Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello All! Lots of great information on this forum. I'm a long time "reader" first time "poster".

I've recently picked up a 6 week old CB saharan uro and would like any advice anyone can offer in term of providing proper care for my new little guy. I've got quite a bit of uro exp. just not with one this young!

I've currently got him in a 10 gal tank, paper-towel substrate, UTH (set low), zoomed UV bulb 10.0, heat lamp, 2 hides (one hot, one cool - damp moss in cool), 1 small water dish. I've been keeping the temps between 90 - 105 on the hot side and 75 - 85 on the cool side. (as best I can in such a small enclosure). I've been feeding chopped dandelion dusted with calcium/D3 or Uromastyx Dust. He is very fiesty and will run into his hide whenever he sees me coming (though the breeder said she had all her hatchlings eating from her hand). How much should they be eating at this point? Are my temps ok? Should they have hides at this young age? Any comments/suggestion would be appreciated.

ok, i would say get him out of the 10 gallon as soon as possible. if you need something to tie you over go buy a rubbermaid tub from walmart or something. he needs his temps up in the basking spot around 120 and probably closer to 85 on the cool end.
if he has a UVB light, i don't think he needs the calcium with D3. i think that could result in an overload but perhaps someone with more experience can comment on that

they definitely need hides to help them acclimate to their new house. he just needs some time to get used to everything and i am sure he will be eating from your hand too.

congrats, do you have any pictures
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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 ***

Thanks for the reply!

Prior to picking this guy up I did a fair amount to research to make sure I had things properly setup for his arrival. What is the specific reason for suggesting the rubbermaid container? Should he be in something bigger? smaller? I've got the sides covered so he can't stress about seeing movement...

Also I read that temps should be lower for hatchlings...though you can never really be sure where the info on caresheets is coming from... Being only 3-4" inches in length I don't want to make any drastic changes without due cause. do you have specific experience working with hatchlings?

a bigger cage would be better, it is easier to maintain the heat gradient. i thought babies needed lower temps too but someone on here told me that they actually needed warmer temps and that was info from someone who posts alot, i wish i could remember who off the top of my head. the basking spot needs to be around 120 for adults which is why i suggested that number, my malis like it warmer than that. but if the temps are higher on the hot end then it will make the cool end of the cage really warm also
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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 ***

Hi!
I would also like to know what is wrong with a 10gallon tank enclosure? The uro is only 3". I keep my adults in 60 gallon tanks but I wouldn't put a juvie in there. I also wondered why you would think calcium /D3 powder isn't nesessary? This is a growing baby. Even with the aid of UVA/B lighting I still think it's a good idea to Add the calcium D3 to his diet. All my uromastyx recieve the vitamine powder in their diet, especially after one of my young ornates had a bout with Metabolic Bone Disease(MBD). Since learning from that experience I have never encountered MBD again. Anyway that is my thought.
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1.1 U.maliensis
2.1 U.geyri
1.1 U ornatus
0.1 U. macfadyeni

maybe it is just the 10 gallon i have but that thing is tiny, i use it for my crickets and i would not even put my baby collared lizards in there, but that could be just me.
i also said that i was not sure about the D3 but i pointed it out so that someone with more knowledge could comment on it. i thought that with the UVB and the D3 there could be a problem with too much vitamin D which i know can lead to problems. "Excess vitamin D3 supplementation – especially in combination with calcium – may result in organ toxicity. Metastatic calcification and gout are common results. Gular edema or pseudo gout is a common clinical sign of these problems. The pseudo-gout (calcium hydroxyapatite) deposits usually appear as irregular firm swellings over joints in the limbs and on ribs."
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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 ***

oh and just to clarify, i think the calcium is necessary. it is the D3 that i was worried about
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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 ***

Combining Posts here:

>I would also like to know what is wrong with a 10gallon tank enclosure?

I personally think a 10 gallon enclosures is next to impossible to achieve a proper basking spot and gradient temperature in. I believe Spikey even alluded to this in his post: “I've been keeping the temps between .......(as best I can in such a small enclosure).”

>The uro is only 3". I keep my adults in 60 gallon tanks but I wouldn't put a juvie in there.

My uromastyx clutches went from the incubator to 48x18 enclosures. They have not had any difficulties finding food and they utilize the entire enclosure- have since day one. At six weeks, I moved four of the hatchlings to a 72x28 enclosure, again- they utilized every portion of that enclosure. While this enclosure size is certainly not mandatory, it absolutely would not hurt (only benefit in my opinion) to offer an enclosure larger than a 10 gallon- even to a 3 inch uromastyx.

>if he has a UVB light, i don't think he needs the calcium with D3.

I agree somewhat- dependent on the bulb. The hatchlings in my reptile room that have a Westron bulb where the uvb (at their level) is between 150 and 200 microwatts are not given d3. (this bulb supposedly tested well in the most beneficial spectral range too) The hatchlings in my reptile room that have a lower level uvb bulb are given calcium d3 very sparingly.
I have found that the Zoo Med 10.0 that Spikey referenced did not produce the level seen from my Westrons even new. I also found a rather fast decay rate- think 50% after several weeks in the two I tested. Due to this, I think calcium d3 supplements (sparingly of course) might be beneficial.