Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I brought my Mali Uro home on Monday night and he ate greens right out of my hand. He hasn't eaten greens since then, but his substrate is rabbit pellets. Could he be eating that all day? He was also in the same spot last night as where I left him in the morning and he stayed there all night. Could something be wrong?

This is my first Uromastyx, but I've done my research. *shrug*

Congratulations on your new purchase!

It is possible he is eating the rabbit pellets, but there copuld be other things going on too. What is the ambient temperatures in your tank (cool and hot sides), what is the basking spot temperature? Does he have a hide? Is there a lot of traffic near his tank? The answers to these sorts of questions can be very helpful when people are trying to answer your question.

This discussion board is a great resource for new owners and more experienced people alike. Welcome!

Elizabeth

He has a heat spot at one end that gets up to at least 120 F (my thermometer wouldn't go any higher) and then the other end stays around 80-85 F. He has a hide in both locations as well as a higher basking area unders his heat spot. He has been under his cool hide for a whole day, as far as I can tell. He could be coming out during the day, but then he's gone back to the exact same spot and in the same position. There is little to no traffic by his habitat, only when I'm up there, which is maybe 30 mins out of the whole day.

Thanks for your help!

So far this sounds pretty normal for acclimation, many time it can take several weeks before new uros will start feeling comfortable in their new homes and start eating. Also try increasing the temperature on the cool side a little, every uro is different and its possible that your new one likes it hotter in order to get up for the day. I know mine won't come out unless its about 90 on the cool side
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1 mali uro - oni
2 bearded dragons- Trogdor "the burninator",Strom

Thanks guys. I think Scooter is starting to settle in. My boyfriend said he ate something when he was home for lunch. He was out when I got home, but he ran and hid. Will he get more friendly?

Its hard to tell if they will become more friendly, the only advice i would have is to let him settle in first then, if you want to get him used to handling, do it every day for short periods and he should start to feel more comfortable being held,
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1 mali uro - oni
2 bearded dragons- Trogdor "the burninator",Strom