got a new water dragon

[MrPower]

i have my new baby chinese water dragon. like all my other reptiles, iv spent a week in research. seems to love its new home.
i called him/ her hydro, hense the name "water" dragon lol.
so i wondering if anyone have some usfull advice?
i love hearing from actual owners, just all around better than reading books and articles.

here is a quick review, i have my wd in a 4 foot high enclosure, i build myself. with a 20 gall tank as the base. the top enclosure part is made half and half with pexi glass in the front and back and mesh on tyhe sides for good ventalation.

substrate is a mixture of exo soil with coco husk on the top, it has a 6 by 12 plastic container pushed into it with water, and an air stone hooked up.

a load of fake plants, vines, branches ect.

a 100 watt heat bulb and a uvb coil bulb in a little conopy on top of the metal meshed hinged opening.

temps are around 88 in the upper part of tank, lower 90's just under lamp, and a bit cooler down bottom.

one of my main questions is, do these lizards actully need 80 percent humidity at all times, i cant seem to keep it above 70. with the heat, the plants dry off quickly, even with three or more good mistings a day. or are they like other humid needing lizards where you can soak the enclosure in the morning and does not matter if it drys during the day, and just mist it again in the evening. i cant find much info on the internet reguarding this

[Coffee Black]

the temps seem pretty good. We spray ours to get the enclosure about 80, let it dry out to around 50 and then spray again. Usually once a day but in the winter we sometimes had to spray more often. The height is great but you will eventually need something about 4' wide at least. If we had the room we would be building something 6' high by 6' wide but we don't so we are building 5' high by 4' wide. Tricia's Chinese Water Dragon, Reptile and Amphibian Care Page (Water Dragon care, Reptile care, Amphibian care) (http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/) is a great resource.

[vendettaseve]

Only a week of research? Its good practice to spend 2-3 months prior to getting a brand new species of Reptile.

I personally know nothing of Water Dragons so il let someone else talk about that bit.

[stephanbakir]

Quick question, with the sides top and back made of mesh, how are you maintaining temperature and humidity?

[MrPower]

to post number one, i am in the process of building a home mad enclsure around 6 foot by 6 foot. takes these guys a while vto grow so im in no rush

to post number two, all i needed was a full week of research. i am a pretty experienced reptile owner of all kinds. all my other eeptiles are very healthy and iv been told by lots of shops / breeders that mine are the healthiest and fast growing of most they have seen, i think enjoy these talk forums and i believe you can learn somthing every day. my water dragon is one of the most happyest iv seen.

to post number three, i live in Newfoundland canada, our spring times are very damp, plus i live in a basment appartment where ist pretty humid. by misting twice a day i remain about 60 to 80 himidity, also i saok the coko substrate and i have a very large water dish. im going to eventually put some pexi glass on back as winter gets here. but really alot of mesh is good, the last thing you want is bad air flow with high humidity and heat, thats respiratory problems waiting to happen. also i run a 100 watt heat bulb, heats my enclosure perfect temps. i consider getting the right environment for your lizard as a trial and error. a week before buing the lizard, i buy different bulbs, mesh, pexi glass ect. and play around a bit untill i find a combo that makes the perfect environment. then after a few days running i buy the lizards

[stephanbakir]

In the winter humidity generally tanks. Just something to think about.