Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have recently (April 7) acquired a young mali uromastyx from a local pet store. The little guy is about 7 inches long and is, ofcourse, mostly tan w/ some darker brown markings on his/her tail and back. He's now eating well but I can see that he is very anxious to dig and burrow. We were told that we need to wait a while on changing his substrate from the green reptile carpet he was in when we purchased him. I'd like to know if there's any way to know his approximate age based on his size/markings and at what point I can allow him to burrow by changing his substrate. We are beginners in the area of reptiles and we just had a pac-man frog die from an impaction.... a mistake we don't want repeated. Any advice and/or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Also, how much handling is beneficial so that he'll be as tame as possible?

I would say that you could safely change substrate. I say this only on personal experience, and others may disagree, but Bruce was only 4.5" long and I immediately put him on sand without issue. As far as handling, I've been told by a few people that my Mali is the exception to the rule in that he doesn't mind handling at all. I don't really know how to define the proper amount, but I'd say as long as the animal isn't exhibiting any signs of stress, interact to your heart's content. Congratulations on getting your new friend. He (or she) will be lots of fun!

JR

As far as handling...mine was a rescue and was NOT friendly at all...But after a lot of patience he is pretty good. He will let em know when he has ahd enough and trust me you will know. Otherwise he seems to enjoy running around a bit

This may seem silly, but I have birds as well and once birds get used to one person, they are typically "one person birds." Do you think these lizards are like that; or is it that once they get used to being handled it doesn't really matter who handles them?

I know mine isn't particularly fond of others touching him. This could be scent or he doesn't feel secure in someone elses grip...they are strange animals.

Thanks so much for a quick reply. I think we'll go ahead and try it. My rationale is.....in the wild, the parents don't have rugs or newpaper or papertowels to sit their babies on! They probably run around in the sand right off the bat. Maybe captive breeding changes things and I wouldn't want to second guess people who are educated in this subject; but he just really seems to be itching to dig. So, would you say that this little guy is less than a year old at around 6-7 inches? You mentioned "signs of stress" when you're handling them. What would those signs be? I handled him a little this morning....it seems he would rather run, so I go back & forth hand-over-hand letting him run across my hands. However, this morning, for the first time, after about 1 to 2 minutes, (please forgive my description) he let his bowels loose on my hand (it had a large bit of clear slime). I wasn't sure if it was coincidence or if he was frightened. I've always been proficient at training and handling my birds and my standard poodle, but I'm just not sure how to take a reptile. I've been searching the internet for information on all aspects of husbandry, but am not sure about what to do to ensure his contentment.

Sounds like some logical thinking in that they don't have newspapers and paper towels in the wild. I know that you mentioned digging a in both posts, which although may seem natural, may not be the best of ideas. I made the mistake initially of having a layer of about 2 inches of sand in Bruce's tank, but he took to completely burying himself. Now I have about a half inch layer which still lets him scratch around when the desire hits, but he's not going to be able to burrow. The biggest worry about digging is if they dig under a fixture (rock, log, etc.) that is resting on sand they can be crushed. Always make sure those items are resting on the bottom by putting them in before the sand.

Back on the signs of stress and handling, they do have a defensive posture which most people call the "S" dance. They will basically just wiggle side to side sort of like a snake. If he's doing that, it might be best to try again later. Also, if he is clearly running in fear when you come near him, I would again say that it might be best to try again later.

Again, hope this helps. I don't claim to be an expert, but sometimes any advice helps!

JR

Thanks so much for a quick reply. I think we'll go ahead and try it. My rationale is.....in the wild, the parents don't have rugs or newpaper or papertowels to sit their babies on! They probably run around in the sand right off the bat. Maybe captive breeding changes things and I wouldn't want to second guess people who are educated in this subject; but he just really seems to be itching to dig. So, would you say that this little guy is less than a year old at around 6-7 inches? You mentioned "signs of stress" when you're handling them. What would those signs be? I handled him a little this morning....it seems he would rather run, so I go back & forth hand-over-hand letting him run across my hands. However, this morning, for the first time, after about 1 to 2 minutes, (please forgive my description) he let his bowels loose on my hand (it had a large bit of clear slime). I wasn't sure if it was coincidence or if he was frightened. I've always been proficient at training and handling my birds and my standard poodle, but I'm just not sure how to take a reptile. I've been searching the internet for information on all aspects of husbandry, but am not sure about what to do to ensure his contentment.

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Ok, that makes sense. So about 1/2 inch is good for now; I wondered if he'd completely burrow down once we changed things! Funny little critters they are. And, he did that "S" dance you mentioned. My daughter discovered that he likes to hide in her upturned shirt tail. He seemed to be content w/ that. But as soon as we have him in our hands he seems to run and wiggle. I'm hoping it's just that he needs more time to get used to us and adjust. Even so, if he's a runner, we'll just adapt I suppose.

You are touching on all the topics that don't necessarily have a right or wrong answer.

There really isn't a known "growth rate" for Uro's except that it's slow (more on this with substrate) but somebody could probably give you a well educated guess after seeing pics.

You said you just got the little guy on the 7th so I would keep handling to a minimum right now until he gets settled in and then take it slow until and eventually he'll come around. Some do seem to tolerate more then others as well. Start with hand feeding to help get it used to you.

Make sure you have a proper setup with enough space and the right temps and that he is eating or everything is mute at that point.

Substrate is the biggest debate there is. I think the biggest misconception is that Uro's live on sand in the wild. This ties in with keeping babies on some sort of paper until they are larger since Uro's are messy eaters and have a tendancy to eat substrate along with thier food. Doug Dix (www.deerfernfarms.com) uses millet seed which is now very popular and Robyn (www.proexotics.com) uses a sand soil mixture that allows for actual burrowing and in my opinion is probably the closest to "wild" conditions.

Please do a search on this forum and you will find plenty of threads on these topics since these are very commonly discussed topics.
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