Here are just my personal opinions, i will go question by question for you...
1. I have a gotten a Uro Mali recently. I have him in a The Reptarium by Apogee. The open air kind, 65 gallon equivalent. Guido's (his name) got climbing stuff and a half log for resting and cooling down. Here are my questions:
~You say climbing stuff, uros are not climbing animals, they are from desert type areas also, they would rather burrow them climb. Are you using the reptarium verical or horizontal? Reptariums i have heard are not great choices and i would have to agree, they are great for outside useage during the day for a nice bask outside due to great ventilation, but they really DO NOT hold heat well, they are better for more tropical species...
a. He continually climbs up to the top of the cage and stage dives down to the bottom. I have wound up some climbing material and he uses it sometimes. He wants to be up high and then dives down. I'm worried he will hurt himself or that he hates his cage so bad he is looking for a way out. I was just wondering if this is normal, and if anyone has any idea why he is doing this or if it will hurt him.
~again is it vertical? if it is vertical he might be trying to reach the basking bulb, same goes for horizontal. It cold definatly hurt him, they aren't designed for climbing really, more burrowing and ground behavior. He probably is just trying to get warm is my guess...How hot is it in there? The temps should be around 90-100 for the warm side and 80ish for the cool, and baskign area 110 (mine is 125).
b. I have Red UVB lamp for basking (110 watts) and a normal light for day and night phases. Should I have the black light version or is the red ok?
~the red should be fine, but maybe the wattage is too low especially for a reptarium.I have a 150 watt for my vision cage, which is not nearly as open as a reptarium.
c. I have been feeding him Romaine Lettuce which he loves. He hates crickets. Ignored the mustard greens and bird seed and fruit I gave him. He likes meal worms. Any ideas if this is enough or should I work harder for him to accept the good food.
~Romaine lettuce has virtually no nutritional value to it, i would stop that right away. The cricket thing is fine since they shouldnt eat alot of bugs anyways, my saharan Rico hates all bugs he wont touch them, not any kind! It is not so good that he is basically getting alot of protein from the meal worms and no nutrition from the lettuce. Try some collard greens, kale, dandelion greens(most of them love these, especially the yellow flower if you see some outside), even some watercress. My guy loves all of these. If he is newly purchased he might not eat as much as he will, he might be a little nervous and unsettled. I would back off all insects for now and save them for treats later..just try leaving a small bowl of birdseed in the cage at all times and leave the greens in during the day, i bet he will eat them!
And finally. That cute leash/halter thing looked great. Do they sell those at pet stores or is that home grown. I would love to take Guido for a walk.
~Yup they do sell those at most pet stores i got one for rico at petsmart. He loves it , he runs to get the dandelions outside and loves basking, he hates planes tho! Guido is such a cute name too!
Just my opinion here, but thats just me. I would go out and get him a glass tank for now at least. Even a 20 gallon long will do until you can get a new enviroment setup. He will be ok in the reptatium for a few days also, but i would set up something else soon. Soemthing that is less airy for sure especially since most of us have on the AC and stuff on now. You can use paper towels or sand for substrate, and make sure he has one or 2 hiding areas, a cool side and a warm side and a nice warm basking area, easy to produce with a slate rock right under it.
Good luck and ask away!
Heres a pic of my setup, a vision cage.
-----
Lauren
Rico-Saharan Uromastyx
New Jersey
