Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a tank that was said to be 60 gallon. I measured it and it is 3 feet by 1.5 feet. That sounds like a 40 gallon. Will this tank Suit an adult mali uromastyx?

Definitely not large enough for an adult mali. Not for any adult uro, IMHO.
-----
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)
0.0.1 Apple Snail
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

40G's isn't large enough? Boy, are 90% of these forum visitors going to be pissed.

Can there be any more conflicting stories on this site? Sand is good, sand is bad. Dirt is fine, dirt is no good, 40G is fine, 40G is bad.

Make up your mind people! Meanwhile, try to keep confusing the new owners to a minimum.

>>Definitely not large enough for an adult mali. Not for any adult uro, IMHO.

I think the feeling is that the tank in question is NOT a 40 gallon...I know I have a 40 gallon long tank and it's 48" long..36" is much shorter than any 40 gallon I've ever heard of; sounds more like a 30 gallon to me...

SR

Shelley

What you probably have is a standard aquarium. Most standard aquariums are 12" in width until you hit 75 gallon and larger at which point they usually jump to 18" or more in width.

Mark mentioned that his enclosure is 36 x 18- this leads me to believe that it may be a breeder aquarium which tends to be a little wider and a little lower in height than standard aquariums. Most breeders will tend to be 36 x 18 and the height will be the only dimension that varies between the 30, 40, 50 and 60 breeder. In other words- the floor space is the same in a 30 breeder as it is in a 50 breeder but heating and uv lighting may be accomplished easier in the 30 due to the lower height.
I am sure that there might be some exceptions to this between manufacturers but I believe this to be true for the most part.

Is it better to have 48 x12 or 36 x 18? I don’t know if you can say for sure that one is right and one is wrong. If I had my way- we would all have 6’ enclosures.

I keep my mali in one of those 40 gallon breeder critter cages.Its 36x18x16.

If everyone agreed on everthing I would quit visiting the forum.
MM

Some people may feel a 40g is large enough for an adult uro. I disagree - especially for an adult Mali. The tank size should be at least four times the lizard's length long, by two times the lizard's length wide. Height is less important for uros since they are terrestrial. They like to run around a LOT, so the more space the better. These dimensions are the generally accepted minimums for any lizard species, as noted specifically on Melissa Kaplan's site: www.anapsid.org which is a very well respected site.

However, my opinion is just that. An opinion. It's fine with me if people think my head is proctologically submerged.
-----
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)
0.0.1 Apple Snail
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

Proctogically submerged! That's an original one. I know some co-workers who suffer from that very ailment.

I agree that the more space the better. In a perfect world we would all have 50'x50' reptile rooms that accurately simulate the reptile's 'real' habitat.

Realistically, a 40G Breeder seems to be the enclosure of choice. It's not right in front of me, but I believe a 40 is 48"x18"x18". The OP's topic does seem like it's a 30G, which probably isn't enough space.

Unless I'm way off, Mali's aren't anywhere as big as, say Egyptians. What's the max size for a Mali? I've read conflicting reports (surprise!), and saw some fairly small ones (1') at the local herp show. The breeder woman said they were adults...

Doug Dix had one of his adult male Mali breeders at a show (not for sale, obviously) and he must have been a full 16". He was quite gorgeous - very black and vibrant yellow. I don't think females get quite as large. My two are about 2-1/2 years old (supposedly) and are about 12" and 9" - I've only had the Malis a few months. They didn't have UVB with the former owner, so I suspect they would be larger if they could grow proper bones.
-----
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)
0.0.1 Apple Snail
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

smallfry,

I cannot say with certainty what the ¡¥max¡¦ size for a mali is as I haven't seen them all but I can tell you that I have one male mali that is 15 1/2 " and another that is a hair short of 15. Both are over 400 grams. (The most recent one came to me at 523 grams but he is now on a diet.) ƒº
They are certainly not one of your smallest species.

a 40 gallon breeder is 36"x18"x16", a 40 gallon long is 48"x13"x16", a standard 30 gallon is 36"x12"x16", and a 30 gallon breeder is 36"x18"x12". These are according to all of the aquarium manufactures I checked when I got my bearded dragon a year and a half ago (stuff like that sticks in my head for a while). A tank of 48"x18"x18" is sometimes referred to as a 60 gallon long, and is usually only available special order or from specialty tank makers. A 75 gallon is 48"x18"x20", and that is much more widely available. A 90 gallon is the same but about 4" taller, and then you start getting into the 6' long tanks, the 4'x2' tanks, and in some cases 8' tanks and extra tall tanks. Generally fish tanks aren't good for reptiles because the type of ventilation used doesn't hold in heat well and I don't feel comfortable closing off all of the screen lid because I don't want my uro to be breathing in old air (which can contain harmful pathogens apparently). That's why I find it's best to build (or get custom built) cages with side mounted vents because the ventilation is better without needing to have more than just a small vent, which allows them to hold the hot air in better, and humidity if needed. Glass tanks can be used well for up to about 40 gallon or 75 gallon setups though, but after that they cost about the same as buying custom cages, and a lot more then just building some. Plus, reptiles don't like having more than one side of their tank glass. They actually would much prefer there be no glass viewing panels at all, but as owners we like to keep tabs on our reptiles, and a lot of times a cage can be nicely furnished and become very interesting to look at even when the lizard is hiding (which for uros is sometimes a good part of the day, since they are burrowers by nature).

Sorry about all that...I have a lot of thoughts going through my head right now about reptiles and caging, since I'm going to try my best to either build or buy some nice cages by the end of summer. As for average size of an adult uromastyx, it's generally about 11-14", though as others here have shown, it can vary.

Ryan,

You lost me.

Whose tank sizes are wrong?

smallfry....he had the wrong size for a 40 gallon listed, but then I went back through and found that you had already cleared up the "breeder" thing.

ryan

This one is a 40 gallon breeder tank. Ra will be getting a new, bigger one soon.

Hope this helps

-----
1 Mali Uromastyx named Ra

To all those involved with this discussion,
To obtain the most accurate information on what size of enclosure you have can be somewhat confusing. When selecting an enclosure, most of us go by the amount of gallons a given enclosure is ESTIMATED at. I stress the word estimated because that is what is listed. For example, applying the formula for Volume, which is listed as Volume equals Length x width x height. V=LxWxH. Given that most 40 gallon breeders are listed as 36"x18"x16", and applying the formula listed above gives us a total of 10,368 cubic inches. The National Buruea of Standards has established that 1 gallon is equal to 231 cubic inches. We then divide 10,368 cubic inches by 231 cubic inches. The result, rounded down is 44.8831 gallons. In essence, for those of us with a 40 gallon breeder, with the listed dimensions above, are in fact in possession of a 44 gallon tank.
I just wanted to site this, as it just goes to show that truth in advertising, isn't what its all cracked up to be.

Good day,

Carson Grindstaff

And to add to Mr Grindstaff’s words of wisdom- gallon size alone will mean diddly squat without the measurements.

30 gallon breeder = 36x18x12 (648 sq in fl space)
30 gallon long = 48X12X13 (576 sq in fl space)
30 gallon standard = 36x12x16 (432 sq in fl space)
30 gallon XHigh = 24x12x24 (288 sq in fl space)

All four are 30 gallon aquarium sizes but note the significant difference in the floor space between the 30 breeder and the 30XH. Keep this in mind when basing recommendations on whether an enclosure is large enough when using ‘gallon’ size alone.
Gallon size comparison is terrific if you are talking fish but not so terrific when talking reptiles.
This was the point of my last post but I do not believe that I made the point very clear.

>>Proctogically submerged! That's an original one.

I must admit, it's not that original. I stole it from a friend of mine.
-----
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)
0.0.1 Apple Snail
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)