Alan,
I with my Eastern and Gippsland Water Dragons, I find temps of around 33 degrees need to be offered at the hot end. The actual basking spot gets alot higher than this (close to 45!!!) and I'm still guranteed to see at least 1 of them using that area every day.
For hatchlings, I house them in plastic "Pal Pen" - these cost about $45 from the Reptile Barn in St Marys, Sydney. Hatchies get a chinese container for their water (the long type, not the round type). A branch is included and a fake plant.
For my slightly older water dragons, I house them currently in an enclosure which measures 1m x 60cm x 60cm. I have a 100 Watt reflector globe without a thermostat for 12 hours a day (generally 7am-7pm) and a UV fluro tube for the same time. At the cooler end I have a water feature running for the 12 hours as well. The particular one I have in my Eastern's enclosure cost $127 from Bunnings, but you can get one's alot cheaper from eBay or garage sales, etc. I find the running water has made a huge difference to how calm and relaxed the lizards are. Before they had running water they were much more skittish and rarely used their water pool. Now, they use it as a safe place and happily swim and dive, etc. To combat humidity problems damaging the wood, I have cut out a hole in the roof of the enclosure and then staple-gunned aluminium mesh over it. This allows air to flow during the day and prevents excess moisture build-up on the enclosure walls. This vent is blocked up of a night to prevent excess heat loss. I do suggest if you can get a water feature so the water is moving, this is the best option I have found.
Although I mentioned earlier I have a UV fluro in the enclosure, I do not rely on this for the lizards' UV intake. They receive no less than 3 days a week (at least 2 hours at a time) in natural, unfiltered sunlight. For this purpose, I bought a couple of "Herpariums" from the Herp Shop and they work well. I simply put them in the sun with a fresh water supply (enough for every lizard to submerge at the same time) and Bob's your uncle. I find though (as I've said in my Painted Dragon caresheet and many other times) that I am comfortable relying on a UV globe for short periods (up to about 2 weeks) when bad weather can prevent getting the animals out into natural sunlight. They should not be used as an only source of UV for the lizards.
I feed my Water Dragons a mix of roaches, crickets, dog food, flies (when I can catch them - it is awesome to watch the dragons launch for these when you put them in the enclosure), fruits like watermelon, rockmelon, apple, banana, etc (making sure fruit is cut small enough to not damage internals of lizards).
As for breeding, I have not actually bred them myself, so I will not include any information. I will say though that if housed correctly outdoors, adult Water Dragons should really do everything for you.
These are generally active lizards and will need a large enclosure while being housed indoors for the first year or 2 of their lives. Once they are large enough they really need to housed outdoors in a pit-style enclosure, or contact Marc (AGAMIDAE) in regards to his Alumacore enclosures. He houses a trio in one of these and he'll be able to give you advice on using the Alumacore products.
Finally, if you witness any fighting between certain lizards housed together in an enclosure, best to separate them straight away and not house them together again. Odds are (in my experience) it's gonna be 2 males and in the wild, groups of males fight each other to the death until only one lizard is left. While some sick-minded individuals may find this behaviour fascinating and allow it to happen, it's nothing less than animal cruelty when you know the inevitable outcome.
Any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy these beautiful lizards.
Simon Archibald
