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Need some advice...what to do with a uro not wanting to brumate?

sunfox Dec 10, 2004 01:23 PM

I need to know what to do about Isis. I'm going to turn the lights down to the 4-hour mark (the final lighting adjustment for brumation) this Sunday, as per Doug Dix's caresheet for uro brumation, but Isis doesn't seem to want to brumate. Ra has been absolutely no problem, he did his "business" one last time (it was a fraction of the volume he normally passes at one time) and hasn't eaten anything for about 3 weeks now. He has slowed right now and has made himself comfortable in his burrow to sleep the winter away. Isis, on the other hand, has not slowed down very much at all and still wants to eat. Today, I caught her trying to eat the fake leaves off a log toy, she has never done this before. I gave her a good soak today to help ward off potential dehydration. Will she eventually slow down and brumate like Ra or can she refuse to brumate and force me to place her in a separate tank until Spring?
What should I do?

Thanks for the help, all

Here's a pic of Isis after her bath (I dried her off with the blowdryer, she loves it ). Her colours are phenomenal (the pic doesn't do her justice), you can even see the green stripes she has along with the yellow.

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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra and Isis)

Replies (4)

el_toro Dec 11, 2004 01:00 PM

As I said before, this is the first year I'm brumating the uros, so I can only tell you what I've read. On the uro care page here on Kingsnake, there's a section on brumation and breeding. Ron Winkler's section says:

"Note: If Uro's try to bask even long after the lights are off
(for instance lights on for 3 hours a day, Uro stays out one or two
hours after that) or they see a significant loss of weight it is best
not to continue with brumation."

I've just had to shift my schedule for the Saharans, too, since they aren't acting like they want to sleep. They're eating the food I offer, too. So I'm going to trust their instincts and not force them, even though I would love to have some eggs this summer!
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
2.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and new neighbor Spike)
1.2 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)
And several miscellaneous community fish

Herperboy Dec 11, 2004 01:39 PM

You could just leave her on a normal cycle. I did it last year and it wasnt a problem, so if she really doesnt want to do it then just leave her on a normal cycle and continue to feed her.

knowzilla Dec 11, 2004 11:10 PM

What is the temp of your warm side? Just as the care sheet says I lowered my temps on my warm side to 80F for two hours, while the UV light is on for 4 hours. So far my pair of Mali's have been asleep since Nov 294 with no problems (the male only stayed up for one more day), and I will start to bring them out of their burmation on Jan 105. If you have any other questions let me know.
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2.1.5 Bearded Dragon (Ember,Sunshine,Misspiggy,Spyro,Inferno,Cinder,Peaches, Moshu)
2.1 Leopard Geckos
(Patternless,Blizzard,Hypo Tangerine)
0.1 Bibron Geck
1 Austrailian Shepard (Griz)
3 Cats (Twilight,Hadies,Pietree)
1 Ferret (Nibbles)

gexy Dec 14, 2004 07:20 AM

You mentioned you shortened the daylight/basking hours. Did you also lower the over all enclosure temps? I have a pair of uro geyri in brumation right now. Like your one mali my male took longer to begin brumation(about a week longer). Finally he stopped coming out when I no longer turned the basking light on at all. This past week I turned the undertank heater right off. The temps in the enclosure are 70. this week I will bring the temp down to between 55 -60
Last season I had 15 healthy babies from this pair after the brumation period. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for this season!

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