So my son has always wanted a reptile but the wife refused to have anything that eats live prey. So meat our newest member of the family "Spike" I am sure it is used but he was named by a 10 year old. Anyway. I purchased a couple of dome lights. UV10 and 100w basking light but according to the gauge placed near his basking area it is only 95 degrees. Am I better off using a larger light or adding a second dome? If I add another should it also be 100w or will that produce to much heat. I have not found a way to put the dome inside his tank that is safe.
Welcome to the boards. Well.....looks like you got a healthy Saharan Uro. As far a the heat issue, you certainly don't want the light to be accessible to the uro. If you do put the light inside you'll want to keep it at least12-18 inches above the basking area. It sounds like you need to increase the wattage of the bulb, don't add an additional bulb it would be a waste of energy. If you don't already have one you'll need a infra red heat gun to accurately measure the temp at the hot end 125-130deg& the cool at95-105.deg.You'll want to get one before you add more lights. Night time temps shouldn't drop below75 deg. The sand is also controversial, due to the possibilities of it impacting the gut of your uro. I lost a uro last year due to impaction. I switched to millet (finch bird seed) it works great for two reasons, they can snack on it and dig in it, also easy to clean out poop with a litter scooper. I'm not sure what the blue light is for? If you want more info on care please look @ http://www.deerfernfarms.com/Uromastyx_Care.htm care sheet.
Looks like a beautiful Saharan. My family rescued a female saharan from a big box store 6 years ago next month. It has been a wonderful addition to our family. I agree with naykid. Study up on everything deer fern farms. Congrats.
Very cute new addition you have there! Uro's are awesome I would definitely go with naykid's suggestion to up the wattage of the bulb. For reference I have 160 watt MVB (Murcury Vapor Bulb, it emits heat and UVB/UVA all in one) and it keeps the warm side of a 20gal long tank at 90 degrees with a basking spot of 120 deg F. Naykid, the blue color light is the UVB bulb. It's placed close to the basking spot which is perfect. Good luck with him! Let us know if you have any other questions! And don't forget updates
So here are the temps after adding a cork log to raise him closer to the lights and I did add another light for the moment. Since I have the mesh top the heat escapes quickly but I think that is working in my favor because it is giving Spike a wide range of temps to enjoy.
Thanks, I will check it often to make sure nothing changes. I assume I will have to cut back a bit in the summer as the temps in the house change a bit.
Sounds like you're doing great! Have you given any thought to changing out your sand? here is a pict of my uro tank using millet(bird seed) the seed will get hot just like the sand.
Nope no down side to millet. It lasts a long time, easy to clean,& it is also a snack. You can buy it from a feed store, like inter mountain farmers. I think it's like $30.00 for 50lbs. You use only about 1/4-1/2 inch of seed in the enclosure. If this doesn't sound attractive to you there is also tile, this is what StickyPaws uses.
I <3 using tile, it's so easy! Just make sure you clean up their feces asap if you use the millet. In the summer months it could mold... and fecal matter and possibly mold on the millet that your uro just might be snacking on could possibly be very dangerous.
As for the millet molding, their isn't any water in the enclosure. As long as you keep the poop picked up the isn't any concerns. If the tile is enticing,& your uro likes to dig you can offer it a dig box filled with millet. I'm not sure your enclosure is big enough for that, just an idea. How big is the enclosure?
I have a 5' x 2' enclosure. Polymer, with a thin layer of millet. Nines also loves to dig. Never had a problem with mold.
He is still on the reptisand but doing great. He eats every day and is very active. We can handle him for about 20 minutes at a time before he gets bored and wants to explore but when I place my hand in the enclosure he climbs right up.
Nines is not like that at all. He does his back shiver when I get to close. He knows my son and I and tolerates us. ( He knows where his meals come from). He does not willingly climb on us. Remember, we save him from a box store where living conditions were poor at best. He's a loving beast in his own way. He listens to me talk all the time.. He's better that paying for a therapist....LOL He's simply the best pet one could have. You'll notice I call him a He instead of a she. When we rescued him from a Scamps store they said he was a male egyption. It took us 18 months to figure out He was a she. My son had already named him Nines Rodriguez, and the he portion simply took. We call him he out of habit. We know that Nines is a female Saharan, but we still call him a he. Yes it's weird.
I still think you should really reconsider the repti sand. I think i already told the story, about losing a uro due to the sand bedding. You usually don't know its a problem until is too late
I am actually going to try millet the next time I clean his habitat. I finally found a place that sells it locally.
