Reptile & Amphibian Forums

got a 2-3 month old mali, and he shakes.. i keep the temp at 100degrees and feed him Kale, Mustard greens and an occasional super worm.. is there something i am doing wrong?

What size enclosure do you have it in? They need an ambient temperature GRADIENT from hot side of about 100 degrees to a cool side of 85 degrees. Basking surface temp should be about 120 degrees. If it doesn't have anywhere to cool off, chances are it's dehydrated. Does it have a UV light?

As for diet, the staple foods should be endive/escarole, dandelion greens, a bit of bok choy, squash and/or mango. NO animal protein (i.e. no insects), these lizards are herbivores. Once it is eating it's staple veggies well, you can rotate through other treats like cilantro, alfalfa sprouts, edible flowers, nasturtium leaves, a pea or two, bee pollen, etc. to vary the diet a bit from day to day.

The things that you are feeding it will bind calcium and it will slowly end up with MBD (metabolic bone disease).

Andi

thank you. but he eats veggies regularly... and the stuff i feed him is what the guy told me to feed it... like carrots mustard greens turnup greens and kale... and said i could give an occasional treat of cricket or super worm

i mean like atm i changed the heating lamp from a red uv to a normal uv lamp... ohh and i have him in a custom tank... its around 30-40 gallons

There is literature both old and new suggesting juveniles of some species eat up to 75% insect matter in the wild and it is ok to feed insects to females in spring as well. There is also evidence of this being a big problem in captivity. Tried tiny canned worms with a juvenile mali and she became addicted and would only eat worms. Big tough time getting her to eat greens after.Will stick to ltd. bee pollen occasionally from now on.2 cents.

that hundred degrees is going to be the death of it if you don't get that cool side down to 80-85 and night 70-77.need a gradient. did it by mistake once, better fix those temps.

i have a cool side with a log and a hollowed out small stump

hes doin sum really wierd stuff now...really shakey and acting like he is choaking on sumn... around his belly it looks like sumns crawling round in it...

maybe he thinks he in da club.

try a bottle full of bub.

c'mon you know where we be.

First of all, you need to take it to a vet. There are a variety of things that could be the problem - some serious. Get it to a vet to find out what's wrong.

Second, you were offered good diet advice by Doublemom. Don't blow it off just because someone else told you differently. Do some research on nutrition and make some adjustments. Your diet (as listed) is poor. With the lack of UV and the diet problems, the twitching is very likely metabolic bone disease, which is entirely preventable. Get to a vet to find out.
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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)

Ditto what El Toro said... Unfortunately, the vast majority of pet stores and even many reptile vets don't have a clue what they're talking about with Uros. I would take the advice of someone who has raised and cared for these animals for years over what someone in a pet store has told you. These are NOT like beardies or geckos or other more common lizards, they require very specific care and the correct diet to be healthy. I've learned so much from listening to people who really know from experience, please take the advice given here to make sure you have a healthy Uro.

Andi

yeah man, i was just playing about the club-but why was it up at that time anyway?unless you live in hawaii the lights should've been off. you asked if you were doing something wrong and everyone told you.some pet stores will keep them at a steady temp and feed them whatever.go check on them once a week and see what happens over time if you don't believe me.to err is human(or mechanical) to do it on purpose is stupid.sorry people.
B'k

Thanks for the help Andi, and toro, its helped lots. i got a 2nd lamp today with a basking 50wat lamp, temp is same as b4 but hes moving more... and still not eating at all, got sum Uromastyx dust to put on food to give him more minerals and vitamins....any thing else i am missing?

Definitely listen to the people here. Like they said the people at most pet stores know next to nothing about the animals they are selling, especially if you go to petco or petsmart.

My uros get endive, kale, dandelion greens, bok choy, chicory, hibiscus flowers, finch seed(small amounts once or twice a week), cockatiel pellet food(they absolutely love the stuff, but I only give them very small amounts once a week), spouted beans and alfalfa, carrots although I dont think they touch them, snow peas, greens beans. I change their foods everyday, so these are just an example of what they get fed over the course of about a month.

I feed them crickets maybe once a year.