adding a new animal to an already established one. And you never said exactly how big your cage was, these guys are pretty active and love to have lots of room to run around and a big pond to swim in. No matter what you decide, good luck with your dragon, they are awesome animals to keep.

Originally Posted by MDC_Ophiuchus

Another water dragon? Maybe if its the opposite sex and the enclosure is large enough. These 36"+ lizards need a lot of space. I wouldn't attempt it in a 29-gal or anything.

The basilisk? Absolutely not. Basilisks are very easily stressed and while they probably wouldn't directly attempt to harm each other, the larger water dragon may bully the basilisk for the better perches and basking spots. It would be a darn shame for such a sensitive and beautiful species as the basilisk to suffer as second fiddle to a water dragon.

REPTILES ARE NOT FISH! Mixing different species of herps together rarely results in the best well-being of either animal. Things to consider are: parasite & disease transmission, who's getting enough food, who's getting enough hiding shelters and access to basking light, etc, no one's getting bullied. And sometimes species you would not expect be end up chomping down on a cagemate. I once knew a local petstore that kept uromastyx and bearded dragons together. Seemed okay, right? One day, the male Uro went beserk and attacked all the beardies, biting all their tails off. I could cite numerous other examples from personal experience.

If you want to throw different species together in one cage, get an aquarium.

I definitely understand what you are saying and agree. I searched a quick google about water dragon compatability prior to that post and saw many people have successfully kept the two together. One is a agamid and the other is iguanid, right? I actually thought they were very similiar before this thread.

Yeah, also take into account that most specimens of both water dragons and basilisks are wildcaught. On the issue of disease or parasite transferral, you don't want your South American lizard catching something from the Asian lizard that it has no defense or immunity against, or visa versa.