Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased a pair of malis from a local petstore...being kept in a small 1 to 2 sq. ft. enclosure. When I got them home, I put them both in the same 40 breeder. They seem to not do anything except lay there and watch me. They haven't touched their food or anything. Their skin (scales) seems to be rinkled and their gut empty. I'm going to give baths this a.m. to see if it will help. They just seem under proper weight. and surely do have have the "full" gut look that deerfern or other pictures I've seen. Opinions please.

Its sounds like they are either dehydrated. Some other possibilities are that the pet store did not keep them warm enough so they didnt eat or they might possiby have worms. Make sure they have proper UVA/UVB lighting and a basking area at 115-120 degrees. In any case if they dont seem to improve in a day or two I would get them to a reptile vet asap.

They were not fed correctly either. Offered a little green here and there, bearded dragon food and crickets (on a regular basis). The guy just purchased the store a couple of months ago...he nor any of his people are very knowledgeable. You can't keep snakes, geckos and other reps in the same standing enclosure, using the same heating system. The 40 that they are in now is on the floor in my "lizard" room. I'm going to get a couple of stands for this 40 and the other my beardie is in.

They're only going to get worse from here if nothing is done. I've seen first hand how, once they're at this stage, how hard it can be to get them back. A calcium shot probably wouldn't be a bad idea, but definately get them hydrated, "forcefully" if needed. They're not going to eat while they're dehydrated.

If you're interested, I have my notes (somewhere) on how to syringe feed babyfood and pedialyte to try and rehydrate and re-establish an appitite. I've successfully done it twice.

Defiantely, though, get to a vet and get them on the right track.
-Jim
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2.1 - Rocky, Runako, and RoxyIII

Yes act very fast on that. If you can't buy a regular syringe Flukers makes a formula for sick Reptiles (either omnivore, herbivore or carnivore formula) and it comes with a little syringe. If you cna't buy a syringe, I suggest purchasing that. It has a mixture of calcium and other nutrients that you mix with water (its a powder mix) and syringe feed (forcefully or willingly) to the animal.

Do what the guy said, force feed them water no matter how hard it is for you to do so. I know, it makes me feel bad having to force feed my animals, but it'd make me feel even worse knowing I could have done something to help them get better then doing nothing at all.

Well, I am only speaking from what I had to do with my Mali that was serverly under weight and dehydrated and starving. I took him to the vet and this is what I was told to do... He gave me Cridacal Care power to mix with water to make a thin liguid (he wouldn't eat it). So I mixed baby food green bean to it and forced fed him by syringe. Very messy and took about 1 hour to do. I placed him on a flat surface and put the syringe to his side of the mouth. Place it under the lip and slowly pushed food into his mouth. Some came out BUT he started to open and shut his mouth slowly and I kept on pushing more food into it. I also switched the food for some water (during a feeding ) and gave him water the same way. This went on for 3 days until he was a little stronger and refused any more food. I put some greens and vegis in his enclosure and little by little he started to eat. I soaked him also 2x a day and in the bath he also drank water. I still to this day soak him once a week and he will drink. After all is said your new malis may just be adjusting to their new home. Keep an eye on them and if all fails take to the vet. (you should do that anyways to check fecal and treat if needed)
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The addiction can be dangerous. 1 Uro named Buddy aka Big Boy & 1 Ig named Tiny

That's similar to how I did mine. I used a 50-50 mix os baby food (squash, or sweet potato, I think) and pedialyte. The pedialyte is great for rehydration, after all, that's what it's made for.

Syringes: most vets will give you a syringe. A 6cc is a good size because once they'll take the food, the 1cc are constantly having to be refilled. If the vet won't go to a local pharmacy and ask them for one to feed medicines to a small child. They usually are in tsp instead of cc's but what the heck.

Another note: The pedialyte and baby food should be refrigerated after opening, so the next time you feed, the mixture will be cold. Take some HOT tap water and put it in a short glass, then after getting the mixture into the syringe, drop it in tip down and let it warm up so you don't shock their already fragile system.

-Jim

>>Well, I am only speaking from what I had to do with my Mali that was serverly under weight and dehydrated and starving. I took him to the vet and this is what I was told to do... He gave me Cridacal Care power to mix with water to make a thin liguid (he wouldn't eat it). So I mixed baby food green bean to it and forced fed him by syringe. Very messy and took about 1 hour to do. I placed him on a flat surface and put the syringe to his side of the mouth. Place it under the lip and slowly pushed food into his mouth. Some came out BUT he started to open and shut his mouth slowly and I kept on pushing more food into it. I also switched the food for some water (during a feeding ) and gave him water the same way. This went on for 3 days until he was a little stronger and refused any more food. I put some greens and vegis in his enclosure and little by little he started to eat. I soaked him also 2x a day and in the bath he also drank water. I still to this day soak him once a week and he will drink. After all is said your new malis may just be adjusting to their new home. Keep an eye on them and if all fails take to the vet. (you should do that anyways to check fecal and treat if needed)
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>> The addiction can be dangerous. 1 Uro named Buddy aka Big Boy & 1 Ig named Tiny
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2.1 - Rocky, Runako, and RoxyIII

I actually bought a Mali earlier this year from a pet store as I couldn't stand to watch the crickets eating him. A few things that helped get mine to that fat and happy look all healthy Uromastyx's have.

Beach Sand (comforting to them), a couple flat rocks or cement outside tiles for creating a hide (A Uro think if it can't see you, you can't see it) where they can hide their head and feel the warm rock on their back (comforting to them). The hide should also be their basking area that heats up between 110 to 120 F in temps. A good mixed greens as we all know but some diced cucumber and little romaine help to get their water retention up adding to their health. Hibiscus flowers and leaves, were a huge hit and helped get my Mali eating again. I have also used 2 or 3 waxworms in the past for another Uro that was ill just to get them eating again. The two main keys I have found is to make them as comfortable as possible, which means sand, heat and little to no handling. The 2nd would be to get their appitite back as quickly as possible.

Good luck.