uromastyx aegypticus questions.

[K-TRAIN]

ok. i just got my uromastyx "chance" a new enclosure with lighting/ heating set up (the exo terra hood that holds three bulbs.) no more heat rock and i started to put calcium on his food (reptivite). well, now he's in his cage and every time i go into it to change his food and water he runs around. so heres my questions

is that normal for a healthy uromastyx?

is there any way to tell the age of a uromastyx? (like counting the spines or something like that.)

he's about 7 inches long, from head to tip of the tail, is a 20gallon good for now? thats what i got with him, and he just began growing.

his cage is about 90 degrees F and 30% humidity. is that too low? i was told they live in 100- 120 degrees F.

i have been feeding him lettuce with the reptivite. is that healthy? i heard it has no nutritional value for turtles, so is that the same with uros?

what other fruits vegetables, and insects can i feed it besides lettuce, carrots, apples, pears, crickets, and mealworms?

thanks in advance. i'll post a few pics of him and the enclosure later.

 

[GailC]

I don't know alot about uros but will try to help.

The running around may be becasue he is still spooked from being moved, he should settle down in a few days.

I don't belive there is anyway to tell age and a 20 gallon is fine for now. Do some research on the proper temps, that will be very important, do you also have UVB?

Lettuce is bad, doesn't matter what species. Check this sheet out.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

uros shouldn't really have insects, they are veggies eaters.

 

[K-TRAIN]

I don't know alot about uros but will try to help.

The running around may be becasue he is still spooked from being moved, he should settle down in a few days.

I don't belive there is anyway to tell age and a 20 gallon is fine for now. Do some research on the proper temps, that will be very important, do you also have UVB?

Lettuce is bad, doesn't matter what species. Check this sheet out.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

uros shouldn't really have insects, they are veggies eaters.

ok. thanks for your help. i have a zoomed day bulb/night bulb (says it provides uvb) and one flourescent bulb.
i know that they dont eat alot of insects, but when i first got him (my cousin
gave him to me because he didnt know how to take care of it.) it wouldnt eat
anything but insects, so after i started to take care of it i eventually got it to
eat veggies. it was a real mess when i first got him, he was on a heat rock, walnut shells, had little black bugs all over the tank, and he wasnt being feed. it didnt help it was from petco either.

 

[AviculariaLover]

We feed our Uro lots of different things. On many sites they have simply listed "flowers"... so we have found ours loves dandelions and catmint flowers. As more things in our herb garden flower we'll try others, he also loves lemon balm leaves. He munches on some wild bird seed mix, kale, carrots, and the occaisonal cricket or two. All of his food is dusted with a special uromastyx dust that is supposed to have the vitamins he needs. And yes, lettuce is bad.

A 20 gallon should be ok for now, but he should be able to get a temp gradiant. There should be very low humidity, and it doesnt even need a water dish. They get all the water they need from their food, or you can spray the food with a bit of water first.

I've noticed ours has random bouts of activity where he runs around the cage... and then spends the rest of the day basking. Have you tried feeding it by hand? That could be a good way for it to calm down and to trust you. And it's hilarious... we've only had ours a few weeks but he already perks up with anticipation whenever the lid is taken off because he knows we have food, hehe.

Best of luck

 

[AneesasMuse]

A very helpful site for Uros of all species
http://www.deerfernfarms.com/

Personally, I wouldn't have a Uro of any size in anything smaller than a 40g breeder or better yet, a 55g. My Niger is in a 55g and he's barely 10"... and that doesn't even seem like enough space for him to really stretch it out and run around. It does provide enough of a gradient for him, though.

Your temps are pretty low. Uros like it HOT!! Very hot! In the 140F range, tops... and 90s on the low end. You can turn his lights off completely at night... it helps them rest better. He needs a good strong heat source and a strong UVB source.

I offer my Uro an organic bean mix for his protein requirements... he's not a big bug eater (he just sits and watches 'em or flicks his tongue, but never pounces on 'em). He gets lots of variety in the veggie area and very little fruit, if any. (Some claim the fruit can give them GI issues, so I try to avoid that and maybe give him a piece ...A piece... of mango or papaya once every few months... very little.) I don't give him too many greens in the Brassia family... but more Bok choy, dandelions, chicory, escarole, some edible flowers (violas, dandelion, hibiscus, nasturtium).. I cut up butternut and acorn squash, carrots, yellow squash, etc. occasionally. And he likes red bell peppers, too. Also, my guy doesn't like for me to chop his veggies too much.. he prefers them (he actually eats better) just torn off and tossed in. (I have a garden, so I can accommodate him this way)

I dust his food with TriCal and Reptivite multivitamins every other feeding. The food choices have pretty high nutrient values, so it isn't necessary to dust each time for us. I also rinse and/or mist his foods before giving to him.. this provides a little more moisture. Uros usually won't drink from a dish.

Hope this is helpful. Btw, your Egyptian has the potential to get well over 3 ft. at maturity.

~Aminah

 

[K-TRAIN]

A very helpful site for Uros of all species
http://www.deerfernfarms.com/

Personally, I wouldn't have a Uro of any size in anything smaller than a 40g breeder or better yet, a 55g. My Niger is in a 55g and he's barely 10"... and that doesn't even seem like enough space for him to really stretch it out and run around. It does provide enough of a gradient for him, though.

Your temps are pretty low. Uros like it HOT!! Very hot! In the 140F range, tops... and 90s on the low end. You can turn his lights off completely at night... it helps them rest better. He needs a good strong heat source and a strong UVB source.

I offer my Uro an organic bean mix for his protein requirements... he's not a big bug eater (he just sits and watches 'em or flicks his tongue, but never pounces on 'em). He gets lots of variety in the veggie area and very little fruit, if any. (Some claim the fruit can give them GI issues, so I try to avoid that and maybe give him a piece ...A piece... of mango or papaya once every few months... very little.) I don't give him too many greens in the Brassia family... but more Bok choy, dandelions, chicory, escarole, some edible flowers (violas, dandelion, hibiscus, nasturtium).. I cut up butternut and acorn squash, carrots, yellow squash, etc. occasionally. And he likes red bell peppers, too. Also, my guy doesn't like for me to chop his veggies too much.. he prefers them (he actually eats better) just torn off and tossed in. (I have a garden, so I can accommodate him this way)

I dust his food with TriCal and Reptivite multivitamins every other feeding. The food choices have pretty high nutrient values, so it isn't necessary to dust each time for us. I also rinse and/or mist his foods before giving to him.. this provides a little more moisture. Uros usually won't drink from a dish.

Hope this is helpful. Btw, your Egyptian has the potential to get well over 3 ft. at maturity.

~Aminah

could you tell me how to raise the temp. without burning my tank.lol i dont want the reptile liner burning. thanks. it has helped, and i learned there size when i look at some at a expo.

 

[K-TRAIN]

all right, heres the pics i said i'll post.

sorry if there not the best pics.

 

[AneesasMuse]

Ohhh... what a cute little Uro guy/gal!

I'm not sure how to avoid burning your tank liner ...besides removing it and replacing it with ceramic tiles or paper towel. You can get single tiles at your local hardware or HD for less than $2 each. Easy to clean... and they won't burn. They won't cause impaction hazards either

 

[K-TRAIN]

Ohhh... what a cute little Uro guy/gal!

I'm not sure how to avoid burning your tank liner ...besides removing it and replacing it with ceramic tiles or paper towel. You can get single tiles at your local hardware or HD for less than $2 each. Easy to clean... and they won't burn. They won't cause impaction hazards either

how can i get the temps up? any suggestions regarding heatmats/ bulbs i can use to increase the heat? my hood only takes 40w on each socket, and 20 for the flourescent.

 

[GailC]

Just increase the height of the basking site. Don't uros need a more desert like enviro with some rocks to bask on?

 

[K-TRAIN]

Just increase the height of the basking site. Don't uros need a more desert like enviro with some rocks to bask on?

oh, ok. i wasnt sure. from what i know, uros do need rocks to bask on and a desert environment, but im saving that for its next tank, im building it myself.

 

[Bigboy]

Nutrition

Okay, here goes...
First off, all foods should be thoroughly washed and doesn't hurt to be chopped. Always mix up a variety of foods in each meal. As far as things to use here is what is probably the best.

Calcium Rich Leafy Greens (40-45% of diet)
turnip greens
mustard greens
collard greens
dandelion greens and flowers
clover
escarole
carrot tops
parsley
nasturtium leaves and flowers
hibiscus leaves and flowers
romaine
mint
cilantro

Other Vegetables (not to be more than 45% of the diet)
raw green beans
snow and snap peas
squash
sweet potato
okra
bell pepper
mushrooms
yams

Other
alfalfa is a great source of protein and fiber
occasional fruits, however fruits dilute the nutritional value of other foods

sparing use
Spinach
Chard
beet greens
kale
bok choy
broccoli leaves

Low nutritional value
Tomato
Zucchini
cucumbers
onions
olives
radishes

best avoided
ice berg, boston, butter, and head lettuces
grains
grapes
raisens

All of this can be found in a veterinary text by Mader (2nd edition). These values are for green iguana which have been studied extensively, but apply largely to other vegetarian diets in reptiles.