Dragons are creatures with nearly unlimited life spans. They can survive for long periods of time, and no one has found a dragon that has died of old age. Adolescence is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling's wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. Once they hit adolescence, hatchlings change quickly, maturing to their full forms in only 2 years.

Dragons don't communicate with each other verbally, but they will growl to scare off predators and frighten prey. Young dragons will emit an extremely high-pitched squeal when they are frightened. To communicate, they use telepathy with each other and to speak to other creatures.

When water dragons mature, they lose their legs and the ability to survive on land, entering the water permanently. They are adept swimmers and eat whatever fish are in the lake they live in. They tend to inhabit the same lake for their entire lives, although a few live in the ocean and swim all over the world.

Tandris is a hatchling mother, but instead of staying in the nursery, like the rest of the clan mothers, she watches the hatchlings when they leave the nursery to play in the main cave where her pond is located. She has adopted a frozen hatchling named Zoven, even though she doesn't have a mate, and when not watching the clan's hatchlings she is found teaching him new tricks to use on the water in the little pond where they live.