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Tank Setup Pictures, What Do You Think?

Johnstud56 Dec 15, 2004 09:25 PM

Yes thats an old mailbox we had...lol! I thought it would make an interesting hide for my High Red Nigers that are coming in next week, the container of beemoths was set on the rock to simulate about how high the lizard sets, at that point it read 123 degrees, which sounds pretty good to me, and the average temp of the warm side was around 105 degrees with both basking lights the cool side was around 85 degrees... what do you guys think? Am I ready?? hehe!

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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Pyro/Sandfire/Orange Cross)
0.1.0 High Yellow Leopard Gecko
0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko
1.0.0 Choclate/Tan Dapple Miniature Dachshund
1.0.0 Isabella Miniature Dachshund
0.1.0 Red/White Piebald Miniature Dachshund

Aol Instant Messanger - Bdubedub

Replies (6)

Johnstud56 Dec 15, 2004 09:27 PM

Also I will be adding plants, cactus... I think I will put like Euro-Motel or something on the mailbox...hehe! And put some desert fake plants around the outside, and then the tank background of a desert on the back and sides.

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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Pyro/Sandfire/Orange Cross)
0.1.0 High Yellow Leopard Gecko
0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko
1.0.0 Choclate/Tan Dapple Miniature Dachshund
1.0.0 Isabella Miniature Dachshund
0.1.0 Red/White Piebald Miniature Dachshund

Aol Instant Messanger - Bdubedub

el_toro Dec 16, 2004 01:42 AM

The main thing I would recommend (besides the substrate you said you have already) is tight hides. The mailbox is fun, but it's more of a cave than a hide. For mental health and adjustment, your new kids need to feel safe and secure which requires tight hides. You can make them by gluing tiles or rocks together (or wood, or bricks, or whatever) so they're little platform/caves with about 2" of space to crawl into. The human equivalent would be crawling under the bed. Best thing would be to have multiple tight hides for each uro, both warm side and cool.

You have pretty new babies! Please post lots of pictures!
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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

TSparks Dec 16, 2004 05:30 AM

The mail box looks plastic so you should be able to trim it down to the right height.You might want to make it a little easier for them to get to the basking spot.It looks a little high.

purduecg Dec 16, 2004 10:43 AM

I would be particularly concerned with the hides and the basking spot. Not all Uros are very good climbers (I cannot put anything very tall in my mali's tank because he has a tendency to fall off of things). It is SOOOooo important that they can get to their basking spot easily that you may want to reconsider that arrangement.
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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine
0.1 Feline Winter
Indiana & Wisconsin

canadianherper04 Dec 16, 2004 10:47 AM

I didn't see a UVB light in either of the posts. Everyone has their own ideas about UVB. I have always used an 8.0 UVB for my Mali...better safe then sorry.
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My Site

mwilso1 Dec 16, 2004 11:11 AM

First of all good for you testing your setup before putting any creatures in there.

You do have some more things to think about and get tweaked before putting any uros in there.

Here are my thoughts on what to look at (not the only way to do things just what I would do)...

First of all I believe you said you were getting a pair of U. Geyri. If you are only getting one then ignore this part on pairing issues. If you are getting a pair they should be quarantined until they both get a clean bill of health from the vet. I know they are probably both coming from the same breeder but that still doesn't mean one can't have a sickness the other doesn't. You could keep one in a 50 gal plastic tub until they are checked out. Even if keeping them seperate for health reasons weren't enough you need to be ready to house them seperately in case one becomes aggressive to the other. Again even if they lived together at the breeder a major change like this could set off aggressive behaviors. Also that appears to be 50 gal tank which will be very tight for a pair. As Torey pointed out tight fitting hides are important for the health of a uro and you will need twice as many of them for two. Also you should have at least two basking spots and two feeding areas just in case they don't like basking/feeding together.

In addition to the tight hides and access to the basking area pointed out by Torey and Elizabeth you may want to consider removing that concrete block as it may contain things you don't want your uros in contact with. There was a post quite some time ago that someone had tested a concrete patio block positive for lead. Now I doubt that most concrete products have lead in them but I don't think there are any safety and testing requirements for products like that. Who knows what may have slipped into the concrete mix. You shouldn't have any problems using things like ceramic tiles or other home products meant for indoor human use as they do need to be tested for lead and other contaminents.

Getting things setup and tweaked right for the first time can be a daunting task and you have an uphill battle with a pair in a 50. If you don't have them you should pick up a remote probe indoor outdoor thermometer and an infrared temp gun as it makes testing and setup a lot easier (at least in my opinion)

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Mike Wilson
mwilson@fuu.net

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