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My mali uro escaped! I left his screen top off for an hour after I fed him. (I forgot to close all the way) his tank is 24 inches tall and he's only 3 months old and nothing on the sides to climb up at all.
It happened Sunday morning, I've searched my whole house (it's only 800 square ft) including under all appliances, furniture, closets, etc. I left out greens that haven't been touched, turned my air conditioner up to 80 and left a spot light on. No sign of him, I've continued looking under everything each day.

Any other tips???? I know it's my own stupidity and I feel terrible!!! I'm afraid that once he cooled down, he stopped moving around, so my greens and light weren't helpfull. I hate to say it, but I'm sure he's gone by now. That leaves me to ask, how long can he survive without his high temps and food? He might find some stray crickets, but the temps are what worries me. And how long will it take for his body to produce an odor? Since he's a desert dweller, I figured it would be awhile....I'm having nightmares of finding him.....

they can brumate so he will be OK with temps. mine got out once -i found her in my shoe by the door. Check all up in baseboard heat,etc. check shoes. It will be scared stiff and cold so it won't be moving,probably stopped somewhere and hasn't moved since.Check corners and edges of room. Like i said it probably won't move, so if you calmly and systematically search every inch...It's probably fine just cold and scared, i mean where is it really going? look under couches where it can climb up in. and be careful not to step on it.Look in section of fridge underneath where it can climb in, stove,etc. Like i said it won't move so start at 1 point and work to another. he will be dark and still,get a flashlight. I BET he is there, cold and scared but fine and will be NOT HAPPY AT ALL when you find him(go figure).GOOD LUCK

check corners and edges and all inside heat baseboard. if he was from your house where would his hide be?sunday to thurs- you still have a little time. does he know the gieco gecko?- if not he is still there.GOOD LUCK.

"My mali uro escaped! I left his screen top off for an hour after I fed him. (I forgot to close all the way) his tank is 24 inches tall and he's only 3 months old and nothing on the sides to climb up at all.

If this is a small uromastyx and the enclosure is 24" in height and there is nothing for the animal to climb on to get out of the enclosure, I would suggest going over every inch of the enclosure again. I would look under all objects, inside of anything the animal could wedge into (even amazingly tight spaces), and if you are using a particulate substrate, I would sift through that.

If you have a high enough object in the enclosure, it does not have to be directly against the side for the uromastyx to escape as they can climb this and leap for freedom. If you do not have anything of considerable height in this enclosure and you cannot locate the uromastyx in the enclosure after a thorough search, I would recommend having a close talk with all other pets in the home and ask their whereabouts at the time of the disappearance.

I agree with deb_luvs_Uros. I am also curious as to how such a small lil guy could get out of a two foot tall tank. Although a missing uromastyx is never a good thing: "I would recommend having a close talk with all other pets in the home and ask their whereabouts at the time of the disappearance." I must say, I laughed at this comment. My cat, Tattoo, still hasn't owned up to a few of my missing bettas. Good luck purplepog.

Check what you think would be the least humid/most dry area of your home if you think it hasn't left your home. Where do you live?

Thanks for the advice guys. I've checked the entire tank, he's not there. I still don't know how he escaped...and the guinea pigs aren't talkin...no dogs or cats that I have to worry about. I've went from room to room, checking everywhere, starting with warmest place 1st. Still can't find him...I might just have to take everything out of my house one by one and see. I'm just SO scared to find him dead, and I feel so bad, I honestly didn't think in a million years he could have escaped. The rock formation is in the middle of the cage and only 8 inches tall. It's at least 7 inches from the nearest wall-I measured. I live in Missouri, so it's humid and hot everywhere.

This just does not seem to add up purplepog.
If the only item of height in the enclosure is 8" and it sits 7” away from the enclosure wall which is 24” in height, I do not see any way this small 3 month old uromastyx could possibly exit this enclosure on its own.

I would scour the rock formation and all other items in this enclosure. If the animal is not in the enclosure, there must be details we are missing as I do not see any way this small uromastyx could escape from the enclosure you describe

The guinea pig does not sound like a suspect but keep a close eye on ’ friends’ that suddenly get a cool new lizard that could pass for a twin of yours.

I know it doesn't add up.....unless I bought a new species of mali that suddenly sprouts wings....Honestly, I've looked under every square inch of my house for 4 days in a row-EVERY SQUARE INCH. My house is an 800 square foot trailer (modular home) it's a big rectangle, 1st the bedroom and bathroom, then the laundry room, then the living room and finally the kitchen. I started in the kitchen, moved all appliances and furniture out, no lizard. My cabinets have baby locks on them, but I looked in them anyway, no lizard. Moved everything back. Living room, took out couch, chairs, ottoman (and looked at bottom to make sure he couldn't climb in them, no lizard. The rest of the furniture sits directly on the floor (not even a centimeter off the ground) looked behind all that, no lizard. Emptied the only closet in my house, no lizard. Same went for the rest of the house- NO LIZARD.
I've completely cleaned out his tank, vaccuumed up all sand and taken out his cave/basking rock formation. No lizard.

I don't get it. And I feel like an idiot. Even though I've never had a uro before, I'm not a newbie to lizard keeping. I'm a vet tech that tells people how to take care of their exotics every day....I've kept herps, amphibians and small furry animals for over 15 years. I just don't get it....

one centimeter off the floor-small lizard-i would check
is it possible someone wanted to hold it when it didn't want to be held?hmmm.
or else it gripped the aquarium sealant with it's toenails and climbed out like spiderman.
look under the furniture!

For the first couple of days he was probably too afraid to but by now he may be occasionally coming out for any food he can find.

This is going to sound crazy, but if he's still active and you have a tiled home, you could try sprinkling sawdust around the floor next to the areas where he may be hiding (appliances, closets).

Check these areas regularly for track marks to see if you can narrow down the location.

One of mine pulled a fast one like that a year ago. I searched frantically high and low, but could not find him for 5 days. Finally, I caught him walking out from under the fridge.

Good luck.

Good idea on the sawdust!! At least I might see a glimmer of hope if I find tracks in it. I'm scared he's started to brumate and he'll just lay there and die. I still have heat lamps in every room pointing to the floor-just in case.

Does your modular home have a/c ducting with vents through the floor?
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1.1 U. Maliensis (Koopa,Zilla)
1.0 S. Hispidus (Bowser)

Nope, they are in the ceiling. And the return air vent is 5ft high on the wall. Good idea though.

no joke i found wadi missing today- found her in the closet between shoeboxes within 5 insane minutes-she couldn't have been out more than a couple of hours. i think i know how she did it. enough of this talk, now.

I'm so glad you found yours- OK, no one read this thread in the view of their uros, they don't need to get any bright ideas....