Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a question for you out there. I got my mali a couple of weeks ago and he was doing fine. Hes been eating like a champ, got good weight, just got done shedding. Hes a year and a half old, very tame, all around good lizard. But 4 days ago he dug a hole in the sand in his cage and hasn't come out since. I know hes still alive I see him move occassionally, My question is, why??? I have never had this kind of lizard, but I have had bearded dragons and I know the go through brumation....do uros?? I mean the temps and everyting are fine in his cage, basking area is about 120, the rest of the cage is 85 and the cool part is 70-75. Is this something I should worry about, since he has not eaten in 4 days??? If someone could fill me in. I have researched on these guys, but I have not read anything about this???

S

When my uro started acting funny (not coming out to bask, not eating, etc) I took him to the vet. Turned out he had a major blockage in his intestine. (not exactly impacted, but a piece of food that became lodged).

I would suggest getting him xrayed by a vet to rule out that anything could be wrong. He may not be feeling well which is why he isn't coming out. Don't let it go too long!

Let us know what you find out!
Renee

You mention that the "cool side" is around 70-75 degrees. Is the hideout he's in on the cool side? At that temp, he may not be warming up enough to become active and come out. The cool side should be 80-85 during the day and 70 at night. I notice that my cage is very temp dependant on the temps in my house. If it's a warm day outside, his cage warms up to where I turn down the reostats a bit.
Try "up-ing" his temperature a bit where he's hiding and see if that helps.

Jim

>>I have a question for you out there. I got my mali a couple of weeks ago and he was doing fine. Hes been eating like a champ, got good weight, just got done shedding. Hes a year and a half old, very tame, all around good lizard. But 4 days ago he dug a hole in the sand in his cage and hasn't come out since. I know hes still alive I see him move occassionally, My question is, why??? I have never had this kind of lizard, but I have had bearded dragons and I know the go through brumation....do uros?? I mean the temps and everyting are fine in his cage, basking area is about 120, the rest of the cage is 85 and the cool part is 70-75. Is this something I should worry about, since he has not eaten in 4 days??? If someone could fill me in. I have researched on these guys, but I have not read anything about this???
>>
>>S