Physignathus
New member
In October 2006 I received a hatchling Australian water dragon. It was sold to me as a supposed male, which was not guaranteed because of course it was too young to tell and I just wanted one that looked like it might grow up to be a male. At only a month old, this water dragon showed a little orange on the stomach which was very unique. At 2 years old, I had my vet (who I wouldn’t trust the opinion of) telling me that I had a male, and the breeder telling me I had a female. My Australian water dragon was never fully sexable at almost 3 years due to its unique traits. He/she had a green/bluish body, a broken band hehind her head, and a bright orange stomach. Over the years, "his" body was beginning to turn a turquoise color with each shed. It was the most unique Australian water dragon I had ever seen. I was so confused, because the vet had said my water dragon was a male, and a hemipenis was sort of visible. I never got him probed though. But my water dragon looked completely different from my two males. My males have a gray/black coloration and have the dark red stomachs. The "female" however, reached 3 years old and never laid eggs, and the vet said that she was not carrying any last year around breeding time and that all she felt were "fat pads" on the stomach. I was going crazy because I had never seen another Australian water dragon like it, male or female. But I just realized something... The Australian water dragon has 2 subspecies. Physignathus Leseurii and P.I. Howitti. My water dragon showed traits of BOTH subspecies! I now believe that I might have had a hybrid. Nothing else explains it. I believe that someone aquired a Gippsland Water Dragon at some point that had bred with the Physignathus Leseurii, as I have started to see more "mystery" Australian water dragons popping up. I have not been able to find any that have lived to be older than mine yet. Mine was 3 years old and was thought to be a female, but never had an infertile clutch. When I placed the "female" with my Physignathus Leseurii male last year, they fought and she became stressed and hid from the male, so I seperated them and didn't attempt to breed them again. The 2 definite males get along very well, however. But neither of them liked the “freak”. A year passed. My water dragon started to become weak and listless over the past few months, but there was no medical explanation. The vet treated for parasites and said that it just seemed to be a "lazy" water dragon. But it only got worse until finally Wayne died last Sunday. I've been driving myself crazy trying to figure out what it was that killed my water dragon. And nothing makes sense. My other 2 males (That look like normal Physignathus Leseurii males) are happy and healthy, and were kept in the same conditions as the "female". Now I'm wondering if the fact that it may have been a hybrid has anything to do with it. It would certainly explain why it had all male characteristics (such as enlarged crest, larger jowls, apparent hemipenis, and the overall body structure of a male) but had a completely different coloration. I feel like I'll never know the answer for sure, but if a Gippsland water dragon got into the Australian water dragon stock that would definitely explain a lot. Keep in mind, when I came up with this theory I was very emotional and trying desperately to find an explanation for my baby's death. So this could all be me just grasping at straws, I am curious to find out what other people think though. I'll post photos of my different water dragons so you can compare and tell me what you think. Did I have a hybrid or just an insanely gorgeous female?
