Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This will be my first Uro and I have been reading lots and lots. I am concerned about one thing she mentioned though and I have yet to find other questions on this.
She said her Uro gets calcium build up crusted on his nose and it would need to be picked off. Has anyone heard of this? It doesn't seem normal to me.
This is not my first lizard. I own and breed Leopard Geckos.
I don't want to go with just info she is providing as I like a variety and altough this is a friend, it doesn't mean she does it right.
Any advice you all want to give me please throw it my way. I am a dedicated owner to my animals.
Oh, one thing else I should mention is she said her set up is 1/2 bed a beast and 1/2 crushed walnuts...I am thinking this is not good. The bed a beast is probably what I will stick to, any opinions on this will be appreciated as well.
Info on diets too would help me as I have read the care sheets but I always like as much info as I can get. For instance-can they eat sweat potatoes raw? How big of chunks do I give? and what about fruit. I have no Idea yet the age of this Uro. From my understanding it it one she hatched out but is an adult. I will post a picture when I actually get her.
Thanks again for any help.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Uromastyx!

Read back into this forum there has been alot of discussion about substrates and which one is best. Caution this is a hot topic!!! Beware, there are several different schools of thought. Use the one that best suits you and your new friends needs and budget. Personally I have found this topics posts to be very informative and entertaining.

As for the deposits, they are salt. The deposits are a result of the the lizard metabolizing H2O from its food. Don't be alarmed unless they are not white or creamy colored. The Uro will normally or rub them off on its own. If they look like they are inhibiting breathing you can assist with a finger nail or a damp(not wet!!)q-tip.

Good Luck and Happy Herping!
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BigMac
1 Mali Uro - Tank
1 Leo - Doobie
1 Chacoan Monkey Frog - Pilar
1 Corn Snake - Muka

I appreciate it. Actually I have been reading and I am really interested in this dirt mix of Robyns. I can't seem to find her original post on it though. Is it just soil, sand, and vermiculite?
Isn't substrates always the area of confusion. And this is why I never go with the "books" eveyone says to get a book on how to care for a specific animal but although a lot of the info might be correct it doesn't mean it's ALL right. I often see the information changing, for all animals not just Lizards.
Ok..now I am getting to in depth here.
My point was Thank you and I appreciate the welcome. If you happen to know the link to Robyns original post for the dirt mix I would very much appreciate that.
Thank you again.
Tammy

!!!
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Torey
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
1.1 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser and Leeloo)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

Hello and welcome!

The dirt mix Robyn has spoken about is 50% topsoil 25% sand 25% vermiculite.This, or just dirt from outside is what people are using for the "soil" substrates.It's important if mixing it yourself to not let the garden center person talk you into a pre-mix potting soil as they have all kinds of stuff in em we don't need, and might harm our little buddies.This, or playsand, or millet seem to be the most common and successful substrates people are using.

As for diet you want a good mix of leafy greens and bulk veggies that are high in calcium.A calcium to phosphorous ratio of 2:1 is ideal.Melissa Kaplan (anapsid.org) actually has some great info on diets, i use her "Iguana Salad" mix as it has the right ratios and is high in leafy greens.Iguanas have more info out there on them at the moment, but the "salad" tranfers over great as they are both vegetarian basking-type lizards with mostly the same dietary needs.The only difference being most also offer their Uros a "dry mix" of millet or finch bird seed with lentils, and split peas as an all the time supplement to the greens.The Uros seem to love it.
Try to limit any insects if given at all, to one or two a week max, they don't need excessive amounts of insect or animal protein.

Lotsa great info can be found here, just gotta sift through it and take what you can use.As with anything there will be some false or misinformed inf, but having kept other lizards and keeping in mind the different needs of a desert, basking lizard like a Uro you can probably figure out what seems right.

Keep asking questions and keep researching!

Spanky

Thank you very much. You info was most helpful. The only one question for me is, Do they eat the lentil beans and such raw/hard, not cooked? I guess if it was to be cooked I would have read that but I must ask to be certain.
I am to get her Monday night. I talked to the owner last night and she thinks she may be pregnant. She had her in with a smaller male and she killed the male, now appears she is really fat. This is getting more and more interesting. I can't wait to get her and see what is really going on here.

As far as dirt-I live in Alaska so it will definatly be coming from a nursery, but I do know about buying "pure" dirt as I use a simular mixture in my Leo's shedding box. Thank you for proving all that information though.
I used the Leo forum lots and even provided my opinions at times. I remember how scary it was when I got my first Leo. I am a lot more relaxed getting this Uro (even though I think there may be problems with her).
I did finally come across some posts explaining the build up on the nose, that was a relief. I like asking questions here, but she will be seeing a good vet as soon as possible.
Thank again. I appreciate all the responses.

No problem, and good to hear you're getting close and getting ready for her.
Yeah that buildup is just excess salts they release from their food.Iguanas get the same thing, it's nothing to worry about unless it impairs their breathing as was mentioned.They usually just rub it off or it falls off on it's own.
Lentils just feed raw, i was kinda skeptical about this at first myself until i saw my little guy crunching away like they were nothing.
My pleasure to help out if i can.

Spanky