Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi, im thinking of getting a uro but ive heard it is very hard to maintain a proper diet for a baby, i dont know if i should get a baby or an adult

If i should get a baby what would be the best substrate
OR
If i should get an adult what would be the best substrate(sand??? what type)
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delbalso

Baby: Paper towel until over 6 inches then to adult substrate
Adult: sand, seed, dirt mixes. Look below for a good mix of dirt sand and vermiculate.
Good luck and i would suggest an adult as a first uro.

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Lauren
Leos and Uros
1.1 Saharan Uromastyx
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx
1.1 Jungle Albino Leopard Gecko
1.1 Hypo/Baldy Leopard Gecko
1.1 Tremper Albino Leopard Gecko

I think paper toils or any type of paper is bad because my hatchlings would shred the paper in the corner then when their veggies went on the paper because of the juices from their veggies they would eat the paper. So that cant be good. When I housed my hatchlings on bird seed they would eat there poop because of the bird seeds in it. Now i am housing the hatchlings on dirt and since i have their food on a huge slate rock dirt doen't get on their food so they dont eat any but at the same time they can dig in it and have a real substrate. I am sure they dont have paper or bird seed bedding in the wild but they probably have something like dirt and if they are surviving in the wild on dirt why cant they survive in captivity on dirt. I am not saying anyone is wronge all i am saying is when i housed my hatchlings on paper and bird seed it really didn't work out well and they would try to dig but wouldn't be able to, but with dirt they can dig all they want an it is probably more natural for them. Do what ever you feel is best.
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Mike
1.1.3 maliensis (Spike, Marshmellow, Brown, Green, Orange)
0.2 Female U. Acanthinurus-Werneri x "coming soon"
0.1 Pit Bull/German Shephard/ Lab/ ect. mix (Kodak) - looks like an over grown toco bell dog.

I agree with Mike. No matter what age, a good dirt mixture that can hold some moisture for burrowing is your best bet. Dont let anyone talk you into using birdseed. It is one of the worst substrates you can use. I would only use paper towels if I thought he was sick and I needed to keep a close eye on him for a few days. Personally I would rather start with a young Uro than an older one that you may have to correct poor habits of a previous owner. I guess it depends where you are getting the Uro from. Are you looking for a particular type of Uro? Good luck....let us know what you get.

What is a good dirt mixture?
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delbalso

I just use topsoil, but robyn has a really good mix he came up with. I would read the posts with robyn about how to get a dirt mix, but he also said that you have to play around and try to find a good mix, but 100% topsoil works good for me because the surface is dry and about 1-2 inches below the surface it is moist for digging burrows. You just have to play around and eventually you will get it right.
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Mike
1.1.3 maliensis (Spike, Marshmellow, Brown, Green, Orange)
0.2 Female U. Acanthinurus-Werneri x "coming soon"
0.1 Pit Bull/German Shephard/ Lab/ ect. mix (Kodak) - looks like an over grown toco bell dog.

Where is the place where robin says the proper dirt mix?
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delbalso

Has anyone ever had any trouble with dirt as a substrate and isn't it hard to scoop the poop
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delbalso

look at all of the posts that robyn@proexotics (sp?) posted below. They say everything you need to know. I know one of them was about the poop, and another one said everything about the mix. just scroll down and read each one posted by him.
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Mike
1.1.3 maliensis (Spike, Marshmellow, Brown, Green, Orange)
0.2 Female U. Acanthinurus-Werneri x "coming soon"
0.1 Pit Bull/German Shephard/ Lab/ ect. mix (Kodak) - looks like an over grown toco bell dog.