Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,
I posted here a few months ago, I inherited a young uro from a friend who knew next to nothing about reptile husbandry in general, let alone about uromastyx husbandry!

I'm still not sure of the species, I'm pretty sure the pet store my friend got the uro from said it was a Mali. He/she (not sure of sex..still too small) looks to be mali-ish...a brown/tan colour throughout the body with a light cream coloured underside. Not a particularly long tail compared to body size. It's at least two years old, I've had it for almost a year and my friend had it at least another. It's only 9 inches long at most (really improper care by my friend, possibly?).

Anyway, here's the problem!
The uro is so ridiculously lazy it won't wake up unless I pick it up from under a hide spot and stick it on the basking rock. It'll stick around for 10 minutes to warm up, look for food, possibly eat (dark greens, I try for bok choy. Also some dry juvenile bearded dragon pellets, he/she likes those lots.) and then find another hiding spot and goes to sleep. Maybe one out of three times I wake it up it'll run laps for half an hour and repeat the process...followed by more sleep.

What could be wrong? Please tell me anything I can change about the uro's care or setup. It would literally sleep for weeks unless I woke it up.

I house the uro in a ~2 x 3.5 foot wooden box with an open top and high sides (no chance of escape), and I don't use substrate, I spot clean poopies and the likes and give it a vacuum once in a while (with the uro elsewhere of course). I use 1x100 watt clear house bulb in a reflector lamp, it makes for quite a tight and hot beam, probably 100-120F (I've only got a cheap small reptile thermometer at the moment). The basking area is a large slate rock that warms up just right to lay down on (again I'm not sure on temps). The ambient room temp is in the high 70s in the daytime, low 70s at night. The lights are on 12 hours a day. There's an 8.0 reptile bulb in there that's a bit old but its still pretty blue looking (no less than a foot from the basking spot).

Please ask me anything about how I care for the uro...I don't know much about its past though, apart from how my friend was caring for it.

Thanks in advance!

I'm going to guess that the temperature is the issue. The ambient temperature on the hot end should be in the 90s to 100 with the basking spot around 120 - 130. I have the same problem with Bruce being lethargic just as you described if he happens to go to sleep on the cold end of his tank. I'd try raising the temps and I'd say he'll perk right up.

JR
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BRUCELIZARD.COM Curious? Thought So.

Another possibility in addition to temperature could be parasites. Have you had him in for a vet check? With no substrate, getting a fecal sample should be pretty easy - just get a fresh sample into a ziplock and take it in to your reptile vet (some will do a fecal check without seeing the animal).
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.1 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, Tank, and Lilly)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
2.1 Green Anoles (Bowser, Sprocket, Leeloo)
1.1 Felis domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

First of all it is difficult to give advice if you are not even sure if you have a Uro . A picture would help . If it is a Mali it sounds like the temps . maybe to low . You need a good digital thermometer , preferably two , one at each end of the tank . The basking area should be 120-130 degrees basking and the cool end around 85 .Night temps ., not below 70 - 75 .If your temps are to low he will just sleep . Be sure he has several hides , one at each end . You need a long tank so you can get the temps . right , at least 4 feet long . He also needs a brightly lit cage .You can try covering the front of the cage in case hes afraid , till he gets use to his new home . If he doesn't perk up soon, a day or two at the most , I would get him to a vet .Good luck .

Sorry , I just reread your post . Since it is a Uro , sounds like the temps are too low .