Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am in need of help! I have two Nigerian yellow uro’s and I love them both dearly. I have one (I think) female who is about 7 months old and looks great, very active and very plump and I have one male who is about 10 inches long and was recently acquired from CA who wasn’t overly large when I got him but he seems to be loosing weight. I did see him eating some of his greens two days ago and he was munching on some of the bean meal that I had in his cage but yesterday he seemed very skinny to me. He seems to be defecating and moving around fine but he just looks thin to me. He was also basking with his eyes shut yesterday. Is that normal? I have offered him Napa cabbage, romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, cloves, hosta leaves, no colored iguana food that is veggie based from zoo med I believe. Does anyone have any suggestion on what to do? With him not eating I have pulled the bean mix out b/c I don’t need or want him to go into liver failure and he is in a 40 breeder tank with basking temp of 120-125 and a tank temp in the mid 80’s to low 90’s. I am at my wits end, I don’t want anything to happen to him but I don’t know how else to make him eat. Any suggestions would be great.
Please feel free to email me at
sarahmroth@hotmail.com or sroth@bsppgroup.com or write back on the forum I would appreciate it sooo much!
Thank you all
A concerned uro mommy!

Hello! Welcome to the forum!

Ok, first I woud like to say I am so glad that you are such a concerned Uro Mom! They are lucky to have you.

Second, I have a few questions about the diet you are feeding. None of those seem to be the high nutrient dark leafy greens that should generally be a staple of a Uro diet such as turnip greens, mustard greens, etc. and are you absolutely sure that Hosta leaves are edible? I can't say I ever thought about feeding them. lol. Here is a link to a really great care sheet that will go over what a more "standard" Uro diet is. - http://www.deerfernfarms.com/Uromastyx_Care.htm - that being said, I am not going to discount what you are feeding if moved to small amounts, but as the bulk of their diet you may want to rethink them.

Third, Did you buy the new Uro from a reputable breeder? If so you should also be able to ask them for help. Is it a wild caught or captive bread Uro? Either way you should probably take him in to get a fecal test for parasites done right away. This is just a good thing to do with any new Uro, and particularly one that is skinny.

How new is new? It is possible he is still acclimating to his new surroundings. Does the tank have hides at both the cool side and hot side of the tank? What are you using as substrate?

If you think he is starting to look dehydrated, as well as skinny, you definitley want to take him to a vet, but until then you may also want to try a warm water soak. Sometimes that perks them up, though it can also stress them out. If he is still acclimating you may also need to put the cage in a low traffic area, or cover the sides with paper so that he feels safer. It just depends on what he is doing other than being skinny.

Let us know the answers to some of the above questions, and we can possibly help you out more. Make a vet appt to rule out parasites, keep us posted, and keep asking questions! There are many many very knowledgable Uro people who haunt this board so it is a great resource!

Elizabeth

ps - pictures are always very helpful to, if you can post any.
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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes (May he rest in peace)
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine (RIP)
0.1 Feline Winter
Indiana & Wisconsin

I wouldn't go with the mustard and turnip greens as his staple diet.There staple diet should consist of curly endive,escarole,dandelion greens,bok choy or pak choy these should be the main greens every feeding.You can add the mustard and turnip greens in occasionally but stick with the above mentioned greens as their staple diet.If you pick the dandelion greens make sure you know for a fact they haven't been sprayed with any pesticide or similar poisons.You can pick the dandelion greens up at high end grocery stores or health food stores,the other greens you can get in grocery stores.
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Cajit

URO'S RULE ALL!!!

1.0 Mali Uromastyx (OZ) DOUG DIX

I forgot to thank you for the nice greeting to the forum! I appreciate all the info and insite that you have given me! Nice to meet you!

Fener

purduecg I was saying hello to you and thanks for the nice greeting to the forum... sorry for all the random entries... i just didn't want to blow anyone off. I really appreciate all the nice people here. purduecg and cajit.
thanks again

>>I am in need of help! I have two Nigerian yellow uro’s and I love them both dearly. I have one (I think) female who is about 7 months old and looks great, very active and very plump and I have one male who is about 10 inches long and was recently acquired from CA who wasn’t overly large when I got him but he seems to be loosing weight. I did see him eating some of his greens two days ago and he was munching on some of the bean meal that I had in his cage but yesterday he seemed very skinny to me. He seems to be defecating and moving around fine but he just looks thin to me. He was also basking with his eyes shut yesterday. Is that normal? I have offered him Napa cabbage, romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, cloves, hosta leaves, no colored iguana food that is veggie based from zoo med I believe. Does anyone have any suggestion on what to do? With him not eating I have pulled the bean mix out b/c I don’t need or want him to go into liver failure and he is in a 40 breeder tank with basking temp of 120-125 and a tank temp in the mid 80’s to low 90’s. I am at my wits end, I don’t want anything to happen to him but I don’t know how else to make him eat. Any suggestions would be great.
>>Please feel free to email me at
>>sarahmroth@hotmail.com or sroth@bsppgroup.com or write back on the forum I would appreciate it sooo much!
>>Thank you all
>>A concerned uro mommy!

How long have you had him?Go for a basking temp.of 120-130 degrees,warm end ambient temp.of 100 degrees and cool end temp.of 85 degrees.I would keep the bean mix out and any dry for awhile.You need to feed him curly endive,escarole,dandelion greens,and bok choy,and some romaine for water.Most of what you are feeding him such as green leaf lettuce is not high in nutrients.You can also get some pedialyte and a get an eye dropper or needless syringe and just put a drop above his lip's this may take awhile but some will get in.I just rehydrtated mine and he's eating like there is no tomorrow.Mine will regularly bask with his eyes closed.You could also place a shallow dish of water in cage, just enough to cover bottom of dish and put it in early morning for a few hour's and a few days and he may drink some,but also try the other way.You should take him to the vet's as he could also have parasites or something else wrong with him especially since you say he's skinny,that would be the wisest thing to do.That way you will know if anything serious is wrong with him.Hope this helps! Good Luck
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Cajit

URO'S RULE ALL!!!

1.0 Mali Uromastyx (OZ) DOUG DIX

Hello and thank you so much for your posts. I am still open to hearing from everyone but the above are a great start thank you soo much. I went home for lunch and found that he had eaten quite a bit of food from his dish so that was a good thing. Still not great but it takes time.
In answers to your questions (I hope that I remember to get them all)
1. The substrate is red millet
2. The ambient temp of the tank is about 100 degrees with the cool end around 90 (I’m trying to get that down more)
3. The basking temp is 120-135
4. There are plenty of hiding spaces for him and rocks for him to bask on.
5. The major lists of food that I feed them are
i. Dandelion
ii. Clover
iii. Green leaf lettuce
iv. Curly endive
v. Carrots
vi. Beans
vii. Peas
viii. Bean mix
ix. Napa cabbage
x. Romaine lettuce
xi. Parsley
xii. Sprinkled with supplements and bee pollen

I think that is it for what I feed them but I could be wrong.

The person that I bought him from bought him as a LTC and he said that he was fecal tested so that shouldn’t be a problem.

I was wondering if you know of any foods that would really spark his appetite. I will go home and cover three sides of his cage so that moving objects can’t stress him out but he is in his own room (well it’s the animal room so there are other critters in there) but there is not a lot of traffic there.
As far as the pedialyte is concerned I know that Saharan’s have a tendency to aspirate into their lungs, do I have to worry about that? That goes for the bath as well. How have you all bathed your Uro’s. What method have you used and what temp did you have the water at?
Do you think that I should offer him some more birdseed other than his substrate or do you think that would be too dry if he is dehydrated?
I guess that is all the questions that I have for now. Again thank you for all your help and any suggestions that you have are ALWAYS appreciated.

Uro mommy!

I would stick with dandelion greens,curly endive,escarole,and bok choy every feeding and put the other's in once in a while.I only give my uro bee pollen once a week.As far as bean mix hold off until you know he's hydrated.As far as green leaf lettuce don't worry about feeding him that,all the others are better and the romaine is great for hydrating so put some in with the other greens for a couple weeks.I gave mine some romaine in with other greens and pedialyte via eyedropper just put a drop right above his lip's and he'll get some when he goes to lick it(do it one drop at a time and wait to see if he'll lick it)It can take some time so just have patience.As far as soaking I've heard that Saharans can aspirate also,and if you just got him probably would be better not to and leave him alone.I take it hasn't been long since you've had him so he's acclimating and he'll eat just takes time for them to settle down and get comfortable in their new surrounding's.Mine didn't eat much at first either.You don't need to offer him anymore birdseed as he'll snack on the seed already in cage.I soaked mine only one time and had the water around 100-105 degrees,make it as hot as you can keep your hand in and if you give him a soak make water only about 1/2 inch deep just enough to reach his belly.He'll settle down just takes time!
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Cajit

URO'S RULE ALL!!!

1.0 Mali Uromastyx (OZ) DOUG DIX

Thank you very much for your help. I am anxious to get home so that I can cover his cage. About how long do you think a settling down time should be... how long should I give him before I start to worry..

Well I still don't know how long you've had him?It could take a month to acclimate and in some cases longer.But mine really started eating good after about 4 weeks,I mean he ate just not alot.It was about 2 month's when he started eating almost the whole dish of food,so it takes time.Covering the back and 2 sides help's a great deal,you could also cover the bottom 3-4 inches of the front of cage also that way at his eye level he won't be able to see above it and may help him settle down more,thats what I did with mine and it made a difference.
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Cajit

URO'S RULE ALL!!!

1.0 Mali Uromastyx (OZ) DOUG DIX

Sorry I have only had him two weeks. (yes i am a paranoid mother) but i just noticed that he looked thin. I suppose if I think about it my female took about 2 months before she really took off as well. I just don't remember her being that thin. But I am going to go and pick up some escarole tonight and cover his cage and see if that helps. He did almost eat a whole dish of food today which was excellent but he still seems thin. I just don't want to loose him and I don't want him to get dehydrated.
But I can't wait to get home!!!! LOL
I have at home
1.1 Nigerian uro's
2.1 Irish water spaniels
1.0 Red eared slider
0.1 Painted turtle
1.3 Russian Torts
1 Fresh Water fish tank
1 75 Gallon salt water fish tank...
Just call me Noah!

I'll say that's alot of turtles.Yeah 2 weeks he's still acclimating.Even though that guy said they were parasite checked I would keep an eye on him and try to call some vets and ask them if you could just run some poo to them to do a fecal check without having to bring him in and pay for an office visit some will do that.Good luck!
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Cajit

URO'S RULE ALL!!!

1.0 Mali Uromastyx (OZ) DOUG DIX

That's exactly what I do with my dogs... I know dogs like the back of my hand... so i just call the vet and tell them what i need. i'm pretty good with perscriptions but it's different with the reptiles. I know that you can give batro (spelling??) for many things but I don't think this is one of those cases... I'm just paranoid. Like I said I have only had him two weeks and then last week we moved him into a nice BIG enclosure so that may have stressed him out... I will cover the cage and see if that helps. Do you think it's better to keep my other one out for a while until he is eating better? and then when do you think that i can add the other back in again?

You should have kept him quarantined in his own cage for a month minimum.So yeah take him out and put him in his own cage for a month or so and I would definitely have a fecal check run on him cause if he does have anything the chances of the other getting it is pretty good,so definitely run a fecal check on him.And you have to remember moving him to another cage will be like a whole new thing to him so his acclimation will start over once he's in the new cage when you move him.
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Cajit

URO'S RULE ALL!!!

1.0 Mali Uromastyx (OZ) DOUG DIX

Ok, so when i got home I tried the pedilyte (which should come in smaller containers by the way!) but he took it! yeah i was so happy he actually took almost 5ccs. So now my next question is how much is too much! I want to give him some more later tonight but I'm not sure how much is too much any suggestions?

I would put a very shallow dish of water in there before he wakes up.Use like a peanut butter lid washed out of course and put just enough to cover bottom you don't want it full of water,then see if he drink's that.You could give him some more pedialyte tomorrow.If he keep's drinking like this it may be an indication of something such as parasites(for example) that will need to be looked at by a vet.But see how it goes,the pedialyte is great for rehydrating but you don't want to give him too much.What you gave sounds good.
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Cajit

URO'S RULE ALL!!!

1.0 Mali Uromastyx (OZ) DOUG DIX