Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I am new to the forum. I have been rehabbing lizards, particularly beardies, for two years, and got my first baby Mali uro, about two inches long, today. I have it under a megaray mercury vapor, temps are 112-115 on the basking platform, it is eating well, has pooped, and has been basking. Substrate is reptile carpet.

So, I also take in birds, and cook beans on a regular basis. It will get beans and a healthy salad tomorrow, and some small bird seed.

Questions:
At what point can a mali be sexed?
Do babies need bugs?
Are kidney beans toxic?
How often should I suppliment calcium, and how often repvite?
At what age are Mali's full grown?
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Rosebud's House

kidney beans are no good-toxic?it is said to be so.
if that is surface temp on the basking spot you can go higher-130-140(figure the hottest point is very small and that will provide a nice basking gradient-go as high as the baby will still bask at)
calcium lightly dusted everyday-vit's 1-2 times a week
you don't have to cook the beans only soak them.either dice them up really small or buy tiny ones like small black(ingigo/french) lentils and orange lentils
they don't need bugs.bee pollen is good though.they get addicted to bugs and won't eat anything else. most will say NO bugs.
it will be a while until you can sex it and be sure:2-3 years maybe.but you might get some indication sooner.
full grown? hard to say.it depends on a lot of things.a fair estimate i would say is at least 3 years until adult size- could be much longer like 5 or more-then it still grows but very slowly. really depends on how it is raised.
good luck

Thanks! Well, I hope to raise it well. It is very skittish. I just held it for a few minutes and it calmed down some. Does that skittishness pass with age?

They are so much faster than they look like they can be! LOL!

Hey, welcome-
I would lose the reptile carpet as the fibers can be consumed by accident with the food. Paper towels or newspaper would be a good replacement. Just a suggestion.

>>Hi. I am new to the forum. I have been rehabbing lizards, particularly beardies, for two years, and got my first baby Mali uro, about two inches long, today. I have it under a megaray mercury vapor, temps are 112-115 on the basking platform, it is eating well, has pooped, and has been basking. Substrate is reptile carpet.
>>
>>So, I also take in birds, and cook beans on a regular basis. It will get beans and a healthy salad tomorrow, and some small bird seed.
>>
>>Questions:
>>At what point can a mali be sexed?
>>Do babies need bugs?
>>Are kidney beans toxic?
>>How often should I suppliment calcium, and how often repvite?
>>At what age are Mali's full grown?
>>
>>Rosebud's House

How about tile? I am tiling all of my other vivs. Is it okay for uros?

tile is fine-missed that carpet thing. then you can throw sand on it later.as far as skittishness you will just have to wait and see.it should chill out with time but how much depends on the individual uro.

Thanks. We are getting used to each other. I am naming it Ngozi, which I think is a unisex name meaning "blessing"? Anyway, s/he is precious and a beastie! LOL! I get tail whipped every time I go to pick him up. I either need to socialize him before he grows up or vow to leave him be! LOL!

Uros are an "Observation" pet, and really shouldn't be held unless absolutely necessary. The reason s/he calmed down when you were holding it is that it got COLD. They cannot and should not be away from their heat source for mor than a couple minutes.

Well, I have really only held her for a few minutes at a time and sat near a lamp that reached her. She might have cooled down some, but was warm to the touch up to putting her back. I am really enjoying interacting with her. She is exploring her viv, and is more and more relaxed even when she sees me.

She isn't my first "desert" lizard. I have been rehabbing beardies for a few years. They aren't true desert lizards, but do need to stay warm as well. When I handle them, I always do so near a light and make sure they don't get too cold. I guess they are a bit more interactive with their keepers than uros, then?

"Uros are an "Observation" pet, and really shouldn't be held unless absolutely necessary. The reason s/he calmed down when you were holding it is that it got COLD. They cannot and should not be away from their heat source for mor than a couple minutes."

MissAnne2u. reptiles have lived on this Earth for millions of years, they lived through the ice age and consequently are geniuses at preserving heat. 'no more than a few minuets' is rubbish, do you suppose they freak out during the night without their optimum basking body temperatures?

an animal who is purely observational, isnt a pet its an item, and shouldnt be kept for that reason. its far better off in the wild than stuck in a box with no interaction as a display peice.

every animal is capable of human interaction, although i admit some will learn to cope or 'put up with'. some reptiles seem to enjoy this, others dont. it is the individual. im sure youve seen the old lady on youtube who plays with her nile monitor with romantic music in the back ground. this animal doesnt look stressed, nor does it look cold because heaven forbid it was taken away fromt he heat for more than a few minuets.

your comment was assumptuous and rude. you dont know if the animal was cold, in fact it wasnt. they in fact can be away from a heat source for 'more than a few minuets' they do it for hours every night, and species isnt a cirtification to allow the branding of 'observation pet' it depends on the individual. your comment wasnt helpful, nor was it polite. i know the OP, and i doubt she would let the animal get too cold or stressed. now, do you have anything positive or helpfull to say in answer to the OP's questions?