Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys,

I haven't posted in a LONG time but try and browse throught still now and again. Tank, is doing quite well he's fully out of brumation and eating like the pig he is (my Mali, and very cool i see el toro has the same name for one of his...great minds? lol anyways...) ..

Nice to see a few familiar faces and also lots of new blood here that are right into this as well.

Anyways i'm building him a new enclosure and am having a dilemna on whether to go a bit taller or a bit wider. At first it might seem to be a no-brainer to be wider being the land lovers that they are, but keep in mind i'm using a soil subtrate that's about a foot deep for burrowing.

I'm thinking that in the near future i'm going to try and get him a female or two to bunk with for future breeding so i want to have some decent space overall as it is...

I'm looking at 5 feet long by 2-1/2 feet by 2 feet most likely so it's not a huge difference either way BUT do i want that extra 6 inches of space to play with for depth of substrate and airspace on top OR do i want that extra 6 inches of space in width for more room?

The airspace question comes into play due to the halogen i've been using as a flood - basking spot. I'm thinking of possibly going back to the mercury vapour as it seems his colouration isn't as bright as it could/should be. It seems to me that looking back at pics he's slowly losing colour instead of blackening and yellowing as he ages. This could also be due to possibly an older UV fluorescent that probably was long since dead for UV use by now. If i use the mercury vapour i'll need that extra space to have more clearance away from the basking spot so it's not too hot.

I had kind of bought into the supplementation overcoming the need for as much UV but i'm rethinking that stance now.

Now if i go wider then i would probably just go with the halogen still and leave it at that.

Thoughts anyone?

It seems like this is a lighting question more than a depth question. If you feel like you're seeing negative impact from an old flourescent, I'd make that change first. Without going into the whole UVB versus supplementation debate, I'm a huge fan of the UVB output of mercury vapor bulbs, especially since they've gotten so inexpensive online. I think if you figure out your lighting preferences, your caging dimensions will fall into place.

Yeah i've already done the fluorescent change, i guess i just have to decide if it's gonna be mercury vapor or not for the basking light.

Just as a note to consider. I currently have my mali in a 4x2x2 cage by himself, and he uses all of it. He may just be particularly territorial but I am not sure I would want to put another one in there with him... I am also paranoid though. I guess the extra 2 sq ft. might make a big different too. It never seems to me that a sq. ft is as big as it is!

ECH

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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine
0.1 Feline Winter
Indiana & Wisconsin

My current cage is 4x2x2 and i couldn't imagine having more than one Uro in there.

I finally did decide on a size and went big lol. I'm making it 5 x 3 x 2.5 Seems like an odd size but i'm using a product called Baltic Birch that comes in 5x5 sheets. I'll try and post some pics as it goes along in the process. So far i've just gotten the pieces cut.

Wow!

What lucky Uros!!

I can't wait to see the process.

Elizabeth
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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine
0.1 Feline Winter
Indiana & Wisconsin