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chinese water dragon moods

23K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Jim2109  
#1 ·
hi does anyone know what it means when a chinese water dragon opens its mouth at you as if its yawning ?

also anyone with thermostats for sale or anything like that please PM me
cheers
 
#3 ·
i dont think they yawn. when their mouth is open its generally one of 2 things - either they are hot and trying to cool down (regardless of what your overall viv temperature is, if they do if in the same place often then stick a thermometer there. youll be surprised how hot some areas can get!!

the other reason is a sign of aggression. if youve only got 1 then it will be aggression towards you. if youve got several then they will try to establish a position as the alpha member of the group, they may also head bob, arm wave, headbutt, sit on top of the others, etc. if its just doing it at you then try bobbing your head back at it with your mouth open. il bet it closes its mouth straight away lol.

check temperatures first though, this is a more likely reason. theres one spot in my viv where the air temperature reaches 44°C (107°F) even though the overall background temp at the hot end is 30°C and statted. its just a hot spot high up between 2 basking lamps. however the water dragons love to sit there for 20-30 mins at a time throughout the day, and theyd move if it was too hot, so ive left the area as it is. theyve got plenty of cool areas to go if they wish.