Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anybody know of anyone who is using floor tile as a substrate for their uro's?

I use it as a substrate for my leo geck and maybe my bearded dragon. I just want to know if it is safe for uro's or no.
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It might be ok for leopard geckos since they make homes in rocky crevices, but uros are natural diggers that love to make burrows. By giving them a substrate that is not conducive to digging, you risk stressing out the animal.

Just my opinion though.

Hope this helps
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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra and Isis)

There was someone on an email list that used to use floor tiles. She liked them a lot, but stopped using them when her vet suggested they weren't the best choice (I don't know the reason, though). Where her uros liked to poo, she put that tile glazed side up so it was easy to clean.

Malis are the big diggers, so it's probably not a happy choice for them. Saharans don't dig much - they do more wedging into already existing crevices. They would be happier than Malis in such a setup, I would think, though I'm in no way an expert!

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Torey
Salem, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
1.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank and Turtle)
1.1 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser and Leeloo)
1.1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

Aside form the digging issue, you'd have to very certain that the glaze on the tiles are free of lead. Long term exposure to items that contain even low amounts of lead, can lead to sickness and possibly be fatal. Unfortunately, I had this happen, and though it wasn't tiles, it was the lead levels from items in the tank.
-Jim
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2.1 - Rocky, Runako, and RoxyIII (my care sheets)

I'm pretty certain that there is no lead in the tiles that I am using. If there was lead in them then I'm sure my family and I would all be dead by now.

But I'll take a look at the box to check and make sure there is no lead in the tile glaze, if there is then I need to take the tiles out of 2 cages (my bearded and leo gecko's cages both have tile in them.)

Thanks for the Info.
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Yikes! Good to know. Maybe that was why her vet suggested she not use them.

I'm so sorry that happened. Thanks for sharing with us so we don't suffer the same sadness.
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Torey
Salem, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
1.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank and Turtle)
1.1 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser and Leeloo)
1.1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

>>Does anybody know of anyone who is using floor tile as a substrate for their uro's?
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>>I use it as a substrate for my leo geck and maybe my bearded dragon. I just want to know if it is safe for uro's or no.
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I use a combination of ceramic tile, quarry tile, and sealed tile grout as my substrate. It has worked great for me and has been very easy to maintain. Just wait for the feces to dry up for an hour or two, pick it up and a quick wipe with a damp paper towel and all is as good as new. Once a week I take a small handheld vac to the enclosure to get the small dried bits of food and other things out. Once a month I pull all the cage furniture and give the whole thing a good vacuum and wipe down.

If you are using commercial tile then you really don't need to worry about lead (you can call the manufacturer and ask if they are safe for food prep surfaces). The quarry tiles are unglazed and the ceramics I use have a matte glaze on them which makes them waterproof but they are not shiny or slick. I would stay away from hand produced decorative tiles as you don't know what they used to glaze it with.

Note that I have a Saharan who is not interested at all in digging or burrowing so not having a traditional loose substrate work great for me.

The last benefit I see is that the entire floor is now a basking platforn as the ceramic holds heat well and the basking temps taper off nicely as you get away from the lamps allowing my Uro to choose the precise basking temp he wants.

Not that ceramic is a great choice for every Uro but I think it ranks right up there with the other non-loose substrates (paper, shelf liner, sealed wood) and is more attractive. It definately meets my two criteria for substrates which are being non-toxic and safe to digest in small quantities or in this case impossible to even eat

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Mike Wilson
mwilson@fuu.net

See the last that I knew about lead was that it wasn't allowed in paints or anything else anymore because of its harmful side effects. So I'm pretty sure there's no lead in the tiles in my leo or bearded's tank.

Unfortunately both saharan's like to dig (but only if they don't have a hide in with them). See they'll just go under their hide and sleep or chill out for awhile. But I take it out on the days I'm gone to school so I know they would have been in some sort of heat for that day.

Like my mali Ares, he will sleep away the day in his hide if he can, but I don't let him. I'll take him out give him a couple kisses and put him under the basking light and take out the cave so he won't be able to hide and not get warm.

Thanks for all the input everyone!
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>>Unfortunately both saharan's like to dig (but only if they don't have a hide in with them). See they'll just go under their hide and sleep or chill out for awhile. But I take it out on the days I'm gone to school so I know they would have been in some sort of heat for that day.
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>>Like my mali Ares, he will sleep away the day in his hide if he can, but I don't let him. I'll take him out give him a couple kisses and put him under the basking light and take out the cave so he won't be able to hide and not get warm.
>>

Hmmm... something seems wrong here. Now all of this is just my personal opinion but Uros should always have a hide available to them (actually in my opinion Uros should have 3 or more quality hides available at all times).

I can understand a saharan digging if no hide is available as they are trying to make one. Saharans are flighty by nature and can stress quite easily and need good hides to go into to feel safe. A cage with absolutely no place to hide would be kind of cruel in my opinion.

Hides should be barely big enough to fit your Uro. They want to squeeze into a very tight space so they feel that nothing can get at them. Big chunks of cork bark, half coconuts, and large hollow logs qualify as shady spots but not as a secure hide.

If you put a good hide or two in and a Uro does not come out then there is probably something else wrong that is stressing them out.

Not trying to put down your husbandry methods here, just hopefully giving you some info to think about as we are all still learning.
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Mike Wilson
mwilson@fuu.net

Tight hides, yeah about that, one day while my brother and I were at school, apollo decided to wedge himself in between a rock and the terrarium wall, well he got stuck a little. He decided not to go in between things for a time after that.

I'll try to find some tight hides for the animals. I have this cave in there now:
the thing is, Ares is, how can I put this nicely, he's a fatty. He loves eating so he is growing more wide then long so he can get through the opening pretty easily, maybe in about a month or two he might be too wide for it. He's fat (in my opinion) so.....

If you look at my sig, he's the one in the middle left hand side, he's on my hand.
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Like Mike said, tho, HIS Saharan does not dig. Mine do. So, please be aware that just because you have a Saharan, it may not have all the typical traits... you have to look at each individual's preferences when choosing substrate... or anything else!

Cheers,
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)

I know that all animals as well as people have different traits/personalities.

I could very well put them on tile as long as I have their log hide in there with them. As long as both have something to hide under, they don't dig.

Thanks for the tip though
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Triad,

I was trying to figure out the best way to put this, and I think Mike did it well. The root of the problems still exist, that you really should not need to remove the Uro and place it under the heat. In my experience with them, this usually means that the ambient temperature is too cold, or that you are forcing them to choose between heat and safety (ie, their hide). This is a choice that should never have to be made by the Uros. What are the temps in your cages?

Archie, my uro, used to sleep for days at a time. I always wondered if he were dead so I would pick up his hide, and poke at him to see if he were still alive. It turned out the reason for the extensive sleeping was lack of temperature, and lack of hide space. He also started getting a bit fidgetty as soon as I put my hand in the tank. Once I raised the temps, he and I came to an agreement that I would never bother him when he was in his hides (emergencies aside), he has since become much more "playful" and I know that he is open to interaction if he is out in the open. He will even climb onto my hand if he really wants some exercise.

Just like it is important for you to have a safe place to somewhat call your own, it is also very important for the Uros. If you think about it, the only thing they can control is whether they are in their hide or not!

I was also curious regarding your thoughts on using a birdseed mix with sunflower seeds as a substrate? I had read that they should be "de-husked" before being given to Uros do to the nature of the shell?

Keeping Uros definitely is a learning process, and one I am still going through, but I hope that you give some thought to the potential reasons your "kids" are acting the way they do. and Keep on sharing with us your experiences so that we can learn too!

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

The sun flower seeds were taken out on the 12th of this month ( I took the picture the day after I got Iris and later that day I took her out for a check up so I could see if she had any marks on her I didn't see the first time and thats when I had my mom take the sunflower seeds out of the enslcosure and replace them with bird food that didn't have the sun flower seeds in them).

See Ares is really really lazy. But if HE wants to bask he will go out on his own and do that. I came home yesterday from doing stuff in town and found him basking with Apollo. Sometimes he just won't come out, and that's when I think something is wrong. So I pick him up and check him all over in case they got into a fight or something and he's usually fine (with the exception of last week, on friday he scraped his toe on a rock in the enclosure, its now safe to say that rock won't but hurting anyone in the garbage can). Then I'll set him down in the middle of the bask and he'll stay for about 20 seconds, then he runs around the cage one time and comes back to the bask and sits. If he does decide to bask I leave the hide in there for Apollo and him.

It's just sometimes I wonder like you wondered and just check to see if he's alive. When he first gets up, I usually pick him up and hold him, that way he can get warm fast while there regular basking light is heating up. He sleeps in the cave all the time and I think the temp in his cave is about 85 degrees, the temp in the cool area ranges from 85-89 and their bask temp is 120.

Your temps are similar to where I keep mine, I do not know if the saharans need slightly higher temps or not.

Like I relayed in my email, I completely understand wanting the best for the lizards. They are just such awesome and loved pets.

And good job with the sunflower seeds. lol.

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

Thanks. I took the sun flower seeds out, took the outer shell off and took the insides and gave them to our parrots (they are such suckers for sun flower seeds lol).

But yeah I just want the best for my "babies". I try and spend equal time with all my animals and my brother's animal's.

Me and my mom are the two people who take care of the animals primarily so it is hard work.

Having to take care of them, going to school, doing chores and studying its hard but I manage somehow. I'm just thankul that I have enough time to play with them all.
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