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 #2084019


Lelandmccann
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 New Uro! Comments?

"Hello,
I purchased a Mali Uromastyx about a week ago, and its great. I would just like some feedback on his enclosure and such.
Its about 6" and in a 48x18x18 tank with millet seed for substrate(which he loves chomping on). I live in cold Michigan so heating is an effort. During the day I have a 150w basking lamp and a regular 100w house bulb running alongside a 5.0 UVB reptile strip. It stays around 105 for the ambient air in the hot side and around 90 in the cool side. The basking spot ranges from 115-130. At night I use a 75w red light that keeps his sleeping area in the low 80’s to high 70’s. I may also turn the red light occasionally during the day if he needs a little extra heat.
Ive been feeding him primarily Endive, Escarole and Bok Choy. And dusting it regularly with a calcium supplement, and also a multivitamin.
He’s seemed quite happy the last few days especially.
The only thing I am concerned about is that for the first few days I had him on reptile carpet. Yesterday I put in the seed bedding, and since then hes seemed less interested in his greens and more interested in eating the seed. Is this uncommon for something that is new?

Any feed back would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!"
10/14/09  08:38pm

 #2084023


Mbwrink
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   Message To: Lelandmccann   In reference to Message Id: 2084019


 New Uro! Comments?

If he is going to ignore the greens entirley for the millet seed yea, the seed is not a substitute for a staple of mixed greens for a diet.
10/14/09  08:45pm

 #2084027


Sahells Mom
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   Message To: Mbwrink   In reference to Message Id: 2084023


 New Uro! Comments?

If he is under 7" long, he still needs to be on paper towels or newspaper. Millet is not always the best substrate for uro’s because they eat too much, it can mold, and it can get "bugs". But until he is over 7", keep him on paper.

Second, the red light at night will mess up his sleep habits. Unlike a lot of reptiles, uro’s can see the colored lights. If you need more heat at night, consider getting a CHE. You will probably be glad you did, come December and January! Otherwise, keep the light off totally at night. What do you have for a basking spot? If you use slate, it will hold heat better than about anything. Easy to make a hide with pavers and slate. You need hides on both ends, and in the middle. The hot side need to be rock (slate), but the other two can be whatever.

Once you get him off the millet, you will be able to get him eating the things he needs to be eating. Millet doesn’t have much nutritional value for him. A 6" uro needs almost perfect husbandry in order to survive. Make sure your temps are right and your diet is right. If your diet is right and varied, you shouldn’t have to feed any supplements. Most of us don’t. Remember, they are more of an observing animal, and shouldn’t be handled. Their body temps drop rapidly when you take them away from the enclosure. And, BTW, no bugs, no soaking!



10/14/09  08:59pm

 #2084032


Lelandmccann
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   Message To: Mbwrink   In reference to Message Id: 2084023


 New Uro! Comments?

He doesnt ignore the greens completely. Then I would be really worried!
He will still eat half of what I give him. And I usually put more in than I would actually expect him to eat.
10/14/09  09:09pm

 #2084038


Lelandmccann
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   Message To: Sahells Mom   In reference to Message Id: 2084027


 New Uro! Comments?

I emailed Doug from Deer Fern Farms (they seem to have the most experience and the best care sheet i could find), and he said that millet is ideal bedding, and that a 6" Uro would be fine on it. And I bought the same seed they had him on at the pet store. Apparently he was there for 2-3 months before I bought him.
Its not that he pays no attention to the greens. He still goes at those right away for a while when I put them in.
I have heard many mixed opinions about the red light. He does go into a particular hide to sleep where I’m sure none of the light is visible to him (hes sort of burrowed into an enclosed side.) But I will definitely look into a ceramic heat emitter soon. In the meantime its the red light on the other side of the enclosure. Its close to freezing already in Michigan and I don’t want him to freeze to death.
Also, I haven’t touched him since I got him (to avoid unnecessary stress).
I really just want him to have the best life possible, and the internet isn’t much help because no one can agree on anything! And trial and error is a rough thought when dealing with a living thing.



10/14/09  09:21pm

 #2084101


Sahells Mom
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   Message To: Lelandmccann   In reference to Message Id: 2084038


 New Uro! Comments?

Sounds like you feel you have it covered! Good luck, then.
10/14/09  11:49pm

 #2084105


Lelandmccann
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   Message To: Sahells Mom   In reference to Message Id: 2084101


 New Uro! Comments?

Im not throwing the info you gave to the wind, btw. I really appreciate any comments I can get, especially from actual uro owners.
Im just new to this, and its confusing when everyone says different things, Ya know?
Its comments like yours that let me deduce what really works!
Thanks again!
10/15/09  12:01am

 #2084119


Mbwrink
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   Message To: Lelandmccann   In reference to Message Id: 2084105


 New Uro! Comments?

Is this your first lizard/reptile? If so you will get the best basic care advice from an actual breeder like Doug. The forums are good for getting info on behavior you don’t read about in care sheets plus symptoms of reptiles when they are ill and what you might be able to do about it and tips on cage arrangement. I got mine 6 weeks ago from Doug so there are probably from the same brood. They hatched near the end of July and he started making them available in September and are going on three months old, mine just finished its first shed. He does recommend that they don’t get to much dry food at first because of impaction problems. So eating a lot of millet right away might be an issue even if he is not ignoring his greens. I’m topping my greens with ground up Mazuri Tortoise pellets like he does along with Miner-All. I use either blue bulbs or ceramic heaters and under cage heat mats in my cages. Doug sells the Zoo-Med mats on his website and they are good for animals where they are picky about seeking out a hide at night as Uromastyx seem to be. As he says on his website you arrange the mat and hide so that part of the hide is not on top of the mat. Heating also depends a lot on ambient room temperatures, what temps are your house going down to at night? Do you have some type of digital thermometer? Don’t worry about contradictions you read about, many things get repeated by people over and over both right and wrong whether they have actually tested themselves or not. So you usually have to check out more than one forum to as you say distill information down to the essentials. It does help if you have previous experience with other reptiles and lizards before you take on one that is more challenging especially lizards which tend to be harder to keep than most snakes I’ve kept.
10/15/09  01:24am

 #2084122


Lelandmccann
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   Message To: Mbwrink   In reference to Message Id: 2084119


 New Uro! Comments?

I didn’t get my Uro from Doug (although that would have been cool) but I have emailed with him a few times with some simple questions. He told me a 6" should be fine on millet.
The Uro hasn’t been picky about a hide at all. He seems to be getting more comfortable every day, and I’ve only had him a week.
I keep my space heater by his tank and it stays about 72 at night. I have a digital thermometer and a temp gun.
Its my first reptile, and I’ve heard Uros aren’t necessarily the best starter lizards. But I’m taking it extremely serious and am really trying hard all the time to keep everything to the likes of Doug’s caresheet.
He was on the same millet at the pet store for over 2 months, and then taken off of it for a week when I brought him home. So I’m wondering if he is just happy to be back on it (he definitely seems happier) and it was just something he had a taste for, and all of the sudden its back. I’m going to have to give it a couple more days.
Also, what part of the day (in relation to what time they rise) do your Uros seem to eat the best?
I have been feeding him around 5-6 and he rises around 10-11 or so. I’m wondering if he snacks too much between rising and feeding. Maybe putting the greens in earlier in the day will make him want to eat more?
Thanks again for the replys, im finally getting some comprehensive info!
10/15/09  01:44am

 #2084146


Mbwrink
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   Message To: Lelandmccann   In reference to Message Id: 2084122


 New Uro! Comments?

With an animal that is carnivorous and lives off of insects its necessary to establish some type of feeding schedule since you don’t want to leave insects like crickets in to annoy them once they have had their fill. However with herbivores you can put the food in the morning and just take it out at night what they don’t eat. Mine gets made up in its dish then sprayed down with a water bottle to keep the greens fresh than place in the cage after things have warmed up about an hour or so before I know he will come out. Mine tends to come out the same time as yours warms up then eats some greens. He snacks on them on and off late morning to early evening. This might give him incentive to concentrate on his food dish rather than the millet seed.
10/15/09  03:05am

 #2084218


Lelandmccann
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   Message To: Mbwrink   In reference to Message Id: 2084146


 New Uro! Comments?

I’m going to start doing that today.
Thanks so much!
10/15/09  10:53am

 #2084242


Jbreddawg
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   Message To: Lelandmccann   In reference to Message Id: 2084019


 New Uro! Comments?

I would seriously look into upping his UVB. A 5.0 bulb is barely adequate for chameleons . A uro should have a 10.0 at the very least and a Mercury Vapor at best. These are lizards that bask in direct sunlight.

The red bulb will become a problem no matter what you hear. Use a CHE .There much better.
I know some use Millet as a substrate but I can’t understand why.
It molds,gets bugs, and they eat it. The last thing I want my uro doing is eating something that he has gone to the bathroom in,has mold and bugs . It’s also not very natural looking in a uro enclosure .

When you say (ranges) from 115-130 or low 80’s to high 70’s what do you mean ? Is that temps taken at different times of the day ? 115-130 is quite a large fluctuation for the basking spot.
Nighttime temps should also be more stable and a bit lower. Around 75ish. 80’s is too high for night temps.

If you need to turn on the red light in the daytime for additional heat then you need to reevaluate your temp setup. Add an extra CHE on a thermostat if you need to.
Temps need to be alot more stable then you are describing.
10/15/09  12:11pm

 #2084538


Lelandmccann
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 2084242


 New Uro! Comments?

A 10 UVB bulb will be coming very soon.
I stopped using the red bulb last night. The millet seems to hold heat very well over the course of the night, and his temp never went below 77.
And the temps I gave were very generalized. Ive never seen the basking spot go over 127 or below 115 (with the exception of early in the morning). I was just rounding up. Plus its not 77 in there right away at night. Its in the low 80s for at least an hour after the light turn off. Its 9:45 right now, the lights went off at 9 and its went from 86 to 80 in the area he sleeps in.
The hardest part Ive found is getting the ambient air temp hot enough without making the basking spot too hot. And still keeping a cool side.
10/16/09  03:01am

 #2084665


Jbreddawg
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   Message To: Lelandmccann   In reference to Message Id: 2084538


 New Uro! Comments?

If your temps are raising with the day then that is fine. As long as the tank doesn’t get too hot. Just check ALOT and keep tabs on it.
It’s alot more difficult then people believe to get a proper gradient. A thermostat would help immensely.
10/16/09  12:17pm


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