Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everybody,
I have had my Uro for almost two years. He is so small and I am concerned. I see them in the stores and they are huge. He is tiny in comparison. He had pinworms a few months ago, he was dewormed and the vet couldnt give me any answers on how long he had them or why he is so small. I give him tons of food everyday and he doesn't eat much at all. However he is still active. When he doesn't know im watching he will climb around for hours, or climb the wall or bask. He hates when people see him while he eats and he retreats to his hide and wont come out for the rest of the day if he sees people. Therefore, not finishing his food. Should I worry that he is so small??

I'm sorry you are so worried about you little guy! What kind of uro do you have? Some do not grow as fast as others. I have a saharan male (I have had him for 7 years) he's not all that big, just FAT ! Then I just lost my egyptian who was huge.

I would say maybe the fact he had worms if it was a heavy parasite load maybe he had eating problems that kept him from growing as much as he should have.

Does he eat better now (when you can spy on him ) lol ?? Alot of uros are flightly and run when you enter the room. But you can tell what he's eating by how empty or full his bowl is.

If he's active and does eat better , maybe you should just keep an eye out but not worry as much about his size. It would be a good idea for you to visit the uromastyx forum and run it by the other members, each have had so many experiences with their critters , and maybe can come up with some helpful suggestions to ease your mind.

Hope to see you over there, keep in touch
Uromastyx Forum

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PHEve / Eve

My guy is a little Mali. I do know that he eats, because his bowl always has food missing. But some days he eats nothing and He does not wake up at all.

Are you sure his temps are HIGH enough ? These guys do like it hot. Is his hide near his basking light? Reason I ask if they feel warm in there hide , they have no reason to come out except to grab a few bites , then run back.

What are you feeding him? Is he a young guy? Any backround info? I know , lots of questions but just trying to figure him out.
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PHEve / Eve

His temps are good. His basking spot reads about 120. He gets an evdive, escarole mix everyday and dandelion greens when available. They are dusted with vitamins and minerals most days. He rejects edible flowers, legumes, anything that are supposed to be treats for them. From what I know: I bought him in January of 2006 and the tank read "juvinile mali uro." He was purchased by the petstore from a breeder as are all their other animals. He seems to be about 1 inch longer than he was when I bought him. I see the full grown ones in the store and they are huge in comparison. The vet says that he is a male, by looking, but did not probe for the sex. I estimate him to be about 2 1/2- 3 years old. He has no yellow markings, he is all grey and brown. He has hides, but he only uses his corner hide, never goes to the cooler side of the enclosure. He has never had crickets, live food, etc. He is housed in a 30 breeder tank, and still has plenty of room to run around but doesn't use it. He has plenty of UV. Any idea how he could have gotten pinworms??