Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys,

I'm planning on attempting to build a 50 gallon outdoor enclosure for my Mali... The enclosure will be kept on a screened-in patio area, so I'm not concerned so much about "predator" security. But I live in S. Florida, and our humidity regularly reaches 90-100% in the summer. Anything that can be done to counteract that? I haven't really planned out the logistics of this yet, but I'm thinking the enclosure will be screen with a hard bottom of some sort so the substrate won't all sift out. I want to anchor the enclosure to a rolling stand so I can make adjustments for shade/sun to regulate temps and also to make it easier to bring the cage in on those rare chilly Florida evenings. I have NOT measured the temps or humidity on the patio yet, so I don't know the specifics, but if anyone has some general ideas, tips, and/or reasons not to do this before I start it, I would like to know what you have to say. Thanks!

Holly
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1.0.0 Macklot's python "Patua"
0.1.0 Ball python "Boo"
2.0.0 Domestic felines "Gir" and "Squee"
0.0.1 Mali uromastyx "Norbert"
...and some random freshwater fish

I'm certainly not an expert on uromastyx, however I did a fare amount of research on them before I got mine 3 years ago. I have an egyptian microlepis. My understanding is that uromastyx in general come from very dry climates, and are sensitive to humidity. In other words, they can easily develop resperatory problems that can lead to death if kept at humidity levels above 50% for extended periods of time. This is what I've been told by Doug Dix, but don't know it from experience. I don't really know how you could reduce the humidity for your environment. Humidity is sure easier to add than remove.

Also, you have to provide a shaded area for your mali, so that he can self regulate his body temp. when needed.

Bert Langerwerf of Agama International has some uromastyx in outdoor enclosures in Alabama, which I believe is somewhat humid during the summer. However, they're not mali's and I'm pretty sure it's not 90%-100% humidity. You might ask him about your idea (see link below).

Good luck!
Craigo
Acanthinurus at Agama International

I live in San Antonio, and have mine in the garage. I had them outside but one of my prize animals got a respitory infection I believe do to humidity and also my stupidity in leaving them bruminating in too cold of envirionment without a daily warm-up. If you make a cage the difference between a 50 or 100 is very samll in costs, just a few inches each way. My suggestion is to make it deep In the front I use 1/8/ plexiglass, and a row of drilled holes just under the roof abot 6 inches high. I also put a nice size door on one end with screen for ventilation but the rest of the cage is solid walls. This seems to cut down some of the humidity. The other issue is the intensity of the sun, and the horrible 3-4 inches of rain we get in 2 hours, so every crack must be caulked and them a base paint and then a semi-gloss paint. I like white, dark colors pulls in more heat. YOu must have a way for the animal to move away from the sun, and I only leave a small area in the front of the cage for sunning, as it does warm up quickly, I also am near electricity so I ran a cord and installed a light on the top for cold days, and I use a christmas on-off switch to turn on the light if I need it, so I don't even have to go out of the house - just point and click and it turns it on. It is really a mess tryiong to deal with the elements, you do need to think it out, but don't just be concerned about the humidity, the rain and sun down here in the south is really intense and can cause you just as much problems. I moved mine into the garage where the humidity is less and the heat is more intense but I use less wattage on the bulbs to balance out the temps, this seems to work well...........Hopw this all helps, I will check out the forum if you want to ask any questions..Cheers!!!
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Phrynosoma.com

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signature file edited. [phw 11/14/04]

Good points reptoman! I realized after making my first post, that the direct sunlight can be just as dangerous as the humidity. In the wild, these guys tend to make their homes on cliff sides where they can find shade at any time of the day and lodge themselves under rocks to avoid getting baked.

Craigo
You can run, but you can't hide... unless you're a uro