Hi everyone, I have a new yellow niger Uromastyx. She is about 4 months old and about 6-7 inches long. I have been having trouble getting her to eat anything. I have only had her since Monday the 6th, it is now the 9th and I haven't seen her eat a bite of food. She was very active in checking out her new environment when I brought her home. Now all she does is sleep and sometimes try to climb up the sides of the tank. (She is in a 55 gal., but I don't know the demensions right now, I'm actually at work as I post this message.) Other than that, nothing. I have offered squash, zucchini squash, red and green bell peppers, grapes, apples, and a bit of ramane lettuce. I do know that the only daily thing on that list is the squash, but I've been trying to offer a variety until I know she is eating, then I will regulate staples from rotationals and occasionals. What could be wrong? I've called the petstore to tell them my concerns and they said to just keep offering different things. They said to give her another day or two and after that I should take her to a vet. I thought I might try to offer some other stuff I know is good for the staple diet, but I don't know where to buy them. I looked at Walmart and had now idea where any of this stuff was or what it even looks like. The things I was searcing for were curly endive, frisee salad, escarole, alfalpha plant, cactus plant/pad, and cactus pear/prickly pear. Where on earth do I buy these things? Also with the dandelions, where do you get those? Your front yard during the summer? I really want this little lizard to have the best diet I can provide, but I can't seem to find any of these good daily foods. Can you help? My other question is about her lighting. I was told by the petstore that a 150 watt heat light with UVA would be fine. We get it home and the temp on the basking area reads only 94-96 degrees. I know this is too cool. I called the petstore and they said as long as it's in the 90s then it should be fine! I know that is wrong, so now I need to get a new bulb that is not only hotter but also with UVB. Right? Can anyone share a link to a great bulb you would recommend? Does having a metal lamp shade make a difference? We just got one at Lowe's instead of the petstore, just trying to save money. The petstore had porclein or ceramic shades that were like $30. Lowe's had these metal shades for only $6. If it would make a difference, I would be willing to take those back and get the better shade. Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your time. I look forward to your reply! -Tara
Congrats on the Uro. Go to Faunaclassifieds.com. Look in the feeders for sale section for a guy selling cactus. I buy them whole and will leave one pad in the cage for a few days. They dont eat a lot of it but they nibble. For greens you can get dandelion, collard, mustard and pok choy at any supermarket. I have been searching all over for endive but cant find it. Uros love dandelions so try those first. Also add spring mix. Each week I get a container of spring mix and one green. This week I have spring mix and pok choy. Next week I'll get spring mix and mustard greens and so on. They also love flowers so pick up a single rose from the supermarket. They also like the yellow dandelion flowers, hibiscus and geranium flowers. I wouldnt pick anything from the yard incase there are pesticides on them. If you know pesticides havent been used in the past few years then its ok. Just rinse everything in water. For lighting you need a reptisun 10.0 strip light which is uvb and get a strong uva basking bulb. I would get the ceramic housing for the heatbulb since you will need a high watt bulb. For good reading material go to the uroranch.com and deerfernfarms.com. Both have a lot of good information that taught me a lot.
