Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK, against better judgment, I allowed my almost 13 yo daughter to purchase a WC subadult/young adult Mali at the reptile show last weekend. He seemed to have a good temperament and looked healthy. The WC part just sailed over my head for some reason. Please don't lecture me on the evils of purchasing imported WC, I know all too well. The point is...we have this guy in our home now and could use some help getting him settled in.

Some background on us...we are avid herpers and we own a variety of snakes, beardies, a tegu, frogs, and inverts (all CB ). The Mali is set up on washed play sand, basking temp 115, has a hidey, fed greens and a bit of seed, no crix. We brought him home on Sun, left him alone all day and on Mon. Went to pick him up on Tues, he tail whips, hisses, but settles once you pick him up out of the cage. We decide to let him settle down a bit more, but he doesn't seem to have eaten. Actually the cage is such a mess, we can't really tell. He has defecated, so he has eaten recently. We soaked him when we got him home to rehydrate him, and cleaned him with Reptile Relief in case he had some external parasites. He's in quarantine, but in plain view of two adult male beardies. Today (Wed) he has just laid in the corner, no movement, very depressed.

What can we do for this little guy? I'm sure he'll have an adjustment period, but is there anything we can do to ease the transition? I've never purchased WC before so I'm a little unsure and my daughter is feeling guilty and disappointed.

Thanks,
LR

Couple questions - how large is the cage in inches? And what are the temps throughout the cage - basking, warm side, cool side? Have you had a fecal check done? WC almost always have parasites.

A basking temp of 115 is a little low. I would bump that at least five degrees. Also, for the next several weeks, you might cover the sides of his cage with paper to let him settle in. And avoid handling him at all for several weeks until he's eating well and adjusted to his new surroundings.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
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)

Laurafl, I have to agree with el toro's post. PLEASE get a fecal done before he may begin declining. Also, make sure you bump up the temps as suggested, and make sure your cage is big enough to reduce stress. From posts I have read on this forum, Uros should be pretty aggressive feeders. You may have to try a variety to see what he likes best since he is WC, with the bulk being mixed appropriate greens. I was in a similar situation with a WC Nigerian I bought a month or so ago that recently passed (you can see my post "RIP Spike" below). BE PROACTIVE with the vet check and stress reduction by ensuring proper cage size, hide spots, temps.

I think the cage is too small, it's about 2 X 2. I talked to my husband about it tonight and we are going to move him over to a larger tank ASAP. We've been covering his tank thinking that would ease his stress. I increased his basking temp to 120 on the hot side and he's 100 on the cool side. At night he's in the mid 70's. I haven't had a fecal done on him yet, but will as soon as he passes another. I have a snake that needs to be done, too. The Mali was more active today, but still no appetite.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. Do you think he'll ever be 'docile'?

LR

2 x 4 is a much better cage size if you can manage that. You will have to move him right away or make some other adjustment in the meantime - having 100F in the coolest area is definitely way too hot. While 120 is a good basking temp, if you can't keep a cool zone of 85 (90 at the absolute max), then he's going to suffer problems from not being able to regulate his temp. If you can't move him to a larger permanent cage right away, people have made great big rubbermaid bins work for temporary enclosures - lots of space for pretty cheap.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
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)

From what I have researched and my VERY limited experience, the cage is too small and the cool side too warm. I agree with el toro that 75-80 degrees would be better temps on cool side. Think snake, but with hotter concentrated basking spot to 110-120 degrees. That may have caused decline in the WC I had. Too small a cage and too warm of a cool side. However, mine hugged the hot side ALL the time, so it was hard to tell if the cool side was too warm for the liking. Hard to tell these things with possibly stressed/sick animals.

Our Nigerian was very docile. Once again could have been/probably was attributed to its poor state of health. So, it being fiesty for a WC may be a good sign of health being fairly well. Seems similar to what I read about WC python babies. Certain species are NOTORIOUS for being fiesty as babies, even adults. If they are not, then its a good sign of inadequate husbandry or diseases acquired from the exporter/importer/vendor conditions the animal kept in. Give it time to adjust and dont handle it till acclimated, feeding, and appears comfortable. How would you like be bombarded your first day on a new job by the "touchy feely" person in the office, etc.?? LOL. I know it would make me uncomfortable and possibly defensive until I acclimated and understood their behaviour was not "threatening".