Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I just got a 8 month old Mali Uro 3 days ago. I'm not really concerned about his eating because I saw it eat 3 meal worms and a bit of "Spring mix Lettuce." How much do they eat a day on average? I also have a "Zoo-Med Ceramic heat emitter." I wanted to know how much in a day to leave it on. 24/7? Do I leave it on at night? Do I need a thermostat?
Do I need an undertank heater for it or anything to add to the heat emitter bulb?
Also, I wanted to know if there was any way of telling if my mali is a male or female. It is only 8 months old.
Any advice you can give me would be a HUGE help.
Thank You,
Mark

A couple of things. I've researched, and the spring mix lettuce is OK to feed some of the time, but you need to throw in things like kale or collard/mustard greens in there as well. Most of the spring mix lettuce stuff is pure water, and since your mali will most likely not drink water, he needs to get his water from his food.

Secondly, I wouldn't feed him very many worms/crickets. My uro was on a pure cricket diet before I adopted him, and too much protein (or fat, in the case of worms) can be very detrimental to a uro's diet. An overabundance of protein can give him gout. I read that typically you should feed your uro crickets or worms at maximum once a month. I don't feed mine crickets at all; I opt for frozen beans, thawed out and cut. This gives him water and tad of protein.

Also, are you using calcium dust on his food, or giving him another way to get the calcium he needs?

You might want to check out www.deerfernfarms.com for the care sheet listed there. There's tons of good, valuable information on everything from feeding to housing to heating. Chances are your little one is too young to sex at this age - maybe an expert could tell, but we probably can't tell you here.

Please note also that heat is not everything. Proper temperature gradients are critical, but light (type and quality) are just as critical to your uro's health and well-being. For example, if your critter doesn't get appropriate UVB exposure, he will not be able to properly absorb the calcium from his diet, leading to severe health problems and eventual death.

Research is the key - read a few good care sheets (there's some here on the Kingsnake site, too!). If you have more questions after that, please feel free to ask. There's lots of good, helpful, knowledgable folk around here!

Congrats on your new uro!
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Torey
Salem, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
1.1 Uromastyx Maliensis (Tank and Turtle)
1.1 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser and Leeloo)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.0 Sunset Dwarf Gourami (Sideshow)
0.0.1 False Spotted Corydoras (Spot)
0.0.2 Metae Corydoras (Frank and Jesse)
0.0.2 Dwarf Sucking Oto (Tootsie and Dum-Dum)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

congrats on your new uro! just one thing i'd like to mention concerning the under-tank heater. if you do decide to use one, be sure to place a repti-carpet on the bottom of the tank, especially if you have a light substrate such as millet seed, sand, etc. as they can burrow to the bottom of the tank and get severely burned on the HOT glass! be sure to place the heat pad towards the hot side of the tank, this will allow the cool side to stay cool. if used correctly this could be a great tool to keep your uro happy. i keep mine on 24/7 and my mali loves it! again good luck and if there is something you are not certain of please ask. as posted befor there are lots of helpful and knowledgable people on this forum!

What If I just put repti carpet between the glass and the pad instead...... I have a 60 gallon tank and I really don't feel like emptying it unless i ABSOLUTLY have to.
Thanks
Mark