Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I purchased a 90 gallong slider AVT tank for my future Mali uromastyx. The demensions are 18 deep 23 high 4 ft wide. Should this be sufficient for its life? Also I have some extra space on the bottom should I set something up so they can burrow? Is it important they are able to dig and get under the substrate?

Thats PLENTY big! He should be extremely happy! Infact you could get a pair for a 90 gallon!

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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Pyro/Sandfire/Orange Cross)
1.1.0 Nigerian Fire Red Uromastyx
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

Yeah I was thinking about getting a pair, I want a male for sure, the color of the males is what is attracting me to these guys.However Im concerned about giving them both proper handling time and attention and such. Also I dont really want to mess with the breeding I dont think. Im not sure what I'd do with babies. If you have advice to lean my decision the other way by all means let me know. ;D And thanks for the input so far!

No problem, Im new to the Uros as well, I have 2 fire red niger uros coming in tomorrow... I got the tank and food all ready to go... I would go with a pair tho...

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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Pyro/Sandfire/Orange Cross)
1.1.0 Nigerian Fire Red Uromastyx
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

quote: "However Im concerned about giving them both proper handling time and attention and such. Also I dont really want to mess with the breeding I dont think. Im not sure what I'd do with babies."

Uromastyx are not animals to be handled... so you don't need to worry about that part at all. As long as they are given the proper environment and diet, they will be very happy. Handling them can stress them out and cause health problems. (Pretty much the opposite of dogs.)

From what I understand, most uromastyx need to go into brumation (like hibernation) for the winter in order to set their cycles for their breeding season. This is something that is done manually for them. If you do not do it, you probably won't have to worry about breeding. Maybe someone else with more experience in this area can clarify if that is accurate.

Do not house 2 males together.
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~ Vamppire
Queens, New York City

Well I want to be able to handle them. Are you saying I wont be able to do so? Ive heard they are very tame and handling them is an ok thing to do. Granted I wont be pulling them out every 5mins, I want to be able to hold it and such, otherwise Id get more fish or something

I recently asked the same question about my Uro - please view this thread:

http://www.repticzone.com/forums/Uromastyx/messages/195948.html
Link

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~ Vamppire
Queens, New York City

thats a good link!

I did not pick up Magnus much at all and that was only when I had to. He did not seem to like it so I did not push it on him. He was WC and was 8" when I got him so it was not like we had a bond from when he was a young age. However, he did love me to pet his head and hand feed him. The hand feeding almost became a prob as he expected it. He would also like to sit in my hand or on my arm when I offered it to him (in the tank) and always came right up to me. Having fish this was enough contact for me since I needed a pet that I could touch and who would react to me. When my new baby comes I do intend to get him more used to me so it will not be an isuuse when I need to handle him. But I do not intend to have him outta his tank for very long periods.

Another issue with me that I have not seen mentioned... these pets are lizards who do come in contact with fecal matter. I always w/o exception washed my hands if I went near Magnus. I also would change my clothes if he came into contact with them (i do the same with feeding my fish [washing hands] or cleaing the aquariums [clothes]). It is not that I find them diry or anything as I am an animal lover but it is just common sense to me. I would not allow a lizard to be on my furniture or flooring as I do not know what may happen to say a child who came in contact with that surface.

Anyone have any thoughts on that subject?
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1 Uromastyx Macfadyeni named Magnus
(Magnus is one of Anne Rice's vampire characters)

60 tropical fish

2 African Clawed Frogs named Reef (olive) and Barnacle (albino)

4 Fiddler Crabs

- Mike
Morris Cty, NJ

>>Thats PLENTY big! He should be extremely happy! Infact you could get a pair for a 90 gallon!
>>

Actually, that's only plenty big for a pair if you have one of the medium or smaller species (Like Saharans or Sudanese). Malis are larger and need more space. I would only recommend one Mali in a cage of that size.

For handling...personally, I don't handle my reptiles much since I know they don't like it. Some are more tame than others, though. Malis tend to be fairly laid back about handling (as I understand it). My Malis certainly tolerate it better than my Saharans.
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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

Yeah, Malis get pretty big and need A LOT of room. I have a pair of malis in a 125 gallon tank and am doing all I can to maximize their living space (such as building a series of pipes and dens to utilize basement space).

Here's a pic of my full grown male-mimic female and her 2-year old male companion.

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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra and Isis)