Uromastyx

[TortoiseRacket]

Hello! I am considering getting an adult male Mali Uromastyx, who is about 15 inches long. Do you have any tips? I have or will have:

40x16 wooden enclosure
Aspen shavings for substrate
A 150 watt heat bulb
A UVB bulb

Food:

Bird pellets
Seeds
Flowers
Greens




Any other tips? Thanks!

 

[wellington]

They like it very warm during the day cool at night. They need long enclosures but do like to climb. Mine loves the different dried peas and other beans on the list. I cant think of them all. I personally would not use wood shavings. I have used coconut coir and sand mix. But my favorite is the Excavator sand. It hardens. They like to have caves to hide in and under. I think your enclosure is a bit too small. Mine is on the smaller side and hes in a 19x50 enclosure and he could use bigger.
Try to at least go wider if you cant go both wider and longer.

 

[Tom]

Go much bigger on the enclosure.

What type of UV bulb?

They need it hot. Basking area needs to get at least 130. The whole enclosure should be warm all day, and room temp at night is fine.

I've kept them on rabbit pellets, newspaper pellets, and Sani-chips. All of those worked fine, but the first two broke down and got dusty. The Sani Chips worked, but I was always worried about accidental ingestion. My preference is to use fine grade orchid bark and keep it very lightly damp. The small amount of humidity generated by the dampness and a water bowl will harm nothing. I would never house them on soil, sand, or a sand mixture, for the same reasons I won't house tortoises on that stuff.

Make a large cage with a wood frame and hardware cloth or welded wire (not chicken wire) for warm sunny summer days. I found that mine benefitted tremendously from real sunshine during hot weather.

 

[wellington]

I have never given humidity too mine. Never read any place that they needed it or that it was good for them. I do give mine water. I never had a problem with the sand although it is hardened and I feed in a dish.

 

[TortoiseRacket]

I forgot the water dish. I will definitely have one. As for UVB, I will have one of those super long tube ones.
I also have a 110 gallon tank, empty. Would that be better? Thanks!

 

[Tom]

I forgot the water dish. I will definitely have one. As for UVB, I will have one of those super long tube ones.
I also have a 110 gallon tank, empty. Would that be better? Thanks!

Yes, the 110 would be much better.

For your UV tube, I suggest the newer HO type. I like the Arcadia 12% HO tubes, but I'm told the ZooMed 10.0 HO tubes are also good.

 

[Tom]

I have never given humidity too mine. Never read any place that they needed it or that it was good for them.

Me neither. But think about it... Ever read anywhere that sulcatas or leopards need humidity or that its good for them?

I don't think Uros "need" it, but like any other desert species, it doesn't hurt them, and they do benefit from a little bit.

 

[wellington]

Me neither. But think about it... Ever read anywhere that sulcatas or leopards need humidity or that its good for them?

I don't think Uros "need" it, but like any other desert species, it doesn't hurt them, and they do benefit from a little bit.

Very true point about the torts. I also do give mine water and every place I read says they dont need any. My Uros natural humidity without any water or moisture added is 41-43%, same as my house. That's with a instant read temp and RH meter. The same kind they use in the hospital Joe works. I'm actually surprised it's that high.

 

[Tom]

Very true point about the torts. I also do give mine water and every place I read says they dont need any. My Uros natural humidity without any water or moisture added is 41-43%, same as my house. That's with a instant read temp and RH meter. The same kind they use in the hospital Joe works. I'm actually surprised it's that high.

Just like our tortoises, desert lizards seek out mirco-habitats that offer better living conditions within their arid environment. They also have behavioral adaptations, like the Yemenese chameleons that come out early and collect the morning dew on their casques so it trickles down into their mouths. There is no water to drink there most of the time, but these guys have learned/evolved methods to get water and stay hydrated.

Just like with our tortoises, we can all talk and speculate all day about what we think happens in the wild, but again, my captive experiments here in North America prove to me again and again what works best. Every arid species that I raise with moderate humidity, damp substrate and humid hides thrives. I'm not talking about a closed chamber with 80%+ humidity for sure desert species. Just lightly damp substrate, a water bowl, and a humid hide, which is what they would seek out in the wild. I've never had any respiratory or skin issues. Not once. Quite the opposite, they all grow and thrive. I'm talking about desert tortoises, Russian tortoises, sulcatas and leopards, black throat monitors, savanna monitors, ackie monitors, ornate uros, Mali uros, Egyptian uros, calyptratus chameleons, bearded dragons, leopard geckos, gopher and king snakes, rosy boas, rattlesnakes... I know there are more that I can't remember off the top of my head...

I've also been surprised at how easy it is to maintain higher humidity in a closed chamber with bone dry substrate just by having a large water bowl and a humid hide. I keep 80% for my cribos this way with dry Sani-chips. I don't think I'd want to keep uros at 80%, but it demonstrates that some humidity can be maintained even with dry substrate. I think your level of 41-43% is totally fine for any uro, but I shoot for 50-60% ambient and still offer a humid hide.

Try it sometime. See what you think. Just like our tortoises, I promise your lizards won't get sick or die.

 

[TortoiseRacket]

Just like our tortoises, desert lizards seek out mirco-habitats that offer better living conditions within their arid environment. They also have behavioral adaptations, like the Yemenese chameleons that come out early and collect the morning dew on their casques so it trickles down into their mouths. There is no water to drink there most of the time, but these guys have learned/evolved methods to get water and stay hydrated.

Just like with our tortoises, we can all talk and speculate all day about what we think happens in the wild, but again, my captive experiments here in North America prove to me again and again what works best. Every arid species that I raise with moderate humidity, damp substrate and humid hides thrives. I'm not talking about a closed chamber with 80%+ humidity for sure desert species. Just lightly damp substrate, a water bowl, and a humid hide, which is what they would seek out in the wild. I've never had any respiratory or skin issues. Not once. Quite the opposite, they all grow and thrive. I'm talking about desert tortoises, Russian tortoises, sulcatas and leopards, black throat monitors, savanna monitors, ackie monitors, ornate uros, Mali uros, Egyptian uros, calyptratus chameleons, bearded dragons, leopard geckos, gopher and king snakes, rosy boas, rattlesnakes... I know there are more that I can't remember off the top of my head...

I've also been surprised at how easy it is to maintain higher humidity in a closed chamber with bone dry substrate just by having a large water bowl and a humid hide. I keep 80% for my cribos this way with dry Sani-chips. I don't think I'd want to keep uros at 80%, but it demonstrates that some humidity can be maintained even with dry substrate. I think your level of 41-43% is totally fine for any uro, but I shoot for 50-60% ambient and still offer a humid hide.

Try it sometime. See what you think. Just like our tortoises, I promise your lizards won't get sick or die.

Tom, that is a very good point. I was reading up on reptiles magazine, and I’m going to use the finely graded aspen bedding, but I’m going to put in a hide where their is a moist-ish bedding where hey could burrow in, replicating the wild. If I ever get a breeding group of Uros, I’ll definitely try different methods and see what works the best! As for now, if Salt the uro comes to live with me, he will have a micro-climate. But I’ve had bad memories with the bark. To many splinters for me. I totally agree about the humidity, but I’ll have a spot where it is humid and a spot where it is dry.