Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted just a few threads ago but i said i would post some pictures of my first uro im going to be getting in the info i posted earlyer this week
so here he is well at lease they told me hes a he.
( he is still at the reptile shop so this is not his tank set up)
i think he is a bit skinny but when i saw him today ( picked up some heating bulbs and crickets for my leopard geckos and beared dragons... he was active and moving around which made me happy to see.
tell me what you think ? everyone-
i think hes pretty. im glad hes going to be coming home with me tomorrow ill be for the best i think im really excited.
heres the pictures

From the profile I'd say you have one seriously undernourished Saharan on your hands. Hope for it's sake that you have a good vet or can quickly develope the skills to save it. In your case, option one would be best if you can afford it.

Yea, he does look quite skinny. I'm assuming the pet shop did not de-worm him, so that is priority #1. Bring a fresh (less than 8 hours old) fecal sample to the vet to be run for parasites. They will likely give you an oral solution in a small syringe to administer a few times every few days. With some good diet of staple foods (less treats for now while getting him to a healthy size) he should pack on grams quickly. Also, make sure he has good space and a good UVB, I'm a huge fan of the MegaRay SB bulbs. Because his oranges are very developed, he is probably older than they think he is. Of course, it is better to buy from a good breeder, but as long as you know you will be in for some vet bills and hard work... He has a evil little grin like my guy, Goober!

So i got him hes about 10 inches long. i havent weighted him
but i gave him some escorle greens and he ate some
( thats all i have for greens tonight tomorrow is green food shopping time.)
I have him in a 29 gallon tank with a repti bulb 150
his temps are 120 degrees for basking & cool side is 80degrees which is good right
a 29 gallon is alright ?.
OH my he was so active i just sat and watched him for like a hour exploring his new cage ( its bigger ) then what they had him in poor guy
he seems to be in shed ?
is there any way to help him with his shed or do they do that all by them selves ?
and also he was basking and gapping i guess ? does that mean hes to hot or maybe something is wrong?
and i have another question ? hes like wedged between a cardboard box i put in there untill his rock formation i made is all done. and stuff ... is this normal for laying sideways sleeping ?
thanks for any info ...
Christina

No, a 29 gallon is not big enough. They are the same floor space as a 20L which is about 30"x12". I find it difficult to get even a 10*F gradient in them, there is no way you are getting a basking spot of 120* and a cool side still at 80*. The popular stick on and dial temperature gauges are sometimes up to 20* off from what a digital and IR temp gun will read. The recommended tank size for a uro (other than Egyptian) is 4'x2' floor space. It is sad that a 29g tank is an upgrade, I hope you are already heading to the vet to treat for parasites. You really should have done more research before you got your little guy, make the proper changes quickly and you should end up with a healthy little guy after some hard work and time.

excuse me but i saved his life dont try putting me down i was reading a week before i bought him.. and yes I have correct graidents.. so dont say im lieing.
I thought this over and i know what im getting myself into were building him a tank this weeken and hes going to the vet asap im waiting for a stool...
I own a iguana and i know how much there hard to take care of so i know what im getting myself into hes moving around alot which is a good thing in my opinion then just being in a 10-15 gallon. so yeah a 29 will have to do for now. sorry to go affencive but i think im doing a pretty good job if thats to much to ask .
you did not even answer any of the questions i ask you just told me what im doing wrong which is kinda wrong if you ask me. sence im trying to help a reptile not kill it.

The way your describing that situation is pretty saddening, the way you see it, any situation slightly better then the pet shops is "saving" it. Well heres some news for you, many of these shops are selling wild caughts for ridiculous mark up prices, they are not really animals to the seller, but just tools to make money, knowing this you should realise that the level of care which they provide for the animal in this situation is well below the minimum requirement, and yes you may have raised an iguana, but theres a difference between having an animal survive and an animal thrive, right now your Saharan is barely surviving, if you got the money for the vet bills your about to pay, i sure hope you have the money for a 50 gallon setup.

How can you say hes barely surviving ? hes moving around and basking and everything.. its sunday i have to wait untill monday to make a apointment.
did you not see im creating a cage it should be finished soon.
he seems to be eatting and collecting his Uvb ..
hes doing much better i called the vet up and they told me ill be fine untill i get the new cage set up and what not so please stop judging me. im trying to do everything possible i can in the period of time i have.
my reptile vet loves me. i spend more money on pets then i do on my own bills ... becuase i just love my pets.
no one has still answered my questions.

i asked about gabing ? mouth open even though correct temps in cage .. ( the cage has digial temp gages all over it.
i dont understand how you can say im not getting the right times in this cage ? when i am.

im asking if theres anything i can do before he goes to the vet to save him life. ? even though i think hes not that bad in general.

You're going to have to explain what "gaping" is before anyone is to help. And being polite never hurt anyone either...

hes ( im asuming hes a he ) when is under his basking spot opens his mouth alittle then closes it and does it again .
( i said it becuase beared dragons do this to let heat excape if there to hot and i was wondering it this is what mufasa( my uro) was doing
Sorry I get defencive when i feel insaulted. but i know you are just trying to help me out.

Actully i found a 55 gallon in my garage. im going to switch with the 29 gallon.
so hopfully that will help out untill we build him the proper cage with im working on that as soon as i can.
Im going to make a vet appointment for tomorrow with my reptile vet hopfully they will do one for tomorrow and i can get him there without a stool sence hes not pooped sence i got him friday.
but hopfully they can give us some type of injection or oral ? treatment to get him going again
Hes a really cool kinda guy i dont want to lose him. right now im playing with a small amount of money untill i get paid which is 2 weeks so its not that great but i have enough for a vet visit and im glad i found that 55 gallon

Do you think a 55 gallon is ok ?
also a few questions.
whats there Behavior like ? mine seems go scratch everywhere in the tank i think its becuase he was just stressed cuase he seems to be relaxing better now and not moving and scratching everywhere.
Is there any way to tell if hes a male or female ? the reptile store i got him from says hes male and is wild caught.
the thing that geeps me is i bought him from a reptile store not a petco or petsmart a store that goes to hamburg show.. so i would of expected his condition better.

Christina

Hey Mootish,

The gaping can be normal, assuming you have proper temp gradients, which you said that you did. Just like you mentioned with your beardeds it is a way that they get rid of excess body heat. If you do not have enough temperature gradient it can be a sign that there is not a place in the tank for them to cool off. If you do then it is just a sign they are being lazy. I have my small Egyptian in a 4x2 ft enclosure, and sometimes he STILL sits and pants (gapes) under a basking spot.

I think for a short term, the 55 will probably be better. It will at least allow a much larger temp gradient than the 29 gallon. The main thing to double check though, is that the heat is getting to the floor, since 55 gallon tanks are very tall. Also, this will effect the amount of UVB that will reach the lizard. My lizard basks on a high spot he has, so he takes care of that himself. I am not sure I would recommend putting a high climbing spot in there for your guy. He really does look quite dehydrated. If he tolerates handling without over stressing you could hold him closer to the light for 10 minutes a day, or carefully supplement him in the short term. Once you build his real enclosure then you can make sure the lighting is more properly spaced!

The scratching/digging at the walls is sometimes just something they DO. However it can also be a sign of stress. Since "his" housing is glass on all walls, you might want to try covering over at least 3 sides of the tank, so he doesn't have to worry about them as much. Some people cover all sides for the first bit until the Uro acclimates, but if he was in a pet shop he was probably used to people walking by. I have found my Uro does much better with only one open side to his enclosure. He still "glass dances" (you will know what this is when you see it), and claws occasionally. Often this is his way of telling me he doesn't want whatever food is in his cage, he wants something else. Sometimes it is just something he seems to do for amusement.

Feeding him high quality greens, since he is eating them, is great. It won't take the place of good vet care, which you are in the process of getting, but it is a good sign. Leaving the water on the leaves of the greens after washing them is also a good idea, might get some additional hydration into him. Though that is my "can't hurt" opinion. That amount of extra humidity won't cause any harm. A "humid" hide also might help, particularly with his skin and shedding.

I don't remember if you mentioned about his age, but at 10 inches, and with that much color, I believe he is likely an adult. This is not my strongest knowledge area though, but he is definitely not a young juvenile. If he perks back up though, he will be a gorgeous lizard. I have always loved the orange coloring.

I hope some of that will be useful. Good luck!

Elizabeth

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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes (May he rest in peace)
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
Madison, Wisconsin

someone wrote:
"No, a 29 gallon is not big enough. They are the same floor space as a 20L which is about 30"x12". I find it difficult to get even a 10*F gradient in them, there is no way you are getting a basking spot of 120* and a cool side still at 80*. The popular stick on and dial temperature gauges are sometimes up to 20* off from what a digital and IR temp gun will read. The recommended tank size for a uro (other than Egyptian) is 4'x2' floor space. It is sad that a 29g tank is an upgrade, I hope you are already heading to the vet to treat for parasites. You really should have done more research before you got your little guy, make the proper changes quickly and you should end up with a healthy little guy after some hard work and time."

I have no problem keeping a small (~6" uro in a 20L aquarium. The gradient ranges from 120 to 75F.