Hi all, I just picked up Fluffy yesterday, I was in my friend's shop the other day and got to hold him/her while the owner was cleaning the cage and we connected (yeah, I'm weird...) Actually, I'd had my eye on Fluffy since November, my wife and kids used to go look and ask each stop in the store as well. Friendly and active, eats like a horse and loves the mercury vapor bulb (though my wallet didn't). Aside from species and gender, I'm wondering about substrate. I've been told, proso millet, slate, calci-sand, that burrowing clay sounds like fun but it has to be mixed with water initially so I don't know. Trip
Hiya, Firstly, welcome to the forum and the world of uro's. I would say you have a Mali there but sexing is difficult until they are 4years old at least then it's not easy. Substrates Firstly, DO NOT use cali-sand it's lethal despite what they manufacturers say, it clogs up into balls when ingested and causes impaction. Millet is ok but they tend to eat that rather than theirs veggies, it's also hard to clean. Slate or tile is really good easy to spot clean and wash. Good quality playsand or pool filter sand is also good Burrowing clay will be hard to clean as they produce a lot of water. I dont know what you have been told or how much you know but I will rundown the basics, please forgive me if know all this. Tank size 48"x24" footprint, height not critical but 24" is good. Temperatures Basking spot 125/135F Warm end 95/100F Cool end 80/85F Night drop to 75F Good MVB, which you know about. Extra heating can be household spots. At least 3 low hides, warm, middle, coolend, need to be low so they can feel it on their backs when stood up, makes them feel more seure. Water not required as they get it all from the veg. Diet Good staple foods are endives, escarole, dandelion leaves. A good nutrition chart can be found HERE at beautiful dragons, all colour coded as good, rotational or never etc. Calcium without D3 can be used weekly and multi-vits once or twice a month if you feed the good veggies. The reason a 48x24 footprint is recommended, so that a good heat gradient can be obtained, much harder to do in a small tank, they will also use every inch of space you give them. Hope this helps
As bruno said its definately a Mali - although sex is a tough one. They are impossible to sex until they completely mature, and even then it can be tough. If you have a male that shows real strong male coloration its easy to tell - or vice versa with a female...but there is a lot of grey area. Bruno also covered everything else nicely so i wont bother to retype it all - i will just say that i agree, especially the part about not using calci-sand ever ever ever never And also - welcome to the forums and congrats on your new uro!
welcome to the forum, hes a very beautiful uro, i kno nothing about uro, but i thinks hes healthy. you're using such good cam too. Great!!
Thanks Bruno, MimC, Tieryklav. The sand is one I wasn't sure about. I know there are lots of conflicting opinions, but I'd thought that at 10.5" he'd be big enough to not be too concerned with the sand. I've got several bags of playsand for my turtle, will swap it out this weekend. The rest of the info I'd been over and thoroughly researched before bringing him home. New to Uros, but I've been in and around exotics for decades, working in the industry for a while in the 90's. Tank size 48"x24" footprint, height not critical but 24" is good. *Was looking at a 75 (48x18) but am now considering building a case system for uro, kingsnakes above and someone else below... Temperatures Basking spot 125/135F Warm end 95/100F Cool end 80/85F Night drop to 75F *room is maintained 73+ at night and ranges up to 80-85 daily (tarantulas, scorpions, other herps in the room) Good MVB, which you know about. *Have a 100 now but my IR thermo is only registering 96 on his basking rock/hot end, so I have a 160 coming in Tuesday. Extra heating can be household spots. *yup, have dozens of reflectors around the house At least 3 low hides, warm, middle, coolend, need to be low so they can feel it on their backs when stood up, makes them feel more seure. Water not required as they get it all from the veg. *yup, just telling wife about this today when she asked where his water bowl was Diet Good staple foods are endives, escarole, dandelion leaves. A good nutrition chart can be found HERE at beautiful dragons, all colour coded as good, rotational or never etc. Calcium without D3 can be used weekly and multi-vits once or twice a month if you feed the good veggies. *Have several charts, including that one, printed out with notes for my turtle, beardie, rats, etc. Dandelion seeds on order from Richter's and we always have collard, turnip, mustard greens as well as sweet potato, peas, etc. How old would one suppose he is at 10.5" what length should I expect and what age do they average? Trip
Hi Trip, It's good to hear you have researched before getting him. A 48x18 you can just about get away with, depends on how much more he will grow. If you are considering building your own, then if possible go for the larger size, depending on your circumstances. Mali's as far as I know max out around 12 to 14". He looks in good health and has obviously been well cared for, so at 10.5", I reckon he could be up to 2 years old. The playsand will be OK for him at that size as well. No need for night heat if rooms temps are 70+ With good care they live up to 20 yrs or more. It's also a good idea to keep records of growth and weight each month, then you can be aware of any significant changes and forestall any problems. Keep us posted on his progress.
If you really want to go with sand, personally I love the Pool Filter Sand, its a bit more expensive, but worth every penny. Its very easy to clean, no dust and no rocks at all. From what I understand, it goes right through their digestive system. Go to www.petmountain.com, they have PowerSun MVB 160w for only $40. From what I understand ZooMed has refashioned these bulbs and they now are almost as good as MegaRay bulbs. My Mali is over 3 yrs old and just under 11" long but then again, he was extremely malnutritioned when we got him. Here is a picture of my guy: