Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So since I got my uro, his eating habits have gone down the drain. He used to eat a little bit, he'd snatch some greens out of my fingers and such, but since the first few days, he's just been a terrible eater. He hasn't touched the greens in quite some time... every now and then he'll eat a small slice of squash, but that's about the best I can get him to do.

Yesterday he devoured 4 or 5 medium sized crickets, yet still wouldn't touch his salad. I gave in today and fed him a little bit of banana just to be sure he had an appetite, and he ate a tiny bit and continued on sitting around basking.

So what should I do? Are there any healthy foods that uros might enjoy as a treat? I've been trying to get my hands on some dandelion greens...

Thanks.

Try some bee pollen. Uros view it as a tasty snack, plus it triggers a feeding response. Definitely eliminate the crickets from the diet as well!!! For greens, try alfalfa, or clover if available. I found Bruce really likes that now that it's in season. Mulberry leaves seem to be his big thing right now, so you might try that as well.

JR
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BRUCELIZARD.COM Curious? Thought So.

Yeah, yesterday was the only time I've given him crickets. Just wanted to try it and see how he liked them.

I'll try to find some of those, but where could I get something like bee pollen?

GNC is where I got mine. I think Wal-Mart has it as well. Should be able to find it in any health food store.

JR
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BRUCELIZARD.COM Curious? Thought So.

Health food store is the best place for bee pollen granules - granules are better than powder. It should be in the refrigerated section of the store.

Other things to check (which may have been said to you before) are temperatures in the cage with a reliable thermometer - IR or digital, no stick ons. Also a fecal check to eliminate the possibility of parasites is a VERY good idea. Both of these things can negatively affect appetite.

As stated before, lose the crickets. Offer a good salad every day (you can offer romaine, too, since he's going to be tending toward dehydration now). Most uros really like warmed frozen green peas. If you can find edible flowers, those are very helpful in getting them to eat - dandelion, hibiscus, pansies, violas, roses, etc. Sometimes you can find them in little plastic tubs in fancy or organic markets in the produce section.

Last question - how large is the enclosure? In inches?

Good luck!!
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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)

Torey is right. No advice to you, however well-meaning, is of any substance if you don't provide ALL the background & present husbandry info. Your Uro's appetite may be suppressed due to any number of factors & long-distance advice is meaningless if the animal's history & present set-up is unknown to the folks you're posing the questions to. Give up some more info. I'm sure you'll get lots of good help once you put it "all down on paper." My quikie advice is, until you figure out the problem, supplement Romaine with Uromastyx Dust & really monitor your temps.
My 2 cents.
Dan.

I got some pollen granules... he ate obout two or three nickels stacked up worth, if you can picture the volume.

His cage is 35"x20"x18".

I'm using a digital thermometer- the temperature on his little plant pot slab thing is anywhere from 115-135. The sand around it gets a little bit above 100 usually. In the cooler spots in the cages (in the shade, on the left side), the sand can get around 85-90. His regular daily behavior is to sit around and bask from about 6:30-4:30ish.
For the most part, he hangs out on the upper level moving from the pot slab to the sand. Some time in the late afternoon, he'll tuck away under where the ramp meets the floor and sleep until morning. (His lights stay on until 8:45ish).

I'll keep trying new veggies, but I'm still hesitant about picking flowers that could have pesticides on them.

I'll do my best to get a fecal done in a few days.

Thanks for the advice.

Just went on a rummage through my house and a friend's. Here's his lineup tommorow, I'm going all out:

A finely chopped salad I had made before (collard greens, squash, mustard greens, kale, and carrots)
Belgian endives
Green beans
Banana
Romaine
Hibiscus
Bee pollen
All of it is dusted with Rep-Cal Herpivite and Calcium.

Thanks for all the additional info. Here's another question. Will you remind us of how long you've had him now? And didn't you just make that cage (environment change = new stress)? If it's only been a short while, he may just be slow to acclimate. If not acclimation stress (or maybe in addition to), then my guess would be parasites.
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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)

Was this animal bought from a reputable breeder, a "pet store" or what? Just knowing that could tell us ALOT.

I see two lights on top of his cage and a hood....is there a full spectrum (including UVB) light in the hood? (UVB should only be about 12" away from the lizard.)

Is he pooping?

What kind of sand is that on the floor of his cage? I've always used a washed coarse sand for mine.

When the lights go off at night, what does the temperature drop to?

My uros seem to do quite well on a diet of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, parsley, mustard greens, etc.), veggies (squash, zucchini, sweet red peppers, sweet potato, carrots, etc.) and a little fruit (apple, pear, melon, etc.), and in the fall some (dried)lentils. I dust the "salads" with calcium every time I feed them.

(I have kept several species of uromastyx for over 8 years now.)

So he seemed to eat while I was away for a few days earlier. He certainly feels meatier, and he took a very stinky green poo the other day. Is that something to be concerned about?

I plan to get a fecal done, probably tommorow, just in case. He was bought from a fairly trustworthy reptile store who tells me they treat each animal for parasites and such before they put them out. But you can never be positive.

To answer some of kinyonga's questions:
The two lamps are for heat- the UV is sitting on a screen top placed across. It's barely over 13" from the raised platform and 10 or 11" from the basking spot. I'm going to lower it soon, but I figured with him hanging out on the highest spot nearly all day, he gets enough UV as it is.

He has been pooping every few days.

It's washed playgrond sand from Home Depot.

I haven't been keeping track of the nighttime temperatures since I first built it, but I believe they stayed somewhere between 75-80 degrees.

Skullkeeper:

He has two hides. Well, three, but he only likes two. It wasn't until recently that he started hiding under the hot spot thing. He also has a cave on the cool side that he never goes in. He likes to tuck under the ramp where it meets the bottom, digging out the sand to give himself a little cover.

I'm using a digital thermometer. The surface of the hottest spot is between 125-135ish. The sand around the right half of the cage is between 100-110, dropping to as low as 85-90 as you go to the left, cooler side.

Sorry for the late response and thanks for the help.

The green feces is something to be concerned about. Hopefully the fecal analysis will help point to a solution.

JR
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BRUCELIZARD.COM Curious? Thought So.

As stated, the stinky poo is a potential problem. Chances are the petstore did give a treatment of panacur, but that only is helpful with things like pinworms and roundworms. Won't help against other types of parasites.
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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)

Still waiting for him to poo. He's been eating a lot more over the past two or three days- he loves endives, escarole, and dandelion greens. He's also perked up a bit- he feels meatier and is much more active in his quest to escape. I'll keep you posted once I get the fecal done.

Definatly stay away from giving him crickets at least till hes eatting better . 4 or 5 is to many at a time. You might try bee pollen granuals you can buy at health food stores . My uro loves them. Just sprinkle on his greens . Also you did not give much info as to the temps ., lighting , size of cage etc . Temp. should be 12o - 130 degrees basking with 80-82 at the cool end . His cage needs to be brightly lite up and have at least two hides at each end of the cage . You also did not say when he has been checked for parasites . This could be the problem .We really need more info to give you a better answer .

Just read all the threads . First of all like I said we need more info . also I can see right off there is not a hide at each end of the cage and the cage looks way to small to get the temps . right .What kind of substrate do you use and what type of lights, wattage , do you have ? What kind of thermometers do you use ? You need two digital ones at each end , others are not reliable .If you want help you need to be more specific.