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I just picked up an eight month(ish) mali who is in mid-shed. I was told by the pet store attendant to soak him for 15 min each day to help loosen the dead skin. In the same breath she also informed me that Uromastyx are nocturnal and do not require UV-B lighting. As I am now taking everything she has told me with a 15kg bag of salt, is it valid to soak to help with shedding?

Actually it can. Though obviously ignore everything else she told you, lol. There is some debate over how much to soak Uros, I rarely soak mine, but I would stick with once a week unless the shed is causing a problem, or the Uro is dehydrated. Some people will add a little oil to the water to additionally aid the shedding process, though I have not tried this.

That is my thoughts on it, hopefully to be taken with less than 15kg of salt, but a miniscule amount rarely hurts.

Elizabeth
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1.0 Uro Archimedes
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine
0.1 Feline Winter
Indiana & Wisconsin

Wow, looks like you talked to a lady with no actual experience raising mali's other then at work. Soaking can help with shedding, do so only 1 time a week unless they are dehydrated.

Uhm, I just can't believe she is that misinformed, nocturnal means they are active at night, so then they WOULD need a UV-B bulb, but since she doesn't know her head from a whole in the ground I'm gonna tell you what needs to be done. They need a heat source at night, a Infra-red bulb or "black" bulb from a petstore like
Will work. Here's a link to Petco.com (don't mean to plug but this is were I buy all my supplies). Mali's are active during the day. I have 2 mali's and 2 saharan uromastyx and all are active during the day. The only thing I have that's semi-nocturnal is my leopard gecko. This is a list of my experience with raising my mali's. I've had them for 2 years now and they are perfectly healthy. I hope this helps you out more then that lady did.

Posted by: grundor at Wed Sep 8 13:01:37 2004 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

I just picked up an eight month(ish) mali who is in mid-shed. I was told by the pet store attendant to soak him for 15 min each day to help loosen the dead skin. In the same breath she also informed me that Uromastyx are nocturnal and do not require UV-B lighting. As I am now taking everything she has told me with a 15kg bag of salt, is it valid to soak to help with shedding?
Petco.com

Hi! Congrats on your new pet!

Please read the caresheet found at www.deerfernfarms.com
I believe this is one of the best caresheets available. Also, try http://www.kingsnake.com/uromastyx/index.html, which also has some excellent uro info!

Uros are definitely diurnal (not nocturnal) so they need UV lighting during the day, which can be achieved with a specialized flourescent bulb, such as the Reptisun 5.0. They don't usually need heat at night at all, unless their temperature will be dropping to a REALLY cold extreme. They are used to a temp drop at night in the wild and it is good for them.

Hope this helps,
Nicki
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Nicki
I care for 4 Uromastyx, 1 Girdled Lizard, 5 Snakes, 2 Toads, Mice, and I help with about 50 newts and salamanders
Member of OARA (Ottawa Amphibian and Reptile Association)