just a few questions... i purchased one last saturday at the new york reptile show in westchester. i had a general knowledge about them but did not know that they should not be fed/held for a few days after it. i fed him as soon as i set his tank up (sunday) and i hold him alot because i want him to be a sociable pet he eats fine and doesnt really seem to care when i handle him. i guess its ok i just wanted to know for sure also, he tries to climb the glass of his cage frequently. ive got him in a 20 gallon tank. calci sand, a wooden hideout, shale rocks to bask on, and a tree and feeding bowl on cool side of the tank. what should i put in so he can climb? ill have pics of him in a day or so
....how big is he? It sounds like you have alotta stuff in that tank besides him.....maybe he's climbing cuz he wants out......20gal. isn't all that big, heck I have each of my AFT's in their own 20gal viv., that's just my opinion tho. :roll:
It's common practice with all species of reptiles to not handle them for the first week or two after bringing them to a new home. Stress is the biggest problem with most reptiles, and can wear the body down enough to allow parasites & other problems to takea hold. Take out the calci-sand, and put him on paper towels for a couple of weeks. Then get a fecal exam done with a local vet to make sure he doesn't hve any parasites or other problems. After that if you want to put him back on sand, head down to Home Depot. Washed Playsand is only abou $3 for a 50lb bag. It's much safer than Calci-sand (despite what the calci-sand packaging says it is NOT digestable, and is the leading cause of impaction in reptiles).
a 20 gallon is way too small for a uro. If he is young he can last in it for a few months, but after that he should be upgraded to a 40 or 50 gallon long. The climbing the galss thing is very common in uros, and you don't need to worry about it. They will do this no-matter what size of cage they are in.
Hey Axe, ur saying Calci-Sand is no good cuz it can cause impaction if/when eaten? Well, wouldn't playsand do the same thing if/when eaten?
No, playsand doesn't do the same thing. One of Calci-Sand's key selling points is that it "clumps for easy clean-up". When it gets wet, it forms hard solid lumps. This is how small granules can go inside the lizard yet cause such a bad blockage. Playsand does not clump together like this, and passes through the animal's system more easily.
US$? You could probably find one a lot cheaper if you shop around. We just picked up a nice clean 40g, with an ExoTerra heatpad attached to it at the Salvation Army store a few weeks ago for only 35 bucks. Second tanks are ok for reptiles. As long as they glass isn't cracked, it doesn't matter if the silicone leaks water, you're not using them for fish. Just make sure it's cleaned out well, with a bleach solution, nolvasan, betadine, or something to kill all bacteria and other nasties. But yeah, you can find a better price than $114 if you look around
Yeah i have my new Ornate Uro i just bought this weekend on Walnut shells, switched from the sand long ago after seeing my Vet and then to the Asto Turf, but , it looked so bad and was such a pain to clean i went with the Wshells. As for tanks, hell yea 114$ is a ripoff, i just bought a new 37gal tall for my Leaftail and that was 58$..........and the guy even threw in some tall branches. Shop around, look at AGA aquariums if you havent gotten one already........20 gal. is fine when they are hatchlings or young, and they do always scratch at the glass..........mine feeds right from my hand also........
Just put my "Ornate Uro" onto finch seed, i heard millet was also good...........he was young and noticed he was eating lots of the crushed walnut shells, sniffing and inspecting with his tongue........so i switched. The seed is natural, and enriched with vitamins A and D3 which are a plus, along with their being black and attracting light and heat. Wondered if any of you also used or have had success with this, i mean hell if anything he also can eat a few for food.
27 sounds fine, i mean longer is better with room to roam......im going to build yet another tank for my new Ornate and make it short but very long 4+ feet so......just take him out if hes personable and such, cause they love to raom and get exercise, or so mine does......later
walnut substrate has been known to really scratch up a uros stomach and insides. Just wanted to warn you.
David mentioned birdseed as a substrate. There is a breeder out in Washington state that is also a big advocate of birdseed (no sunflower seeds). He talks about it at length in the uro care section of his website. Apparently he has tried all sorts of substrates and thinks birdseed is the best. http://www.deerfernfarms.com or something like that. Great website for uros with nice pictures. George
I would also recommend deerfernfarms as a source of uromastyx info, He is one of the bigest uro breeders in the us, and has a great knowledge of uros. THe only problem I find with him is that if you e-mail him with a question that is not about buying, or about animals you have bought from him, then he doesn't usually respond.
I was just looking on E-Bay for something, and they have a 150 gallon aquarium that could probably be converted into a reptile one for fifteen bucks. I don't have the room for it, but maybe you guys do. Hurry though, that was two days ago.
The best prices online for tanks can be found at wwwglasscages.com here you can get a 90 gallon tank for about $90 they have the best deals.
