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Patches107 View Profile |
Advice for me and my new Mali
Now it’s only been a few days since I’ve had him, and I just have a few questions. First of all, he’s about 6.5 inches long or so. He’s provided with both a UVA/UVB slimline fixture and a 75w heat lamp which is directly over his basking spot on a slate rock, both which are turned on at 7am and off at 9pm, a total of twelve hours. I’m doing all I can to keep it hot in there, so his cage temperature is 80-85 degrees on the cool side and the warm side is 95 degrees. He also has a nice desert background to help relieve stress and a heating pad underneath of the tank on the cooler side. He has a cave hide in the cool side, and a cave under his basking rock on the warm side, in which he tends to sleep in at night. I also have a thermometer in the middle and one sticker thermometer on the warm side of the cage. He has about two inches of millet substrate lining the cage bottom for him to burrow in. I feed him baby spring mix. Now my questions are.. 1. He’s only eaten a little since I’ve gotten him, and he only does it when no one is in the room. You can leave and come back and tell that he has eaten a little, but never all of it. Is this okay? I’ve read that I should treat him to strawberries and carrots and even maybe apples, what say you? Or is the baby spring mix I feed him good enough? Is he just not eating very much because he’s still not used to the new environment? 2. He’s been really lazy. Now, I’ve read in several places that uromastyx tend to be pretty lazy, especially when they’re shedding, and he is currently shedding as well. He sleeps in late (kind of like me) too. But I always thought that Uro’s were generally active? He doesn’t move much when I’m around, but I’ve left and come back and he will have clearly been active. I’ve left and come back to him having clearly eaten a little, and twice now I’ve come back to him either perched up, once on his rock and looking around curiously, and another time sitting down on his butt in the corner of the cage looking around the outside curiously as well. I guess what I’m asking is, is it okay that he is inactive when anyones around? Is it because he’s still not used to his new home? I’ve tried doing a lot of research on him so that he can have the best possible home. I love the little dude, and hope to continue taking care of him for a very, very long time to come. Thank you all for your help. (Also, if I can, I will upload pictures soon!) |
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| 10/17/09 03:00pm |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2085123 Advice for me and my new Mali
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| 10/17/09 03:02pm |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2085124 Advice for me and my new Mali
Also, I forgot to mention that I’m adding a "reptolife" natural vitamin supplement to his meals and spraying him once a day from neck to tail with a vita-spray. And right now, I just checked, I’m concerned about his weight, he seems rather thin especially on his sides... or is it just me being to much of a an overactive worrier since he’s a new pet and all and he’s actually fine? And he’s in a 30 gallon tank for now, I will upgrade when I can... thanks guys for the help... sorry if I’m just over reacting I just wanna be sure he’s okay and stuff.... |
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| 10/17/09 03:33pm |
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Mbwrink View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2085124 Advice for me and my new Mali
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| 10/17/09 03:54pm |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Mbwrink In reference to Message Id: 2085138 Advice for me and my new Mali
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| 10/17/09 04:14pm |
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Datsunissan28 View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2085144 Advice for me and my new Mali
First off the recommended minimum enclosure is 24"x48"x24". This is for Uros at any age and not something you should put off until he gets bigger. This size is needed to meet the heat gradient a Uro requires. Secondly you need to buy an IR (infrared) temp gun so you can measure the surface temperature of the basking area which should be 120-135 degrees. The ambient or air temp of the hot end should be 95-100 degrees. You will probably need to buy additional or higher wattage bulbs to maintain this. Thirdly the UV light you have now probably does not put off an adequate amount of UV and should be upgraded to full size fluorescent fixture or preferable a MVB (mercury vapor bulb) which could provide you heat and UV. Also it may take some time for your Uro to get used to his new surroundings and not eating for the first few days is common. From the pictures you’re showing he looks to be in decent shape. |
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| 10/17/09 06:48pm |
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Sahells Mom View Profile |
Message To: Datsunissan28 In reference to Message Id: 2085178 Advice for me and my new Mali
One last thing, have you measured her, snout to tail, or snout to vent? She sure looks larger than 6.5". Unless 6.5 is snout to vent. Anyway, she doesn’t look like a juvenile, more like a young adult. Did they tell you how old she was supposed to be? One other thing, they usually ship them cool/cold, so they are less active. Most breeders will only ship at certain times of the year because of that. Cool/cold, and freezing, are two different things. She doesn’t look skinny to me. She is not a heifer, but she looks fine from the pictures. On uro’s you look at their tail and thighs to determine skinniness. And she will fatten up once she settles in (up to three months), and is fed the correct diet. Just remember...no soaking and no bugs and no handling!! |
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| 10/17/09 10:06pm |
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Sahells Mom View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2085144 Advice for me and my new Mali
Quote: so, I was wondering, is it even okay to spray him with that vita spray stuff? The petstore lizard expert said it’s actualy good for them
I wouldn’t use it on a bet, myself! Is it supposed to help them by sitting on their skin, or are they supposed to "absorb" the vitamins through their skin? Gee, that sound logical!! NOT! One other thing, try not giving any supplements until you have her eating well. None of mine will touch anything with stuff on it. Also, try some bee pollen granules (you can get it a health food stores, etc) sprinkled on the food a couple of times a week. Also if you are worried about dehydration, try a cut up green grape, or even a small lid of water in the enclosure for a few hours a day. Don’t just leave it in there. Make sure you rinse the green before you feed them. Apples, blueberries, edible flowers, etc are all good to add for variety. Avoid carrots and corn since they have too much sugar. Endive and escarole, dandelion greens and flowers are the best staple for them. You can go back in the archives and check out some of the lists of food. He is not likely to eat if you are around until he gets used to being there. As long as some of the food is missing every day, you are doing okay. Do you have three sides of the enclosure covered? That helps make them feel a bit more secure. They can’t see every movement. I have had Sahel over six years, and he still thinks I am going to eat him!! He runs to his hide whenever I open the sliding doors. He was wild caught, and a juvie to boot when I got him. No telling what the poor guy went through before I got him. See, some guy goes out to the desert with a bag, catches as many uro’s as he can, puts them all together in the bag, takes the bag to an exporter that usually pays $1.00 each. They aren’t usually fed, they stay crammed together, regardless of sex, size and age, and have no lights or heat. Finally they make it over here, where they are sold to chains, etc for maybe $25.00 apiece. No one between here and there, really cares if 150 make it to their new homes alive, or 70 make it. The markup is so great that selling one, pays for 10. So, now I only buy from known breeders (Lindsey Pike!!). Give him time to calm down, realize you won’t hurt him, and that he will have heat to help him digest it! Uro’s take a long time to get acclimated, many months, not days. |
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| 10/17/09 10:30pm |
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Sugar Snap Pea View Profile |
Message To: Sahells Mom In reference to Message Id: 2085248 Advice for me and my new Mali
No handling as much as you can... I have a friendly uro, but even then I’ve always left it to him to approach and be friendly before I try to handle. |
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| 10/18/09 03:06pm |
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Sugar Snap Pea View Profile |
Message To: Sugar Snap Pea In reference to Message Id: 2085529 Advice for me and my new Mali
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| 10/18/09 03:25pm |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Sugar Snap Pea In reference to Message Id: 2085539 Advice for me and my new Mali
Oh, and he still won’t move when anyones in the room, so I have to monitor the food which makes it harder. Also, he is about 8.5" from nose to the tip of the tail, I measured myself, the 6.5 was an estimate from the pet store. Thanks again for all your help. |
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| 10/18/09 08:30pm |
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Sahells Mom View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2085667 Advice for me and my new Mali
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| 10/19/09 08:25am |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Sahells Mom In reference to Message Id: 2085832 Advice for me and my new Mali
Also, we appear to have a little sneak here. Last night, he fell asleep outside of his caves. This morning, I turned on his lights and went back to sleep. He didn’t know I was in the room apparently, because when I woke up, not only was he awake, but he was energetically running around his cage, climbing on his rocks, trying to climb the back glass of the cage, and running in and out of his hide. He didn’t even know I was in the room, and I watched all this silently. Then, I scratch my face, and when I put my hand down he saw and froze. Once he realized I was in the room, he completely stopped moving and hasn’t budged since. Now I still don’t think he eats, because I can pretty much tell if I leave and come back that none of the food is missing. |
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| 10/19/09 01:18pm |
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Sugar Snap Pea View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2085667 Advice for me and my new Mali
One of the things you need to find out for the next few months is what your uro likes to eat. I would suggest keeping a list of what veggies have been fed, what appears missing if you don’t see him eating it, and create a balanced diet with supplement, because some uros can be picky eaters. If he is on millet, you really wouldn’t know how much millet he’s snacking on while you’re not looking... too much millet can get in the way of getting enough calcium into his body. The worst case scenario is he’s getting full on millet and nothing else, the problem is millet has more phosphorus than calcium... and quantity matters. Millet, if a few grains, doesn’t cause harm, but if he eats too much of it, you’ll really need to find a safer substrate. Shedding... if he’s shedding the tail and leg, it sounds like the start of some major shedding... he could shed another leg or two, even his back. There are some good calcium supplements without phosphorus in it, so look around the pet stores online and local in your neighborhood. They are not expensive, but it’s just finding the right one takes a bit of time, as every store carries only so few types and not all. From my own experience, my uro tends to eat less leafy and more peas, beans and grains when autumn-winter comes along. Now is when I really need to add a sprinkle of calcium to his daily diet. He’ll make an exception for fresh greens from the garden, he’s that smart and picky to know the difference between supermarket veggies and fresh picked. Supermarket is just not as fresh and they get oversoaked with water just to keep them fresh on the shelves. If you have a garden, you might want to grow some dandelion or clover without pesticides or herbicides. Both their flowers and leaves are tasty and nutritious for uros. Your uro is already naturally curious, but it might take a few more weeks for him to get used to human activity in the room. Try walking around slowly instead of our usual speed, and keep noise to a minimum... if you have a TV, lower the volume a little. Some activities like reading, sewing, listening to music, typing on the laptop, etc, works really well to get him used to seeing what you do in the same room. |
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| 10/19/09 01:35pm |
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Jbreddawg View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2085913 Advice for me and my new Mali
I have never heard of uro’s suffocating on playsand. It is still your best bet as far as substrate goes. He is going to need time to acclimate , it could take months. He may never be ok with you in the room .Only time will tell. You need to get his husbandry correct right away though . There’s no way to get a decent temp gradient in a 30 gallon , bad temps will make everything bad. No eating, no activity,sleeping alot,etc... The sooner you get things straightened out the better. |
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| 10/19/09 05:03pm |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Jbreddawg In reference to Message Id: 2085999 Advice for me and my new Mali
Quote: he could shed another leg or two, even his back.
Actually I think his legs and back have already shed. The only thing I can tell that hasn’t is his face (unless they don’t shed that?) Quote: You will have nothing but problems until you get him out of that cage. It’s WAY too small for a uro .
Also, I’m looking into getting a 120 gallon 4x2x2 terrarium/tank. They tend to be pretty expensive, but I found a great one for $50. The guy made it himself specifically for lizards under 25". He says it took him 10 hours to build and he spent over $150 in materials to build it, not including the decorations and props that come with it. It looks great! But I do have a question, how would one go about sanitizing a new cage? The pet store employees said it would be safe to wash with bleach and it wouldn’t hurt the uro, is this true? Just want to make sure. Today he was really really lazy. But tomorrow I will feed him a mix of peas and beans and some other veggies to see what he’ll like the most, if any at all. Thanks for the help. |
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| 10/20/09 10:40pm |
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Jbreddawg View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2086679 Advice for me and my new Mali
Quote: Today he was really really lazy.
Thats a glaring warning sign that things are not correct . The longer it goes, the worse it will be. |
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| 10/21/09 07:21am |
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Sugar Snap Pea View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2086679 Advice for me and my new Mali
Get that 120 gallon tank! If it looks great and is in good condition, that’s a great buy. Before you use the bleach, maybe give us a better idea what materials were used? If you use bleach, you’ll need to rinse the bleach out before the tank can be safe, and if it has a lot of wood, that would be quite a challenge. Rubbing alcohol, soap and water might do the trick. |
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| 10/21/09 10:35am |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Jbreddawg In reference to Message Id: 2086808 Advice for me and my new Mali
Also, his skin on his leg is shedding nicely! The crack has gotten bigger and looks like it’s going to fall off soon. I also noticed the skin under his head is starting to come off. I haven’t seen him shed with a rock yet though. And I’m trying to get that cage, it looks amazing, but the guy hasn’t returned my call yet, I may try again soon... If that doesn’t work, I found another 120 gallon long tank for 100 bucks, not sure if it’s available still though. |
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| 10/21/09 11:05am |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2086867 Advice for me and my new Mali
Also, bought a country salad mix today for him, consisting of mustard greens, collard greens, and turnip leaves. Also bought a bundle of dandelion greens to go with it, but so far he’s not eating it, so hopefully he’s alright and he’s just not hungry or something. Meh. |
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| 10/21/09 03:04pm |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2086988 Advice for me and my new Mali
She said Layton is in great condition, his mouth looks nice from what she saw (even though she couldn’t get it to open because he wouldn’t let her and she didn’t wanna hurt him), and his bones are in good health. His feet are in excellent condition and she commented that they are a lot healthier looking than most other Uro’s she’s seen. Earlier this morning he was active, but when he realized I was in the room he froze standing in the corner of the cage against the glass. I figured he’d be okay seeing as he’d probably move once I left. However, after coming back home I found that he hadn’t moved, and in fact was in the same spot but had fallen backwards and was laying on his back motionless. I was shocked. I immediately picked him up after getting no response from him, and he was very stiff. I was worried, but after about fifteen seconds he started moving and looking around, and that’s when I decided he had to go to the vet. However, the vet said she is unsure why he did this, and she reassured that he didn’t hurt himself and everything was fine (maybe he’s just lazy and has a don’t give a damn attitude?), and that he is very healthy and all of his legs are in good shape. She said I’m doing a great job taking care of him though and he’s in good shape, he just needs some time to settle in and get used to his new environment. Also, his skin in the chin area peeled off while we were there, and his leg skin is almost completely shed so that’s good. Also, two new pictures of him in his new cave. There’s a small hole in the back he popped his head out from and it was adorable.
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| 10/21/09 05:24pm |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2087087 Advice for me and my new Mali
...Meh. |
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| 10/21/09 06:52pm |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2087128 Advice for me and my new Mali
I forgot to mention that the guy said that Layton used to be the same way towards them with not wanting to come out around them and being shy. They said that was fixed, and after they held him enough he apparently quickly learned to trust them and would come out and not be afraid of their presence. |
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| 10/21/09 06:58pm |
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Jbreddawg View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2087131 Advice for me and my new Mali
For all the things you are posting about it does not sound like you have a nice healthy lizard but a sick lethargic lizard who’s inactive and not eating. |
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| 10/21/09 10:42pm |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: Jbreddawg In reference to Message Id: 2087253 Advice for me and my new Mali
I should note that on the way to the vet, he was VERY active and kept walking around and looking around, and even tried to climb out and up my shoulder. It’s when he knows others are in the room he freezes, even though in the car he was active. Also, while I disagree with their methods, the pet store did say they had the same problem with him, but he trusted them more after they held him for a while and he eventually had no problem with their presence. I know holding them can cause stress, but isn’t there a point when they learn to trust you and don’t mind holding them or such, and without being stressed about it? Also, the vet I took him to has practiced a long time, and has seen many lizards as well as Uro’s. So maybe my mali just has a lazy personality or is still just shaken up from being transferred from one store to a warehouse to another store to my house? Or he’s beginning to brumate? |
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| 10/21/09 11:12pm |
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Jbreddawg View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2087281 Advice for me and my new Mali
The basking spot is a HUGE issue. What feels (very warm) to you is probably way too cold for him. Believe me, a 130 degree spot is HOT ! That can be the primary reason he’s (lazy). When handling them, they need very high temps. Once you’ve had them out they start to cool down. So what people associate with them being calm, or love to be handled is just them conserving energy,cooling down and becoming lethargic. If they took him out alot (which they probably did in a petstore)He will need lots of time to adjust to proper housing/temps/diet/etc... You do need to up his enclosure size asap, the rest you can change right away. Most vets treat uro’s as bearded dragons or iguana’s. Unless he specifically has treated uro’s in the past he’s probably just doing the basic look over. Quote: So maybe my mali just has a lazy personality
Once you get everything straightened out you will understand better that uro’s are anything but lazy. Good luck with him . |
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| 10/22/09 07:28am |
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UROKEEPER View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2087281 Advice for me and my new Mali
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| 10/22/09 07:57am |
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UROKEEPER View Profile |
Message To: Jbreddawg In reference to Message Id: 2087388 Advice for me and my new Mali
why try something "new" when there bare proven safe methods that have worked for decades. one being a healthy diet to start with. |
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| 10/22/09 08:08am |
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Patches107 View Profile |
Message To: UROKEEPER In reference to Message Id: 2087395 Advice for me and my new Mali
I seriously am trying my hardest to take care of him. Also, it’s only been a week, isn’t there still some "oh no, you’re a predator, so I have to freeze everytime I see you"? Didn’t your Mali’s do that, Urokeeper? I know it’s different with Egyptians Jbreddawg because they don’t care, right? |
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| 10/22/09 11:30am |
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Jbreddawg View Profile |
Message To: Patches107 In reference to Message Id: 2087447 Advice for me and my new Mali
6 foot would be nice but 4x2x2 is just fine. It’s large enough to get a nice gradient in and provide space. You dont (need) bigger unless you want to. The spray is unnecessary with a uro and could possibly be harmful. You dont want to be misting him with anything.There’s lots of things the petstores will sell you that are not good for your animals just to make money. They will get all the vitamins they need from their diet. If your vet has treated uro’s in the past then that’s great ! Most vets have never even seen a uro, much less treated one. |
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| 10/22/09 12:16pm |
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