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Windermere View Profile |
Introducing my Uro (and myself)
I’m Chris and my Mali’s name is Bunneh! I just got him last Monday after a very disasterous set of circumstances... If you get upset easily, don’t read any further. I’d been researching Uros for over a month, and trying to find a breeder in my area (good luck! I don’t think there are any in Ontario!). My son works at a local Aquarium store, and they have a small herp section, so I asked the manager a couple of weeks ago if he was able to get some in. I was told that they could get Malis, but he didn’t know the price nor if they were WC or CB; I asked that he keep me informed. Next thing I know, last Saturday evening my son comes home from work and tells me they got two Uros in! Needless to say, I was not yet ready for them! So, when I drove him to work on Sunday morning, I had a quick look at them; they didn’t look great, but I’m a sucker for hard-luck cases. So I told them I would pick them up that afternoon, as I had to get some sort of habitat, even if only temporary, set up. I had an empty 29g sitting around, and was getting a 55g on Wednesday, so figured this would do for a few days and proceeded to get all the lighting and "furniture" in place, and went and bought some food for them. I got to the store, and went to get them. First thing I noticed was the lack of heat in the enclosure: I could barely feel any on my hand! I reached in to pick up the smallest one (about 6") and she didn’t move; I thought she was dead! I turned her over, and she lay limply in my hand, but then gave the smallest of struggles. I was ready to cry! The larger one (roughly 8"), was not much better, but he still had a bit of energy. Both were very thin. I called my son over, and he got so upset! He doesn’t take care of the herp section, so hadn’t realized anything was wrong. We got the assistant manager to come over, and I showed him the poor things, and told him they had been left in an enclosure that was way too cold. I also said I was willing to bring them home and care for them, but he had to give me a one week 100% guarantee (store policy is 5 days, 50%, exchange only). He was not willing to do that, stating he did not have the authority, but he would make sure they had more heat overnight and I could talk to the manager in the morning. I BEGGED him to let me take them home for the night, I TOLD him the little one would be dead by morning, but he wouldn’t let me... I went back Monday, and no additional heat had been put in, and sure enough the small one had died... :( I spoke with the manager (get this, he actually has a Uro, and didn’t set these guys up properly!), and he gave me the guarantee for the other one. So, Bunneh came home, almost rigid from cold. First thing I did was give him a bath, to get his body temperature up. I made sure to dry him properly, and then put him in the 29g. He was lethargic for the first day, but by evening was eating, and actually pooped! You never saw someone so happy to see poop. ;) He’s been gradually getting better, although he is still very thin. I want to take him to the vet, but not until he gets some more strength. He’s now in the 55g (which will be replaced by a home-made 4’x2’ enclosure), with about three inches of washed sand as substate. He’s got tons of hides, and my temp gradient is around 130 in the basking area to 85 in the cool area. Centre of the tank is around 110. He loves the sand, and digs around a lot, spraying it all over! :) I’ve got him on a diet of greens (collards, kale, aragula, dandelion, plantain, and whatever other edible "weeds" I can find in my pesticide/herbicide-free yard), with some treats of prickly pear, strawberries, alfalfa sprouts and grated zucchini. He is still pooping regularly, and is becoming more and more active. So, that is Bunneh’s story. He’s not out of the woods yet, but I’m hoping with proper care he will fully recover and have the happy ending he deserves. --- Chris |
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| 08/08/08 05:36pm |
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Skullkeeper View Profile |
Message To: Windermere In reference to Message Id: 1824306 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
Has he had any drainage from his nose or acted like he is having trouble breathing ? I would watch for signs of a respiratory infection. I would not handle him at all . Let him get acclimated . Keep us posted on how hes doing . |
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| 08/08/08 05:57pm |
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Windermere View Profile |
Message To: Skullkeeper In reference to Message Id: 1824325 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
Stool sample is utmost on my list, the thing is I can never get it when it’s fresh! By the time I get home and he’s pooped, it’s already dessicated. :( I’ve stopped giving him baths already. I only gave him two short ones, on Monday and Tuesday. Since he’s eating and pooping I know he isn’t dehydrated. I do have a fluorescent UVB bulb on him. It does sit on top of the mesh top, but the mesh is over 1" square so hardly anything gets blocked. I’ll see if I can rig something for placing it inside, but then I wouldn’t be able to get into the enclosure easily. I’m getting a lot of differing opinions on what greens to give him. I based most of his diet on research, and on what I feed my beardie. I have a list of foods and their acceptability for beardies, all rated from best to worst. I’ll be trying to get to a different store that carries a better variety of foods tonight. I try to stick to organic foods, when possible. I also want to pick up finch "pellets", as I read these are superior to seed, not having hulls and being supplemented with vitamins. My pets all eat better than I do! :D I’m always open to suggestions though! The only "discharge" from his nose are regular salt crystals, nothing else. I watch his breathing like a hawk. I try not to handle him too much, although when I do have to he is very docile. He even comes right up to the glass to see me when I look at him. I don’t want to take him out of the heat, which is the main reason I haven’t taken him to a vet yet. Question: when do Malis usually start getting their adult colouration? He’s about 8" right now, and I just use "he" arbitrarily. :) Thanks for your help! --- Chris |
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| 08/08/08 07:10pm |
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MissAnne2u View Profile |
Message To: Windermere In reference to Message Id: 1824391 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
Quote: Question: when do Malis usually start getting their adult colouration? He’s about 8" right now, and I just use "he" arbitrarily. :)
Welcome Chris ! You will find that when you get everything set up right, Uro’s are a joy to own. They are fun to watch and take pictures of ! LOL My Liono is just over 3 yrs old and his coloring has been coming out more and more with every shed, about 1x every 3 months. He is just under 11" from snout to tail. Here is a current pic:
My other three Uro’s are about just over 8" long and about 2 yrs old and aren’t really showing any color except Albert, he has little tiny yellow spots on him that really came out this last shed (just finished last week) I hope that helps a little. There are others with much older and larger Uro’s that can give a better idea of when coloration comes out, but I thought I would throw mine out there :) |
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| 08/09/08 01:27pm |
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Windermere View Profile |
Message To: MissAnne2u In reference to Message Id: 1825008 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
Bunneh is doing so well! He loves the enclosure with the sand! This morning, he let me feed him his greens. :) I’m thinking that when I get around to building him his permanent enclosure, I might try putting in about six inches of compacted sand/clay mix for him to burrow in, like he would have in nature. Has anyone tried this? Hopefully, I’ll be able to get some pictures of him soon. |
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| 08/10/08 11:49am |
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Skullkeeper View Profile |
Message To: Windermere In reference to Message Id: 1825895 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
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| 08/10/08 03:41pm |
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SammyDuke View Profile |
Message To: Skullkeeper In reference to Message Id: 1826104 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
i have 2 inches of washed playsand in my enclosure, and my guys love it. its shallow enough that they cannot get hurt, and deep enough for them to cuddle in :) |
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| 08/11/08 10:51am |
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Windermere View Profile |
Message To: SammyDuke In reference to Message Id: 1826899 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
I’ve changed his diet a bit, now having mostly escarole and endives, with dandelion and flower petals. I also picked up a bag of Zupreem finch Pellets and he (and my Beardie) went crazy for them!!! I wet them a bit so he gets some water out of it too. He’s doing so much better than when I got him just over a week ago. I’m very happy about that! He’s still thin, but I can’t expect him to gain weight in just a week. Still can’t get a fresh fecal sample though. Can’t seem to catch it in time before it dries out! |
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| 08/12/08 12:25pm |
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Windermere View Profile |
Message To: Windermere In reference to Message Id: 1828300 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
Bunneh is more active, and slowly getting better. As mentioned before, I’ve switched his diet to that recommended here. And I’ve finally found a supply of bee pollen!!! Didn’t realize how hard it would be to find! And got my hands on some organic lentils (the red ones, I figured he would be attracted to the colour). I’ve got someone picking up the fish in my 75g on Sunday or Monday. The tank is 48"L x 18"W x 20"T, and yes I know this is still on the small size, it’s better than the 36" long he’s in right now. I am still going to building his custom cage. I’m looking at different designs, and if anyone can point me in the direction of good plans, I would be very grateful! Still no fecal sample!!! It’s too dry by the time I get home from work, and I swear he holds it for when I’m not around on the weekend so I haven’t been able to get one then either! Apart from that, he’s getting better and while he still naps a lot, he is active in between naps. A few questions: - How MUCH bee pollen should I be giving him? Just sprinkle a teaspoon or so on top of his greens, or less/more than that? How often, since he is still recovering? - Calcium: I have read several posts that say that vitamin D3 can be toxic. I have Rep-Cal, which contains vit. D3, should I not give it to him? I supplement my birds’ and cats’ diets with finely ground egg shell (baked to kill off any bacteria). Can I use this as an alternative? - I’ve seen a few posts from people that use pool sand in their enclosures. I have a ton of this that I got for my aquariums. Can it be mixed with play sand? Is there anything else I’m forgetting? And thanks to everyone sharing their experience with Uros! There’s only so much that research can tell you (especially when it’s so contradicting!), it’s great to have forums dedicated to these lizards with people with years of experience that are willing to share! Chris |
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| 08/16/08 01:27pm |
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El toro View Profile |
Message To: Windermere In reference to Message Id: 1832860 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
You can get calcium with no D3 (look for outdoor formula) - also make sure it’s phosphorus-free. You can also get mineral supplements that have other things besides just the calcium in them (Miner-All for example). The D3 is not automatically a bad thing. I have some supplements with and some without. For the lizards that are in cages that can’t contain a Mega Ray for UVB, I use a little bit of the D3 containing supplement. For the lizards that have Mega Rays and/or are able to get natural sun exposure, I almost never use D3. There are no rules for this, so it’s extremely hard to give specifics. The most important part of supplementation is actually making sure that the diet is appropriate in the first place - if it is, then supplementation becomes less necessary. I don’t know enough about the eggshell question to give you an answer about that. I don’t see why you can’t mix the sands, as long as the playsand is the right kind. |
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| 08/16/08 02:16pm |
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Windermere View Profile |
Message To: El toro In reference to Message Id: 1832900 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
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| 08/16/08 05:36pm |
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Sahells Mom View Profile |
Message To: Windermere In reference to Message Id: 1833059 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
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| 08/16/08 08:10pm |
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Windermere View Profile |
Message To: Sahells Mom In reference to Message Id: 1833221 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
I have a rose bush that I get petals from, and this week I got blueberries and grapes as a treat. I gave him a few pollen granules tonight, and he tried to lick them out of my hand, but couldn’t get a good hold of them, so he started to nip them. He eventually got them, after I put them down. He absolutely loved them! He’s gotten into a cute habit, (at least I think it’s cute, hopefully it isn’t wrong) where he literally buries his sleeping hide (a terra cotta flower pot with the bottom knocked out and filed smooth) when he gets up in the morning, only to dig it back out and crawl in at night to go back to sleep. Thanks for the encouragement! He’s getting better and better, and I’m really grateful for all the great advice I got. |
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| 08/16/08 11:33pm |
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Skullkeeper View Profile |
Message To: Windermere In reference to Message Id: 1833451 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
I do not think the cage that is 48x 18 x 20 is going to be much better than the one you have now . You need more floor space for your Uro . Have you checked the local pet shops for used tanks ? |
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| 08/17/08 08:54am |
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Windermere View Profile |
Message To: Skullkeeper In reference to Message Id: 1833667 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
Quote: I do not think the cage that is 48x 18 x 20 is going to be much better than the one you have now . You need more floor space for your Uro . Have you checked the local pet shops for used tanks ?
He’s in a 36 x 12 x 18 right now. I got the tank as a 55g, but the dims don’t come out to near that amount. It’s closer to 33g. Better than the 24" long tank he was stuck in when I rescued him, but not by much. I can still get a decent gradient, but would much rather have him in something 48" long. Unfortunately, the 33g leaks, or else I would have already transfered the livestock in the 75g to it and given it to Bunneh. I’m not defending his enclosure, I *know* it’s too small. I am constantly checking the classifieds for stuff. Such large tanks are not commonly for sale, and when they are the owners ask *way* too much for them. I’m also a member of my local aquarium society, and scan their classifieds too. I think the way to go is building my own, as I can fit it in to the space I have. Hmmm, I think I will empty the 75g after all, and put the livestock in several smaller tanks (of which I have many!). Thank goodness I always keep cycled media on hand for emergencies. Like that, at least Bunneh will have more room to move around, and an even better heat gradient. It’s going to be a WET day! Thanks for the info on the supplements, especially the egg shells. Information has changed so much in the last few years, as people learn more, it’s sometimes difficult to wrap your head around it all! :) |
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| 08/17/08 10:39am |
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Windermere View Profile |
Message To: Windermere In reference to Message Id: 1833727 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
Since the wall behind the tank is mirror, I covered the back of the tank so he wouldn’t see his reflection. I used foam undercarpet stuff, which will act as an insulator, too. Yes, it’s on the outside of the tank! :) This should help keep the temps stable. Next step is to start building the slightly bigger enclosure. I’ve been looking at many different styles, and am slowly settling on some specific ideas. Too bad it’s the end of the garage sale season. ;) |
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| 08/19/08 02:03pm |
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Skullkeeper View Profile |
Message To: Windermere In reference to Message Id: 1836120 Introducing my Uro (and myself)
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| 08/19/08 03:23pm |
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