Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, I'm just wondering what you guys think is a better substrate for uros. I've noticed birdseed becoming more popular and might try it.
thanks for any help.
erik

Well after your anti-sand outburst on the gecko forum I'd think you'd automatically go with birdseed.

I personally use wild birdseed.Dont get anything with the cracked corn. The uro's can eat it and dig and clean up is simple for me.

Sorry the other guys name was very similar to yours. It wasnt you going crazy on the leo forums. My apologies

Uhh i never said anything about sand on the leopard gecko forum, but thanks for your help anyways. By the way where did you buy your birdseed?

Yes, I apologize, you werent the one that was blasting the sand issue. I felt he directed an attack at me so I apologize for any hostility, your name resemblence is veryn close.

Either way, I got my birdseed from a walmart in Omaha in the bird section they have. With the feeders and such. Its regular wild birdseed I cant really describe it much better than that. I bought a 50lbs bag of it and used almost all of it in my enclosure.

I have used sand and birdseed and they're both fine. You can use whichever you like better. I use birdseed now because I like the light weight and lack of dust, though it's more expensive. The sand is easier for the lizard to move on, but they're OK with the seed, too. Some folks have had problems with bugs in the seed, but I never have. I use white millet.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
2.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and 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

I have been using white millet from a bird store for just about a year. I have had no problems with my uro.. He digs in it and I occasionally see him munching on the seed. I put in 10lbs into a 40 gallon tank. This is just enough to cover the bottom with a few inches. The color looks good. I have not gone to sand yet. The white millet is realitively cheap, and is easy to clean.

Eric

I like playsand. It's cheap (50lbs for $3). It cleans really well. It holds heat well. In my mind it is more natural than birdseed to the uro, especially when many uros are known to eat seeds. When's the last time a Uro from North Africa walked on birdseed? I also dont think sand should be used along. My set-up is 50/50 rocky area and sand. The rocks are flat red sandstone, quarried in the Utah desert.

In response to the "when did you see uro's in africa walking on birdseed"

These animals are more than likely captive bred. Just something to keep in mind. I went with the birdseed because I hear of more impaction stories with the uro's than my gecko. And the experts where I got it raised a concerning eye when I asked about sand, so I went with the birdseed.

I'm a big fan of sand. Never had a problem and at $3.00 a ton you can't beat the price. If you keep it clean there is no smell problem. (Why wouldn't you clean it up immediately?) Most impaction is not caused by the substrate (there is much antidotal evidence, but few documented cases.) If I wanted to sell large quatities of bird seed what better way than to convince lizard owners that it is the perfect substrate. They can poop in it and eat it too!!! The fact is unless the seed is cracked it just passes through the animal with no benefit. Why do you want them to eat something that has no benefit?

I agree, and as not to spark another substrate debate, I will leave my part at , .. I would rather have them eat something that is nonbeneficial, than eat something that is nonbeneficial as well as possibly detrimental.
Im new to all this so I can only forward opinions Ive developed in talking to the people Ive bought both my leopard gecko and my nigerian uromastyx from. They showed no worries when it came to having the leopard on the calci sand, however when I raised the question about the uro, they strongly recommended birdseed.

I guess it really comes down to personal preference and past experience so Im going to say here that I can't say sand "is bad" but I just prefer the birdseed.

I agree. I just think there is a lot of debate on substrate that is not based in fact, but rather in speculation and antidotal evidence.

Thnaks for all your suggestions. I bought some of the wild birdseed, $10 for 60 pounds, but upon opening it I realized it's full of a bunch of different seeds including sunflower and what I think is dried out corn. I figure that that's no good and should go with just the little circular seeds, but correct me if I'm wrong.
erik

That's what mine is. Wild birdseed, its a bunch of diff stuff including those sunflower seeds.It sounds like you got the right stuff.

sunflower seeds are bad. If they eat them it cuts up their insides.

I use soil If the temps are right, it passes right through if they eat it (and every other week when I feed my uro crix she gets a little over enthusiastic and gets some soil with it). The problems of impaction come from other problems in the environment like dehydration, and especially insufficient temps. I keep a surface basking temp that gets as hot as 145 and my uro readily uses it.

Just my opinion on the subject.

I would not recommend using that. Both the dried corn and the sunflower seeds can be a problem with the digestive tract (impaction or laceration risk) if either are accidentally ingested. I would recommend going with a straight millet or similar small round seed. Seeds of this type swallowed whole do not generally have any problems passing through.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
2.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and 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

I agree with Torey. Straight millet, either red or white is what I have been using for over a year now. I have not had any problems with it. Good luck!

Pam

I've been using wild bird seed for years and it works great. You don't have to worry about impaction, and if your uro gets real hungry, he can eat it without any problems. Just make sure you sift out the sunflower seeds, as they can cause problems. Hey, don't take my word for it, go to the link below and read what one of North Americas Uro gurus says.

good luck,
Craigo
Uromastyx caresheet by Doug Dix

This is an old one...But I don't think it ever gets old. As long as there's new owners, this thread will prove to be informative. But uh, I'm using bird seed. I used to have a large tupperware pitcher type thing filled with soil for a dig box, but then I saw the Jeff Corwin experience and saw a Uromastyx that burrowed into a mound of dirt. Then I did some research, and thought I'd mimic the dirt mound. So now I have bird seed with a mound of packed soil in the corner. I set up some bricks as sort of an entrance way into the dirt mound.

Before the dirt mound, he would go under the bricks and just dig into the wall going nowhere, now he has somewhere to dig to! I'm moving in a week or so, so when I set up his enclosure again, I'm going to make the dirt mound much larger, so he can actually climb up it and dig a burrow.

And besides that, the millet will sprout and give him some natural plants to munch on too. I'm thinking of planting some seeds near the top too. (edible, non-toxic plants of course)