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My young mali uromastyx has been with us for about 6 - 8 weeks now. She's approx. 7 to 8 inches long. When we first got her she was eating kale, strawberries, & spinach (as that's what they fed her at the store). We began feeding her the same things & she was fine. I had been reading that they like other things too, so I thought I'd offer her green peas. Well, now, that's all she'll eat! I offer her other things like dandelion greens, strawberries, carrots, kale, spinach, occasionally sweet potatoes--and now she simply won't eat if there's no peas in the dish. She'll eat peas right out of my hand. I'm beginning to get worried & I have been sprinkling a little 'Reptivite' over the peas. Is this a normal and temporary behavior? Is there anything I can do to encourage her to eat other stuff? We've tried the whole route of just not putting peas in her dish and if she eats, she eats. But I don't want her to begin having health problems. Any suggestions??

when you place peas in the salad does the mali pick out the peas and not eat the rest of the salad?
You are right to be worried... peas aren't great nutritionally speaking. It helps to dust them with calcium.

My first mali went on a sprouted pea-only binge.
I tried chopping up the peas in a salad of finely chopped greens & veggies, but she wasn't very interested.
I found that the "tough love" method was the best to get her off the peas. She was stubborn... when I stopped giving her the peas it took her a week to realize she was not going to get any, and that she should eat her greens.

Because they are stubborn animals, it is going to take a bit of time to break this mali of her pea habit. Try chopping everything up, if your mali eats the chopped salad you can wean her off the peas slowly. I would not recommend the "tough love" approach with very young, underweight, or dehydrated uros.

good luck
--b

Thanks for your note! To answer your question, yes, she picks out the peas and leaves the rest. She'll come running from wherever she is in her enclosure to eat peas out of my hands. When we first discovered her love of peas, I used them as a way to help tame her....by letting her eat them from my hand. But, I suppose it turned out to be a method gone wrong. I will try chopping things up a little better & see if that helps. She's young...I just don't know how young. As I mentioned before, she's all tan/yellow & is approx 7 or 8 inches. I say "she" too; but I wonder if there's a way to tell what sex they are at the size she's at now. I have a book that shows you the difference between the male and female genitalia & she looks, at this point, like a female. Anyway, I hate the thought of her being hungry, but I'll try the chopping-up tactic w/ maybe 1 pea & see if that helps.

As a side note, I believe you may want to look up whether you should feed spinach. I seem to remember it isn't something you want to feed as it binds calcium?

Elizabeth
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Yes, I am aware of the calcium-binding properties of spinach so we rarely give that, if at all. She doesn't really care for it anyway.

She can eat squash, zucchini, kale, collards, dandelion greens, mustard greens, endive, sweet red peppers, sweet potatoes, pear, apple, melon, berries, carrots, ROMAINE lettuce (it has good calcium content)and lots of other fruits, veggies and greens.

Maybe if you offer her a wider range of things and only one or two peas she will eat some off them. IMHO the wider the variety of things that you can give them, the better....don't just feed one or two things to them per salad.

Spinach and cruciferous veggies are not recommended because they can bind things and make them un-usable by the uro.

In the fall each year I also gave mine a FEW dried lentils when they were nearing hibernation/brumation time.

(Background information....I have kept Malis, Ornates and Nigerian uros for over 10 years now. All but one have been WC's.)

Hope you can solve the pea eating problem!

Don't ignore some all time favorites, like Dandelion/Hibiscus flowers & leaves, Nastursiums, Clover, etc. Most Uros will go bonkers at the sight of flowers.

Mine was quite picky when i first got him and i started using a veggie chopper and that way he can't be picky...he knows the food in there is what he wants but he eats everything else with it

That's a good idea. She did have a change of heart yesterday and today and mowed down some kale. It was combined w/ strawberries and sprouts & she left everything else. But, that's a start. I'll certainly do a little better chopping her salad. She's such a cute little thing. We love to watch her eat!

Your question spurred a question of my own since Bruce's favorite -- there isn't even a close second -- is fresh peas. I know they are not the world's most nutritious snack, but even if I thorougly dust them with vitamin and calcium, he still gobbles them up. I usually give him a half of a dusted pea about once every 2 days. This isn't overdoing it on the peas, is it? Fortunately, Bruce still eats his greens too, so it's not exactly like this case where he's a "pea-aholic"

JR
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BRUCELIZARD.COM Curious? Thought So.

Ugg... I'm in this boat too now. Since the dandelions have come into season, my uro eats nothing but. If I don't mix any into her food, she doesn't eat. I've diced her food up as much as possible, but unless she sees those yellow flowers in there, its a no go. I'm wondering how long her "hunger strike" would last if I just cut her off...

Try mixing bee pollen into your salads. It is yellow and just might do the trick.

Now is the time for flowers. It's Spring, all across the world. Your Uros realize this & naturally recognize the food source potential at this time. They seek flowers & their associated greens. Shortly, you should see them favoring seeds & such, with a desire for flowers & greens slightly declining. Happens in nature, happens in your cage.

I wondered, since I originally wrote this message w/ a cry for help about my mali's penchant for peas, she's doing a little better and eating greens. However, where in the world to I get her some flowers? I live in Florida and was thinking of adding a hibiscus plant to the landscape just for her sake; but I don't feel comfortable swiping flowers out of someone else's yard since they may have fertilizer/bug spray on them. I suppose I could find nasturtium somewhere and keep in a pot. Is there some other type of safe flower she could eat?