Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello to all and thank you for all your help and advice. Kenu (that's his name) is doing a lot better... sort of. He is not as skinny as before and he eats ONE bite per day even though he is offered fresh food twice a day but at least one bite is better than no bites. But if you have any suggestion on what to feed him to make him eat more or increase his appetite I would much appreciate it. I have tried bee pollen, romaine, green leaf, escarole, endive, nappa cabbage, peas, beans, carrots, apples, bok choy, dandelion, clover, and anything else that I could think of so if you have something else let me know! Thanks again,
I'm working on finding my digital camera so that I can post some picts..
Later,
Fener

You could try sweet red peppers, butternut squash, sweet potato, zucchini, carrot....they usually like orange/red things. These things should only be a part of the diet you feed it normally...but maybe it will get the uro eating.

Is the uro pooping?

If your basking and cage temperatures are right, then I would get it checked out by a vet if things don't improve soon.

yes he is pooping now and eating a little more. I got him to eat a hybiscus the other day and he was picking at cucumber today he also drank some more pedylite. so I think that he is improving.. thank you for your concern

Fener

I am sorry if I sounded abrupt before... I have a bad habit of checking these really quick when I only have a few min to read and then replying in a hurry. I do really appreciate all the info. Thank you very much, I will try some of the foods you said. As far as pooping he is pooping now but still not eating great and he is still drinking water/pedilyte. Any suggestions. the tank temps are 121.5 basking 82ish cool end and 107.2 second basking and 90 ambient. He has two hiding places that he likes to go and two different basking spots. His bedding is bird seed and that is about all I can think to tell you. If you have any more suggestions please let me know
Thanks
Fener

You said..."I am sorry if I sounded abrupt before"...no problem...it didn't bother me. Sometimes I'm short of time and my replies are short too.

Nigerians seem to have more of a need for water than other uros that I've kept...so its good that he's drinking.

Geyri also are supposed to be more comfortable with more "cover" (things to hide behind, etc.....but I haven't found them to be any different than malis....but then my malis spend a lot of time in their hides.

Some of the care sheets that I have read for geyri (Nigerian) uros say that 120F is hot enough....others say up to 135F...I don't know if raising the basking temperatures just slightly would help his appetite or not.

I've never used bird seed for a substrate. That doesn't mean that it can't be used...its just that I can't tell you if its okay or not. One more thought....could he be eating the bird seed substrate? How large are the poops compared to what goes in?

Have you tried giving him dandelion flowers? Just make sure that you get them from a place where there was no fertilizer or insecticide, etc. used.

Hope you get it solved!

You need to try to raise the ambient temp.in warm end of cage up to or near 100 degrees 90 degrees is far too low for the warm end ambient temp..Stick a digital thermometer about 1-1 1/2 inches off cage floor and 2-3 inches from the side on warm end to monitor ambient temp..This could be one reason why he's not eating much.
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Cajit

URO'S RULE ALL!!!

1.0 Mali Uromastyx (OZ) DOUG DIX

I know they're not usually recommended but he may need protein that would be found naturally in the wild. When mine quit eating much I tried a cricket and he snatched it so quick he bit my finger!! For days that's all he wanted then he went back to his veggie diet. Another of mine did the same with waxworms (didn't want anything else.) The vet told me they probably knew what they needed and if that was what they wanted to give it to them. Neither did it for long but I decided I'd rather have that then to not have them eat. Sometimes they will only eat dandelions, but most of the time they aren't that picky. Frozen green beans thawed out, peas, other greens. I've never had luck with mine eating other than green veggies except for those exceptions and they'll snack on the bird feed substrate (mostly millet) that I house them on. Good luck and let me know how he's doing.