Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First off, thanks to everyone here for the previous advice.

I've had my first Uro for about 1.5 months now and she seems healthy and full of energy. I have her in a 40 gallon tank right now, which I know is on the small size, but that is what the pet store told me was good. I will be purchasing a much larger tank in the near future. My setup has a basking spot of 140f and a cool side of 78f. Her basking spot is elavated which is why it is so hot. Right below he basking log the ground temp is 110f. I understand that 140f may be high but she loves her log and doesn't seem to mind.

Now to the questions:

1) I offered her some water last week because she hadn't been eating much of her greens, she was however eating plenty of birdseed. Naturally, she investigated her water dish and promptly knocked it over. I removed the birdseed substrate and replaced it with playsand. There was some reminants of the seed left in the bottom of the tank. I noticed this week that some of the birdseed began sprouting and my Uro LOVED it. She will not stop eating it. There isn't much in there, not enough for a meal, and she is still eating her regular food. I am under the assumption that this should be okay for her to eat? Correct?

2) Is it important to have the lights on and off at scheduled times? During the week the lights go on at 8am; when myself and my girlfriend go to work. On the weekends however we sleep in till noon which means the lights don't come on till noon. Along with this, she will not stay out past 4-5pm. She is out all day once the lights go on, but once 4pm hits she is layed up right by the entrance to her rock and inside for the night soon after.

3) How can you tell the sex? The petshop told me she was a female but I am really starting to doubt the sellers knowledge. He told me that all I needed was a 40gallon tank with a bunch of birdseed and a bowl of water. After researching online, I've found all of this info to be wrong.

4) And finally, when I move to a larger tank will it be difficult to bring in another Uro of the opposite sex? I hate seeing animals in captivity alone and would like to get her a mate. She is a yellow Niger btw. And is there any other lizards, frogs, snails, etc... that can be put in an enclosure with a uro? I'm guessing no...

Thanx very much! I'll post a pic of her once I get some batteries for my camera.

so our uro really likes to walk on the sprouts, and nibble on them a bit. we have a dish with a grass of sprouts that we put in there in the spring time. they are not bad for them, as long as he doesn't become too addicted. our guy would jump off a cliff if there was a dandilion at the bottom, so a bit of moderation is sometimes necessary.

2. i would really suggest doing yourself a favor and getting a timer. my boyfriend and i used to worry about getting home to turn it off, but now he has a set sunrise and sunset. they really like having a schedule, and batista always wakes up at the same time every day.

3. our guy is a year old and his spots show on his inner thighs. Males have a rough ridge of spots on their thigh to grab the female for mating. you can usually see them once they get older.

4. getting a baby and raising him in the smaller tank would help for introducing. then once he is slightly smaller than her, start introducing them. hopfully they will get along, and he can live in the smaller tank until they get used to eachother. having a backup tank is always nice (we use a 50 gal tupperware container when we go on road trips)

good luck!

Thanx very much for the info.

I had been planning on picking up a timer to keep her regular. Very happy to know that the sprouts are fine. Are they a high quality food for Uros? If so, I think I may set aside a bowl since they grow so easily.

You're correct about the rambling. In all respect, I think you'll get better responses if you'll restrict your inquiries to one or two questions at a time. Too many will cause your potential responders to drift away to other posts. Just my reaction. Probably only a few of us here have time to read manuscripts.

Point taken but how slow do people read? Only took me 2-3 minutes to type that out so reading it shouldn't take that long.

I post everything together so I don't clutter the board with what some people may regard as irrelevant questions. It also makes it easier to reply all at once IMO. But I guess if I can only get one legitmate response then I will posted multiple threads. Just be warned, I have lots of questions...

And post 'em all, Skribbs!