Reptile & Amphibian Forums

when members start hopping boards after coming home with a new species from a herp show. I went to the Berks PA show today hoping to find an African House snake (the only ones were $250 albinos, not what I was looking for), and instead came home with a Niger Uromastyx, which going by the photos on the caresheets looks right, but I will try to post a pic for anyone to confirm. She seemed to be bright and alert and sound, but not too wild when I handled her at the show and so far she seems to be settling in ok in the 90-gal I've had sitting around for months, just BEGGING for an animal to go in it. I'm worried because I know she is a short-term captive (about a month or so), and they said she hadn't been dewormed. I work for a vet who does herps, so this wouldn't be a problem to have done, but my friend said sometimes deworming throws off the beneficial bacteria in the gut and causes problems. Any sugggestions on the best course of action? I'm already attached to her, and someone I talked to said they lost a uro a few days after getting it, they believed due to parasites...so I'd reeeally like to avoid something like that. Any other suggestions about these guys would be welcome, I'm very excited to have her. Oh...she is also a bit wrinkled-looking, not nice and round like many of the pics I see--if the picture loads, what do you think? dehydrated? should I soak her? or is this normal?
Thank you,
Sue
0.1 western hognose
1.0 crested gecko
1.0 Fl kingsnake
0.1 niger uromastyx
0.1 cat

I think she looks ok, but I've only had saharans and mali uro's, but all of my saharans were wild caught.

If you really want to be sure she is ok, then when she goes poo take it to the vet you work for and have him/her check it for you.

That's one of the only ways to make sure.

Make sure she's got food available to her all during the day, and she may not eat when you are around so make sure she is in a low traffic area for a few days that way there is no added stress.

Good luck and I hope she's perfectly ok.
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2 Mali Uromastyx-Ares & Apollo
2 Bearded Dragons- Draco & Hades
1 Saharan Uromastyx-Iris
1 Leopard Gecko-Kalypso
1 Tokay Gecko-Sid Vicious
1 Tarantula-Peter Parker
1 Amazon Red Head Parrot-Pancho
1 African Gray Parrot-Keya
1 Dog-Cheeka
3 Fish-no names
1 Beta Fish-also no name
1 Zebra Finch-Beeps

I just saw a site that had animals listed as Niger(Saharan). are they the same? what is the latin name for the Niger (i figured it was geyri but I'm not exactly sure)

That's right - Nigerian = Saharan = Geyri. All the same thing.

Keep a very close eye on your new little buddy - fresh imported Saharans are VERY VERY suceptible to stress and can be VERY difficult to acclimate. Keep watch on her and don't hesitate to get her to a vet immediately if you suspect something's wrong with her. My Joe was a fresh import when I got him, and I was close to losing him shortly after. He made it ok (he's a big fatty now), but be super aware with any new Saharans that there might be problems acclimating.

Please don't let me freak you out, I just want you to be aware so you can intervene quickly if there's trouble. That being said, some adjustment time is normal and she may hide or not eat for a little while as she gets used to you, and all could be well. It's good to have a big tank and be sure there's plenty of hiding places and good temps throughout the tank.

Congrats on your new uro!!
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx geyri (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Uromastyx dispar maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and Spike)
1.0 Uromastyx ornata
1.2 Anolis carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
0.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Sheila)
1.0 Betta splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

what happened with joe, and what did you have to do to get him through it? I just turned her heat/UV lighting on, and checked her--she's in her warm hide (currently a box with a hole in it....will be nicer soon) and she looked at me so I know she is still alive and will hopefully come out and bask soon. I plan on taking a fecal sample to work tuesday and running it.

>>what happened with joe, and what did you have to do to get him through it? I just turned her heat/UV lighting on, and checked her--she's in her warm hide (currently a box with a hole in it....will be nicer soon) and she looked at me so I know she is still alive and will hopefully come out and bask soon. I plan on taking a fecal sample to work tuesday and running it.

Also, watch her for any strange noises down the road. All 3 of the saharan's I got (which were properly cared for on my half) have passed away from what looked to be pneumonia, but was probably the parasite in their blood.

This one gal on this site posted about this when my last saharan died.

"An acquaintance of mine was looking into a blood
parasite that was not being detected in the Saharans
called microfilarie."

It mimics pneumonia and when you treat them for it it only makes it worse.

I just want to let you know since you said you work for a vets office, just in case something is to happen to your gal, which I hope nothing ever happens to make her the slightest bit sick, that way you can get her to your office ASAP and get her blood tested.

That's was probably the problem with all 3 of my saharans, I got them from a breeder but it's really hard for anyone to detect this without extensive blood work done. Also having a vet around that deals with reptiles would help a heck of a lot more than having a vet 100 miles from you that does.

Good Luck and I hope she's ok. Just remember to get the fecal done and she should be good to go.

(NOTE: THAT'S JUST WHAT HAPPENED WITH MINE, JUST MY EXPERIENCE WITH SAHARANS, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT AS YOU WANT. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THE POSSIBILITY IS STILL THERE HOWEVER SMALL IT MAY BE, JUST SO YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO IN CASE SHE GETS SICK)
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2 Mali Uromastyx-Ares & Apollo
2 Bearded Dragons- Draco & Hades
1 Saharan Uromastyx-Iris
1 Leopard Gecko-Kalypso
1 Tokay Gecko-Sid Vicious
1 Tarantula-Peter Parker
1 Amazon Red Head Parrot-Pancho
1 African Gray Parrot-Keya
1 Dog-Cheeka
3 Fish-no names
1 Beta Fish-also no name
1 Zebra Finch-Beeps

>>what happened with joe, and what did you have to do to get him through it?

He didn't eat for a week but was active and alert. I called Doug Dix (from whom I purchased Joe) for advice. He told me what foods to try - what he'd been eating before, plus green peas. Another week went by - no eating and many grams of weight lost. He was still active, but moving slower. Talked to Dr. Dix again - more help and ideas what might be wrong. He told me how and what to force feed. I started feeding him a little Jump Start and pea baby food. I made an appointment with the vet. After three weeks and over 30 grams down (and he didn't have a lot to spare to begin with...), I got him to the vet. They really weren't a lot of help (bad vet choice on my part), but I asked them for sub-Q fluids and vitamins, which they did. They pumped a LOT of fluid into him, which I really think helped a ton. Shortly after that, I discovered (via Dr. Dix) that I needed to get him into a bigger cage immediately. New Saharans do badly in small cages, and mine was too small. He went into a 75 gallon about the same time as the vet visit and right after that, he started eating on his own. He also had a small mouth infection and coccidia and pinworms, so the poor guy got medication and force feeding from me for the first two months of his time here. It's no wonder he runs when he sees me still.

It took a long time for him to gain the weight back, but now he's done that and added another 100 grams on top of it. You're in such a great situation with your vet office that I'm sure your new lady will do great! Just keep a watch and leave her be as much as you can for the first little while so she can settle in.

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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx geyri (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Uromastyx dispar maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and Spike)
1.0 Uromastyx ornata
1.2 Anolis carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
0.1 African dwarf frog (Sheila)
1.0 Betta splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

Yeah, she looks nice and healthy. A fecal sample to the vet is a safe precaution. You might go check the following link and website for information, check the bottom of the page in the link. My understanding is, some parasites like nematodes are okay. But others, especially certain ones such as coccidia are bad in any quantity.

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

I would put him on a different substrate. That looks like some form of crushed shell product (walnut?) and if he gets in in him, though he probably can pass it (if the temps are right and everything) it will do a lot of damage on the way through.

Otherwise, parasites shouldn't really be a problem. The only time parasites become a problem is when stress is involved, often with fresh imports. That's why sometimes parasite meds do more harm than good, because you have to restrict the animal to get it in them, causing stress. Make sure he/she has plenty of low hides that will allow him/her to get COMPLETELY out of your view. There's a good section on proexotics.com about appropriate hidespots, and also about uro care.

it is crushed walnut...I've seen it in other uro tanks and several people I talked to said it would be appropriate, as long as I had a feeding dish large enough to keep the shells from getting into the food and being ingested. The dish I have is pretty good-sized and has high-ish sides so she can't just kick stuff into it when she walks by.
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Sue
currently living with me:
0.1 Western hognose (Sola)
1.0 Crested gecko (Gator)
0.1 Niger Uromastyx (Brit)
0.1 'found in someone's garage' kitty (Terra)

>>it is crushed walnut.

Oook - that's actually one substrate I would never, ever use or recommend to anyone. No matter how careful you are with the food, the possibility of ingestion is still there. And the walnut is very sharp - it can kill your lizard from the inside out.

Sand is ok if you have a natural sand (not crushed gravel sand) and birdseed is fine, too, if there's no sunflower seeds in the shell. Folks use different things, and there's no one perfect substrate, but walnut is pretty risky stuff.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx geyri (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Uromastyx dispar maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and Spike)
1.0 Uromastyx ornata
1.2 Anolis carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
0.1 African dwarf frog (Sheila)
1.0 Betta splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

I'll look into something different...I just didn't really want to go with sand because of the weight, expense and amount it would take to cover the 90-gal....anyone know anything about the soil mixture that I read about on pro exotics' site? it sounds like an interesting idea, if a bit unusual. Sand would be nice for a naturalistic enclosure, but I worry about the already-compromised bottom of the tank (at some point need to put plexiglass in there)

well if you want to be safe and figure out the substrate thing, you can always put the uro on paper towels. it would be good also because if she has any parasites you will have to throw out the substrate anyway. this way you can figure things out and keep her safe. i use washed playsand from the home depot and it is only $4 a bag for 50 lbs.
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vonnie
***There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it. Mary Wilson Little ***

Why not try millet. Many of us have used it successfully for years. It can be ingested without any worries, and it's not as heavy as sand. Just a light layer between 1/8" to 1/2" deep is all that's necessary.

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