Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found a female mali locally and she is eating well, appears healthy and im waiting for her to defecate to do the fecal exam. I do have a few questions though as she is slightly underweight and ive never dealt with adding weight to a uro. My male was a fatty when i got him. So I was wondering what foods are good for adding bulk safely. Also is there any specific way I should go about introducing her to my male or should i just put her in the enclosure with him? Thanks for the help guys.

how i introduced my malis together is i took out everything in both tanks minus the substrate and placed the tanks together so the 2 could see eachother. did this for probably a week for like 1-2 hrs a day until they grew on eachother then slowly placed them together and there.

also mealworms are a tast treat for uros and ther'e high in fat, also u could gutload crickets with a food high in fat..thats all i know hope it helps. It'd be better to get ahold of deerfernfarms to ask how it should be properly done.....have pics of ur uro?

I would quarantine the new uro in a separate enclosure for a minumum of 30 days before introducing them to each other. Putting them together now may sound easier but if your new uro is infected by a disease or parasite it may get your male sick. Better safe than sorry

Yes, quarrantene is a must. I would stay away from feeding mealies and crickets except as an occasional treat because being the herbivores that they are- insects may overload them with protien. Maybe some of the more experienced keepers can chime in here, but I've kept mine for over a year without any insects at all, and have managed to fatten them up quite nicely. Once they're cleared of parasites, start feeding their regular meal, and I hear peas and dry, unsalted soybeans are good for weight gain as well. Just make sure to feed as much as she'll eat and make sure she doesn't get dehydrated. I fattened mine up on a mixture of turnip greens, bok choy, escarole, endive, arrugala, carrots, squash, zucchini, and millet for snacks. I usually buy two or three greens at a time and rotate them weekly so that the diet is varied enough to provide adequate nutrition. Hope this helps!

I'd have to go more with Kerub here. There is no reason to offer insects to an underweight Uro to gain weight. If it is healthy, which it sounds like you'll find out soon, greens alone will make for a chubby healthy Uro and I would consider introducing her to your male until she is fat and healthy. Get her healthy and it won't take long for her to gain weight.
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1.1 Ornates (Lindsay Pike)(Doug Dix)
0.0.1 Mali
0.0.1 Egyptian
0.1 Weimaraner

thanks everyone for the advice I got her to eat like a pig as soon as i put her in the cage. I tried the peas and she loved em gobbled em right up. I also gave her a few mealies for a treat and she seems to like the millet and collard greens ive been giving her too. she likes anything yellow or orange ive noticed. Its only been 4 days and she is already noticably heavier. no wrinkles at her sides at all. I did a fecal and it came back negative and no other signs of disease are prevalent so I think she'll be going in with the male in another 2 weeks or so. thanks everyone for all the advice ill keep you posted