Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok....here is the background...

I got Scuttle my Mali Uro almost one year ago. Today he is about 6inches long from snout to tail tip...maybe a little longer...and weighs about 45grams.

He has always been a nervous guy, and it took him months to not bolt if someone walked past the cage. Now he is better with me, i can usually walk past the cage or even come right up to it and he will not run away...unless i stick my hand in the cage. lol.

Anyway....so lately (past ~2months) he has been LAZY...it almost looks like the brumation that i have experienced with my beardies. Somedays i come home at night and he is in the same position he was when i left in the morning! The first several months he was very active, out and basking and running around and MOWING his veggies and seed mix down. His appetite has definately dwindled, although on some days he does attack his seed dish...and occasionally will eat veggies...and he still goes nutty for the occasional cricket or super worm. Its very strange...as i said it sorta looks like brumation...but somedays he is out and about like normal and others he just sleeps and sleeps and sleeps!!!

His set up is prety good - or at least i think it is. He is in a 40gallon breeder tank, he has a high basking spot and some smaller basking spots as well as various sized and shaped hides and logs. His temps are measured by a digital thermometer and in the basking spot read 120-130degreesF. Occasionally they spike to as high as 140 and i have to rearrange the lights to bring the temps down. He has a brand new (last month) 10.0 UVB bulb that is mounted inside his cage. He also has another fluorescent bulb above the cool side of his tank - just to add some extra light.

His diet consists of a variety of different greens every day including: Dandelion, collard, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, endive, escarole, and squash sometimes. He also has a seed mix that contains white millet seeds, rep-cal iguana pellets, ground up beans, pretty bird finch pellets that he has acess to all day. His food is supplemented with calcium and occasionally bee pollen granules. He eats a few super worms or crickets maybe once a month or so.

I have been wondering if i should be soaking him? I soaked him today for a few minutes - being very careful to pat him dry and make sure his tail was dried off.

So...the short of it all...is this normal Uro behavior? Could he be acting this way just becuase winter is coming? Should I be concerned or doing something different?

Thank you SO much

Mim
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0.1 Bearded dragon (Hannabil)
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake (Morticia)
2.1 Leopard Gecko's (Pogo,Jeffrey Nothing, Louise)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn (Autumn)
1.0 Blood Red Corn (Virus)
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx (Scuttle)
0.1 Bullmastiff (Asha)
4.1 Cats (Poe, Tucker, Abhid, Felicity, Emmy)

Other then basking temps, what are the air temps on the cool end? It could be the over all air temps have dropped to a point where they are not high enough during the day causing him to not come out.
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1.1 Ornates (Lindsay Pike)(Doug Dix)
0.0.1 Mali
0.0.1 Egyptian
0.1 Weimaraner

Check the temps as suggested, and don't bother with soaking him unless you have specific reason. It might just be the time of year, but if you're worried, a vet visit is never a bad idea. They can also pick up parasites from their food - especially if they're fed bugs, so you might consider a fecal exam if you don't want to take the whole lizard in.
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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)
0.1 Collared Lizard (Rorschach)
2.1 Green Anoles (Bowser, Sprocket, Leeloo)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Sounds to me as if your set-up is just fine.
One consideration is that your mali is living instinctively while in captivity. In it's natural environment, greens & flowers are available only in the spring with some limited forage during the summer months. Come late summer, seeds & a few insects may be a more available diet.
Just something to think about.

Thanks for the different tips guys...i appericiate it a lot

I just checked, the cool side temps are around 80degrees, is this too hot or too cold?

Is it ok to increase his insect intake a little during this time of year then?

Thanks

Mim
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0.1 Bearded dragon (Hannabil)
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake (Morticia)
2.1 Leopard Gecko's (Pogo,Jeffrey Nothing, Louise)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn (Autumn)
1.0 Blood Red Corn (Virus)
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx (Scuttle)
0.1 Bullmastiff (Asha)
4.1 Cats (Poe, Tucker, Abhid, Felicity, Emmy)

80 F is fine on the cool side so long as you can a provide a gradual gradient to 95 F on the hot side & a basking temp of 120-130 . A few bugs shouldn't hurt anything, I wouldn't think. The "seed bowl" , in my opinion, is more important.