I just recently purchased a Mali uromastyx. It is a girl, around 8 inches long, not sure on the age. I have a few questions about them. 1. I have converted my old fish tank, ( 16 inches deep, 20 inches tall, 37 inches long). I have about 2 inches of calcium sand, a den, a heat rock, a log going up to a stone under the heating light. I have one heat light and one uvb light. I have a infrared light to but I’m not sure if that is needed? My temp Gage reads out around 80 degrees with the lights on. It’s around 100 under the heating light and around 80 on the cool side. I am not sure how to get the temperature up because I am sure it is down to low for her. 2. I have had her for about 2 days and have not seem her eat at all. I have gotten her kelp, zucchini, carrots, and collared greens. But I’m not sure how to get her to eat? I’ve tried to put her near the food but it does not look as if she has eating. 3. I have gotten her from petsmart. They had her for over 5 months, she is very aggressive. I am sure it is because is was not handled much. What is the best way to get her to be more friendly?
Many of your questions are answered here: http://www.rainforest-pets.com/mali-uromastyx.htm As for getting her to be more friendly, I recommend waiting until she is eating properly. After that, be patient and don't try to rush things. Let her eat and wait an hour or two, then SLOWLY reach into her cage and let her see that you don't intend to hurt her. If she is defensive, pull back and try again later. Over time she should get more accustomed to you and won't be as aggressive.
1. Enclosure: Size is good, but keep at least three sides covered with paper or a background. The openness of glass tanks can make a uro feel exposed and vulnerable, especially a young one in a new environment. Ditch the calcium sand and heat rock pronto. Calcium sand is dangerous as it can cause impaction, even more so than standard play-sand, due to its clumping nature and the fact that it encourages ingestion. You also don't want to use any loose substrates until your lizard is around 10-12 inches long, again, to avoid impaction in smaller reptiles. Stick with newspaper or solid shelf liner as your substrate. Heat rocks are very dangerous as they can cause serious burns to your lizards belly. Never use a heat rock under any circumstances. For heat, it sounds like you need to either get a higher watt bulb or add another light to the setup (or both). Temperatures are essential to reptiles' health, and uros like it HOT. It's very important you get that basking spot up to its proper levels. How are you measuring your temperatures, by the way? (What kind of device are you using?) 2. Feeding: Probably a combination of stress and too low of temperatures are causing her not to eat. It's normal for reptiles not to eat for the first few days, even a week or so, after being moved to a new habitat. But if its too cold in the tank, she'll be more lethargic and less likely to eat. Again, very important you get those temps up. 3. Handling: Wait until she is eating again before working on handling her. Handling her while she is still adjusting will only cause her further stress. When you do start handling her, it's really all about persistence. Go slowly. Start by getting her used to being held inside the cage before taking her out. It may take a while before she is completely tame, but just keep working with her until she learns that aggression won't get her anywhere and there is nothing for her to be afraid of. Sorry to jump right in and get to the point. I'm on my way to work in a few minutes so I can't elaborate too much. Just thought I'd cover the basics before I have to go. Welcome to the forum. Let us know if you have any more questions. =)
I have 3 temp gages one on each corner of the tank near the top, those two are just regular stick on ones, and i have one in the middle of the tank about a inch from the sand that is a digital one.
hey now ladies if you want to argue get on another post. now here is my update for today. calci sand is no more. now she has natural, washed and screened, play sand. the heat rock is out and being returned. she has a new set up that gives her more room to move. on the look out for a bigger tank. temps are now at. basking spot 115, middle temp, which is an inich to an inch and half from the sand, at 86 and rising, and the cool side at around 82. it took me 40 mins but i finally found an whole foods store and got some dandelion leaves, some escarole, and some chicory endive (which is the another name for curly endive in the US) i had to mover her to put in the new sand and when she was put back in she did not go into her cave but hide near her log but is now out more in the light.
Hey, Brittney. The playsand is much better than calcium sand, but just make sure she is not ingesting any. For example, make sure her food bowl is large enough that she will not knock food out onto the sand, then eat the food with sand stuck to it. She is still at a high risk for impaction at that size if kept on a loose substrate. Good job on getting rid of the heat rock and finding a good food store. Remember to add the occasional fruits and birdseed to her diet from time to time in addition to the staple greens. My major concern is still her temperature gradient. With stick on thermometers, you only get a vague reading of the air temperature. It's the surface temperature that is important. Remember, surface temperature can differ from air temperature by many degrees. I suspect your temperatures are still too low, since you are only getting a reading of the air temperature up closer to the light. I highly recommend you drop by a hardware or home improvement store and pick up a temperature gun or digital thermometer ***with probe.*** Use these to get an accurate reading of the actual surface temperatures and adjust your lighting as needed. Like I said, uros like it very hot. Your basking spot surface temperature should be around 120*F. I really can't stress the importance of these temperatures enough. Too low of temperatures can easily lead to a respiratory infection, not to mention the difficulty it causes with proper metabolization. Definitely get a more accurate reading of the surface temp and let us know how it's going. Also, I forgot to ask this before: what kind of UVB light are you using?
Repti glo 10.0, 26 w. All living things 100 w ceramic heat emitter Sun global basking lamp 150 w Temps were takin by a digtal with probe Hot is 119. Cold 85. Middle has topped out at 87 right now. Hygometer is at 20 right now. Ms Molly Molly Again Mollys World Cage Lights. Left is Sun glo basking lamp 150 w, Middle is All living things 100 w ceramic heat emitter, and Right is Repti glo 10.0, 26 w. The Cage top is 9inches of metal mess and 6 inches of glass.
The UVB light is about 14 inches from the sand and the Basking light is around 8 inches from the paver.
Excellent on the temperatures. =D The only change I would make is to move the UVB light over above the basking spot. She needs to be able to get within 6-10 inches of this light in order for it to be effective. Also, please be forewarned that compact UVBs are not good for long term UVB output. They deteriorate very quickly (meaning they lose their effect within a matter of weeks, as opposed to other bulbs that last 6 months to a year) and have actually been known to cause damage to the skin and eyes of some reptiles and amphibians. A long fluorescent bulb or MVB would be a worthy investment, especially for a desert herp that needs all the UVB it can get. Love the name, by the way. Molly the Mali. Too cute!
Going to get a MVB here soon. Im glad you got the name, my lil brother didnt get it. I think its too cute. She came out for a few mins but then saw me across the room and ran and hide again =(
Hooray, MVB! And she'll come to trust you in time. The place I work had a Mali a couple of years ago and she was chronically shy. It took little Chloe over a year to finally be out and about with the family around, but she's now happy and outgoing with everyone. Hopefully since Molly is already coming out of hiding she'll be confident with you around pretty soon.
I know this is a little older, but just found it and wanted to add my two cents. 1: I have my own views on calcium sand, I won't start an argument though, just because I LOVE the stuff and think the people who blindly say its bad just don't understand the basic "rules" of the sub-strait. Instead, I will save that for later, and just say that finch seed is abso-freaking-lutely amazing to use as a sub-strait for uromastyx. It sounds goofy, but I swear by it. They love it, and even will eat some of it over time to help with their digestion. Just make sure to spot clean it regularly. It looks cool too, very unique, no one ever expects to see a dessert lizard sitting very happily on-top of a pile of finch seed. 2: I'm sure the problem has been remedied by now, but for future reptile reference... Most reptiles won't eat for the first two or three days after being moved to a new environment. This is normal, so don't freak out. To add to this, they also do not like being handled right away either. A very good rule to go by is to cover the enclosure with a towel for the first full week (a full seven days) only removing it to clean and change out the food. Then remove the towel completely and only enter cage to clean and feed for another full seven days. THEN it is ok to start socializing your reptile. 3: I'm sure you knew this just by reading care sheets and the likeness of, but just in case... Uro's will tip over or climb into water dishes and develop tail rot. This is bad. Standard care is to not give them a water dish at all and to heavily soak and spray their vegetables each feeding to supply adequate hydration, and adding a water dish only if the animal is clearly not receiving enough from the soaked greens, and even then, only as a temporary source with intentions to remove until needed again. Have fun, enjoy!
