Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I haven't seen this touched in the dirt conversations but what kind of temps should the burroughs be around? I have set up a 30 gal rubbermaid tub with the dirt/sand/verm mix and have it all set up like I would my uro cage. I dug out a burrough the best I could and it has temps around 67 degrees. I have a large undertank heater I was going to use when I set up the actual tank so I assume that temp would go up due to that but my actual question is what should thier temps be under ground? Does anybody really know or are we still just learning that? Thanks in advance to any responses.

this actually has been addressed in some of the posts, you just gotta catch it in the middle of all the other mumbo jumbo

generally your dirt will hover around room temperature, unless you apply a heating source to it.

you should see a temperature gradient in the soil around your basking area, and we also set up heat tape on the outside of the metal troughs to heat the soil from one side as well. this provides a nice temp gradient of high 90's back down to room temp, as you move away from the heat tape.

the animals will dig their burrows at the temp they want/need. of course, if all of it is 67F, then it may be too cold, and not useful for them, therefore they won't bother to dig in it.

it is amazing that the animals can burrow to the exact temp they need, whether it be for egg laying or just a hidespot. we consistently find monitor eggs buried within 1 degree of what the incubation temp should/will be...
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Thanks! I thumbed through most of the posts but there was a lot of talk I must have missed it. I'll have to play with the heat tape on the enclosure and check the temps. I was going to play with it for a few more weeks to check moisture and temps before I set up thier actually tank. Thanks again.
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1.1 Ornates (Lindsay Pike)
0.0.1 Mali

This is a site where there's been someone actually researching ornate and egyptian uros in the wild. Worth looking into! Here's the main link:

http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/runningbrook/729/index.htm

And this is a VERY interesting page:

http://www.kingsnake.com/uromastyx/caresheets/Osnat.html

Here's the data I think you're looking for:

In order to improve the quality of the Uro live we give here
the ground temp that measure once per month, minimum & maximum,
at the depth of 107 cm.
• Depth of liveing burrow of Uro aegyptus is 80 - 160 cm
• Depth of incubation chamber is between 80 - 110 cm.
• We will do it at least for a year.
• The measurement are in Celsius / Fahrenheit

• Ask by e-mail for one year measurement once per week.

Month of max - 107 cm min - 107 cm
August 2000 35.0 / 95.00 34.1 / 93.38
September 34.2 / 93.56 33.6 / 92.48
October 32.8 / 91.04 29.3 / 84.74
November 29.3 / 84.74 26.2 / 79.16
December 26.3 / 79.34 22.2 / 71.96
January 2001 22.3 / 72.14 20.7 / 69.30
Februaty 21.2 / 70.16 20.7 / 69.30
March 25.4 / 77.72 21.1 / 70.00
April 27.4 / 81.32 25.3 / 77.54
May 31.0 / 87.80 27.2 / 80.96
June 33.0 / 91.40 30.8 / 87.44
July 34.8 / 94.64 32.8 / 91.04
August 35.1 / 95.18 34.5 / 94.10
September 34.5 / 94.10 32.8 / 91.04
October 32.9 / 91.22 29.9 / 85.82
November 30.0 / 86.00 26.0 / 78.80
December 26.2 / 79.16 22.7 / 72.86
January 2002 22.9 / 73.22 20.7 / 69.26

Hope this helps!
Nicki