Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have noticed that my Red Nigerian Uro has obtained a sort of white crusty film around his nostrils but not in them. It comes of easily and is about the consistency of a salt build up. Is it possible that his diet has too much salt? He usually gets a mixture of Kale and Romaine along with a supplement of Alfalfa pellets and small amounts of mixed fruits.

I know they can be prone to Pneumonia if the humidity is so high but its generally stays around 20% is that still to high? Could this be a symptom of the disease.

Much obliged for your help,
Talfs

As long as it's not yellowed or mucousy, it's normal - happens all the time. It's just the body ridding itself of excess salts, like you thought. I wouldn't worry about it. The humidity is fine, too.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.1 Collared Lizard (Ripcord and Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Humidity is great at 20%, I wouldn't worry. Romaine isnt any good other then supplying water, which could be in excess. Try feeding a more appropriate diet of greens such as escarole, chickory, dandelion greens, bok choy, endive. These provide the Uro with both water and minerals they need, that are not supplied by romaine. other then that salt from the nose is perfectly normal, I wouldn't worry about it.

Are you sure that your not confusing romaine lettuce with Iceberg? Though there are definitely better choices to use over romaine lettuce, it does offer a far amount of nutrients, whereas Iceberg lettuce is purely water and of poor nutritional value. It’s fine to use romaine lettuce every now and then.

Happy Herping,

-Paul

I can't find the post I was looking for on another forum, but basically the only thing romaine offers is water, and also has a very low Ca ratio and offers minimal nutrients for a Uro.

Thats why most people recommend feeding romaine to dehydrated Uro's, but shouldn't be a staple in their daily diet.

Well in general all uromastyx's consume their water uptake from the greens we offer. So, if you were to take what you’re saying and think about it, offering romaine lettuce along with other "more nutritional" greens wouldn't be a bad idea. It would keep them hydrated, therefore making your diet an exceptional mix of greens.

However, I would really like to know what forum you found this information on. "Iceberg" lettuce is pretty much 95% water, but romaine on the other hand, being a dark green, offers quality nutrients. Again it by no means should be considered a staple diet for uros, because there are far many better types of greens to use. But Romaine should be used every now and then. I'll give you credit that romaine has high water content, but it also offers vitamins and minerals that include calcium, iron, etc. I even read somewhere that it’s high in vitamin C. I am by no means an expert on what vitamins and minerals uro's metabolize and absorb into their bodies, but I would imagine that offering romaine lettuce isn't going to have an negative effect on your diet plans or the Uro's bodies. Heck, it’s even cost efficient in the super markets! Not to say that I don't pay top dollar for my Uro's gourmet meals everyday, I sometimes wish I ate that healthy

If you read the diet section on Dr. Dix's website you will see were he mentioned that romaine is a fine lettuce, yet shouldn't be offered frequently. http://deerfernfarms.com/Uromastyx_Care.htm

-Paul

Believe me... I'm a iguana owner and I've seen what happened if the iguana is fed to much Romaine and not enough of other nutritious greens and veggies. The animals become stunted and don't grow nearly as much. Why feed it something that will take up room in its stomach that can be use to be filled with more nutritious greens and veggies? What I do if I worried about my iguana or bearded not getting enough water is I spray the greens really well with water. This way when they eat the greens they will get a lot of water that way, too. And the simplest way of making sure your animals stay hydrated is to offer a bowl of water to it...simple! I know that desert animals rarely see standing water, but I find that given the opportunity they will learn to exploit the source. Dessert animals are good at exploiting sources of water. I've seen my bearded dragon drink from the bowl before despite what everyone else says.

From nutritiondata.com
per 6.0g of romaine leaf
95% water content (5.7g)
there is only 1.4mg of vitamin C
348 IU of vitamin A
Calcium 2.0mg
Potassium 14.8mg
Phosphorus 1.8mg
Iron 0.1mg

Now compare to a staple green such as dandelion greens:
(same sample size)
Calcium 11.23mg
Potassium 23.78mg
Phosphorus 3.96mg
Iron 0.175mg
571 IU Vitamin A
2.1mg Vitamin C
Water content 5.1g (85%)

The posts I was referring to were on RepticZone I believe, but I could be mistaken. There was also a post a while ago on Uromastyxworld that had Ca ratios for several greens in question for a staple diet.

While I do not think that romaine will hurt to feed to a Uro, I don't see the Uro's need for Romaine unless on a random occasion, or in instances of lethargy, dehydration, or post egg-laying by dehydrated females (which should really be given some fresh water as well). Sticking to staple greens such as endive, escarole, chickory, dandelion greens will provide all the nutrients a Uro needs, leaving minimal need for additional supplementation.

I do supplement my Mali's with uromastyx dust from DFF as well as minerALL, both given once a week on different days, but in very minimal amounts.

Thanks you all so much! So glad that its nothing to worry about. But yes his diet it pretty rudimentary right now (that’s what he was being fed from the place I got him) but now that he is finally starting to settle in I'll begin to introduce the more appropriate foods, I didn’t want to over-power his digestion in some way with a suddenly new regiment. Anyways I digress, thank you all so much for your help, I'm so glad that there is such a helpful site like this~!

, Talfs

This is why this site is fantastic for reasons like this. The sharing of knowledge and tips is what making this hobby stronger. Thanks for the information regarding romaine, I found that very interesting that romaine is just as bad as iceberg lettuce. I've always taken strong interests in my uro's diets and this is great. I was waiting for an iguana owner to join this topic !

-Paul

No problem on the nutrition info..I think between my gf and myself we each researched everything for about a month prior to getting our Mali's... my research hasn't stopped since lol. Well, add in the fact that my job has too much downtime and I sit on the computer all day hehe