Ryu's (U. Geryi) new 4x2x2 enclosure is completed and the pictures of the construction are at the URL below.
Some observations on the enclosure after having Ryu in it for a week or so.
I provided a large tub of diggable substrate (topsoil/sand/vermiculite mixture) as well as lots of vertical climbable surfaces. He does not seem that interested in the soil mix other than to lick at it slightly, no burrowing as of yet. On the other hand all of the vertical climbing surfaces and nooks in the rocks are being used all of the time. This makes sense to me as most of the literature on the saharan uros seems to point toward them being climbers and live in the crevices of rocks.
Since moving him out of his temporary 20 gal tank he has been climbing like mad on all of the surfaces and using his tail in a prehensile manner to hang from branches and the rock ledges. I plan on leaving the dirt substrate in for a month or two to see if any changes occur but at this point he is much more interested in climbing than digging.
The only other note is that for the first few days he did not seem as active as before. I chalked that up to stress from moving enclosures. But after a couple more days I decided to add more light and see what that would do. Adding 2 more 4 foot flourescent tubes with an electronic ballast seemed to do the trick. He is now a bright brilliant orange and his activity and feeding is much better. I have to say that not only is temperature a major factor in his behaviour and health but also the amount of light. It almost seems like overkill the amount of light I have on him (4 4 foot flourescent tubes, 1 90W halogen ,and 1 160W MVB) but the results are spectacular.
Of course his enclosure now glows like the surface of the sun 
but as long as he is happy.
