Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my Niger Uro for about 3 months now and have yet to see her burrow. The tank has a base of playsand about 4" deep at the low point and prolly a foot at its highest. Never once have I seen her dig other than to remove sand from under the rock which she sleeps.

Thanx!

They can't burrow in sand. Make sure you have rocks and other heavy items in the cage on the bottom of the cage and not on top of the sand or you may find your uro stuck under a rock in the sand.
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1.1 Ornates (Lindsay Pike)(Doug Dix)
0.0.1 Mali
0.0.1 Egyptian
0.1 Weimaraner

As to whether all uros burrow or not-- I honestly don't know. Like the other post though, they can't techincally burrow in sand anyway because it collapses on itself. The uros I have seen firsthand will scratch or dig at the sand, but they can't actually create a burrow. The other comment is also right in mentioning that anything heavy in the tank should be resting on the bottom.

JR
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BRUCELIZARD.COM Curious? Thought So.

Uros burrow in dirt, not sand. Even then, you have to have the right mixture of dirt (so that it doesn't collapse), and you have to have at least around 12" of it for the uro to build a good burrow. Otherwise, they usually won't even try.

If you think about it, sand defeats one of the primary purposes of a burrow, which is moisture retention. Sure, uromastyx come from an extremely dry habitat, but how much time do they actually spend out of their burrows? Just enough to grab some food and bask briefly. then it's back to the burrow. That's because even in the dry habitat, 6-10' below the surface there is a ton of moisture, which is where a uromastyx usually likes to put a burrow. They need to have an area of high moisture, or else they will be stuck in a constant cycle of dehydration and rehydration (from eating moist foods) which is bad for their kidneys. That's why I suggest giving uros an area of higher moisture (as simple as a rubbermaid tub...preferably not clear...filled with some moistened dirt), so that they can decide when they need to find higher humidity.

This is an interesting topic, esp. since I just got my uro youngster a week ago. After a bit of deliberation, I put her in wild finch seed as a substrate. She seems fine so far; but how would I create an area of higher humidity in her 20 gal. tank? As she gets bigger, we will enlarge her area--she's only about 7 inches right now. Can I simply get her out daily and mist her? I have a uromastyx care guide book and it mentions misting them, but not over certain substrates. Hmmmm....

if you insist on keeping her on a seed (millet) substrate, is to find a small container that the uromastyx can fit inside, fill it with something that holds humidity (dirt is probably your best bet), and cut a hole in the side of it so that the uromastyx can get in. This is basically what most people do for leopard geckos (except using moss instead of dirt), and it seems to work okay for small terrariums. When you move the uro into a large terrarium, you could move up to a larger container with a flexible plastic hose as an entrance.

www.deerfernfarms.com has great examples of what they call a 'nest box' in their care section. It's probably the best bet for people that do not have space to make a huge burrowing setup. Very good for apartment dwellers I suppose, or anyone limited in space. Pro Exotics has had some success with uromastyx in huge burrowing setups (go to www.proexotics.com and look for some pics...it's pretty cool) but for what I would call the 'regular' reptile hobbyist keeping reptiles out of their house, the deer fern farms method is the best way to go in most situations. It's an easier way to provide uromastyx with something that's fairly essential to their long-term well being.

try to find containers that are not at all clear. The uromastyx is only going to want to utilize the shelter if it can escape completely from your view, and from the light. That is why deer fern farms recommends using a flexible plastic hose to use as an entrance.

I remember seeing a cage setup designed by a member here (was it sunfox? try typing that name in on the search function in the photo gallery...make sure you select 'member name' or whatever it is). It was a great looking setup, and they were successful in breeding mali uromastyx in it. They went the extra mile and buried the boxes in dirt/sand.