Australian water dragon - the largest dragon lizard

The Australian water dragon is the largest dragon lizard native to Eastern Australia. It is not as big as the Yellow Spotted Monitor, but it has an interesting, confronting look. It is very easy to be spotted in parks around Sydney or Brisbane. Interestingly, they are not scared of humans and are easy to tame.

They have long, powerful legs with sharp claws, that reflect their natural habits of climbing trees. For swimming, they use their muscular tail, which is two-thirds of their body size. Usually, their skin has brownish colours.

Young dragons eat only insects, but while they grow, their diet changes to be more omnivorous. They usually eat ants, cicadas, molluscs, crustaceans like yabbies, and small crabs. In regards to eating vegetation, they like figs, lilly-pilly fruits, and other various fruits and flowers.

The biggest threats to water dragons are Brown Tree Snakes, Death Adders, Copperheads, and Red-bellied snakes. Young dragons can also be cannibalised by older dragons.

Breeding time for water dragons is strictly dependent on the spring temperature they live in. For instance, in the far north of Queensland, the breeding can start much sooner than in Sydney or Victoria (usually September).

During the breeding time, the males fight each other when confronted. Initially, they try to deter their opponents but usually, the fights are quite severe and in the end, both animals have wounds on their skin.

Females lay between 6 to 18 eggs in sandy soil that is normally dug out three days before laying eggs.

Australian Water Dragon can hold their breath underwater for 90 minutes

Where do Australian water dragons live?

They can be spotted in many, different habitats starting from the tropical rainforest in far north Queensland and alpine streams in the south.

Water dragons love flowing water with sufficient tree cover so if they found an appropriate environment they can be even found around build-up urban areas in big cities.

Australian water dragon distribution?

Water dragons natively live on the Australia’s east coast between Cooktown and New South Wales and as far as Gippsland. They were also introduced to Perth and Adelaide where you can find small colonies.

Australian water dragon Lifespan

The average life span of a water dragon is 15 years, but that depends on the condition they live in.

Where spotted: Botanical gardens in Brisbane, Sydney parks and many other places on the Australian east coast. It is a very popular dragon to see.