Reptile & Amphibian Forums

is a 3'x1.5'(lengthxwidth) an ok size for an adult mali? he's a juvie now but i want to know if he would be ok in it as an adult.

bedding.. i want to use sand(and i'll be using playsand) should he be given enough so that he can dig? do they even like to dig?

what kind of dust and mineral is recommended? uro dust and miner-all? and how often should it be used. how often should he be fed even.

do i need a uvb light source even though hes getting d3 from his dusted food? if i were to use a uvb light it would be a mercury bulb. what kind of wattage would i need for my glass enclosure? would a second bulb be needed even if he is housed alone?

i have a bearded dragon and he has a 100 watt mercury. i had a problem with it turning off and on every now and then. would a power surge help from that not happening anymore? does anyone have a similar problem and how did you take care of it? plz help on that one!! if a power surge is needed what kind do i need exactly?

thnx guys really appreciate your time

http://www.deerfernfarms.com/Uromastyx_Care.htm
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I'm new too so I can't answer any of your Uro Questions. But I also have had Mercury Bulbs turn themselves off and on. I thought it was because they got too hot and were turning off to cool down. But I was never 100% sure. Mine finally died at only 3 months old (the bulb, not my Iguana who's bulb it was). You could try a surge protector or maybe a rheostat. Maybe they even make a rheostat with built in surge protector? As far as wattage, they get very hot and it depends on the base room temp you are starting with. I have all my herps in the basement which is in the 60s right now, so I would need a higher watt than someone who is keeping their animal in a 75 degree bedroom. In the summer my basement will shoot up to 80 degrees, so then I'd need a lower watt than someone who's pet was in the living room with central air keeping it a nice 70 degrees. Etc. All you can really do is get a good thermometer (not those little round ones with the dials) but a temp gun or digi thermometer and measure your temps, then adjust your wattage from there. Easier said than done when you are talking about a $50 bulb. You can start with the 100 watt you already have though, find out if that is warm enough or if you have to get the next size up. Sorry I can't help with any of the Uro specific questions, the previous poster gave you a good link though so that should help. Good luck!
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Lyns Lair
WNY Herpetological Society

0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
8.0 Rats (Inky, Oy, Ben, Pinky, Templeton, Cotton, Bilbo, Carlo)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose (Wilbur)
1.0 Yellow/Everglades Rat Snake (Pumpkin)
1.0 Russian Sand Boa (Fang)
0.1 California King Snake (Boo)
0.1 Normal Corn Snake (Mysty)
1.0 Anery Corn Snake (Suezo)
1.1 Normal Corn Snakes het Pewter and Snow (Romeo & Juliet)
2.1.1 Eastern Milk Snakes (Uno, Dos, Tres, Snoopy)
1.0 Ball Python (Slytherin)
2.0 Smooth Green Snakes (Fred & George)
1.0 Banded Water Snake (Bubbles)
0.1 Golden Greek Tortoise (Sunshine)
0.2 Mississippi Mud Turtles (Squirt & Shyanne)
1.0 Green Iguana (Norbert)
1.1 Bearded Dragons (Moose & Tipsy)
0.0.1 Mountain Horned Dragon (Tiramisu)
1.0 Ornate Uromastyx coming mid April
0.0.1 American Toad (Bump)
0.0.1 Fowlers Toad (no name yet)
0.0.3 Mystery Toads (no names yet)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.4 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Mystique, Freckles, Zipper, Twister)

A mercury vapor that's working properly should not blink. If it gets turned off for some reason, they usually have a built in system that will not let them turn back on for about 15 minutes to allow a cooldown.

If you don't have a UVB meter, MV bulbs can be tricky to use. Many brands are unreliable (blow out early and often) and many more produce lousy UVB. Your best bet for MVBs is to get an externally ballasted Mega Ray from reptileuv.com. They are very reliable and put out good UVB - each is individually tested before being sent to you. If you want fluorescents, the Reptisun 5.0 is the tried and true reliable bulb. I also hear the Arcadia bulbs are good, but I haven't used one of those.

For temperatures and wattage, Lyn is right on. You need a good thermometer and some time to experiment. I have several lights on each cage and adjust the wattage in them as the seasons change. If you use fluorescents or a Mega Ray for your UVB, you will likely need some supplementary heat anyway. Other MV bulbs put out more heat than a Mega Ray, but depending on your setup, you may need more heat with those, too.

Size of cage: the one you specify will be ok for a juvie, but isn't big enough for an adult. You'll eventually need something at least a little longer, if not wider, too.

Sand is fine as long as you get playsand (natural rounded sand, not crushed gravel). They do generally like to dig and will take advantage of anything you give them to kick around.

The most important thing nutritionally is to feed them a wide variety of good foods (a fresh plate once a day is fine). To add to that, you can add in a calcium supplement maybe twice a week and a multivitamin supplement maybe once a week. Keep in mind it's a VERY light dusting - overdoing vitamins is as bad or worse than underdoing them. Also be careful what you're using. If you are providing very good UVB (such as a Mega Ray or natural sun), you don't want to provide any supplements with D3 (Cholecalciferol) as excess D3 is toxic and the UVB allows them to make all that they need by themselves.

I hope that helps. If you have more questions, feel free to ask. Congrats on your new friend! The care sheet at Deer Fern Farms is very good - it will help you out a lot!
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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 (Scuttlebutt)
2.1 Anolis carolinensis (Bowser, Sprocket, and Leeloo)
0.1 African dwarf frog (Sheila)
1.0 Betta splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

(is a 3'x1.5'(lengthxwidth) an ok size for an adult mali? he's a juvie now but i want to know if he would be ok in it as an adult.)

Shouldn't be a problem now as long as you get the correct temps for both the hot and cool end. I would recommend larger for an adult.

(bedding.. i want to use sand(and i'll be using playsand) should he be given enough so that he can dig? do they even like to dig?)

This will be argued about for sure but use only a couple inches of sand since they can't really dig in it as much as just throw it around.

(what kind of dust and mineral is recommended? uro dust and miner-all? and how often should it be used. how often should he be fed even.)

DO NOT USE BOTH at the same time. Using miner-all for a few days and then using uro dust for the other days is ok though.

(do i need a uvb light source even though hes getting d3 from his dusted food? if i were to use a uvb light it would be a mercury bulb. what kind of wattage would i need for my glass enclosure? would a second bulb be needed even if he is housed alone?)

You need to decide what you are doing. If you are using a product such as Miner-All that has D3 in DO NOT get any kind of UVA/UVB bulb, I think Miner-All even says that on the label.

(i have a bearded dragon and he has a 100 watt mercury. i had a problem with it turning off and on every now and then. would a power surge help from that not happening anymore? does anyone have a similar problem and how did you take care of it? plz help on that one!! if a power surge is needed what kind do i need exactly?)

I don't know if I can answer this for you since I do not use these bulbs and personally think they are a waste of money.

thnx guys really appreciate your time
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1.1 Ornates (Lindsay Pike)(Doug Dix)
0.0.1 Mali
0.1 Weimaraner

any more information on mercery's turning off and taking time to cool down would be greatly appreciated.

I've got a T-rex mercury vapor bulb for my chuckwallas. One thing to keep in mind with them is that they need to be in a perfectly vertical position, and you need to avoid jostling them. So far I haven't had any problems with mine. The only time it has gone out is when it was bumped.

My chucks seem to do better under it than the standard Repti-sun and and basking light. One of my friends got one for the chuck at her college. She noticed a dramatic improvment in color and he shed the skin on his tail for the first time in over five years.

At most of the petstores they run around $80. At herp shows I can get them for $35-40 so I got a reserve in case mine ever goes out. I feel they're worth the cost. I use a 100 watt flood in my 100 gallon, I think it's about a foot from the basking site and it gets that area up to around 120.

-Alice