Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just purchased a 1.5year old male mali uromastyx. As of right now I have a Zoo Med basking spot light, ceramic heat emitter, and a UVB 7.0 (ECU I think it is). I have both the bask light and heat emitter on the 'hot' end of the tank with the emitter slightly closer to the middle to even out heating and the UVB light along the middle of the tank. Should I get a halogen to put on the cool side just to give off light so he can choose to get less UVB??? I heard the brighter the better. It could use a little bit of heat but not much. Also, should I use calcium with D3 to dust on his greens everyday or only 2-3 a week?

Please, all help is greatly appreciated

What you'll need is a quality digital and/or infrared thermometer (dial analog ones are uselessly inaccurate). The only way to answer your question is to check and see where your temperatures are now. If they need tweaking, you can add bulbs and see what happens to the temps. If you want light without much heat or UVB, a standard household coil fluorescent is a nice addition.

What size and style of cage do you have? (Four foot long glass aquarium with screen top? Thirty six inch front opening wooden cage? etc.)
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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)

Right now I have a 20gallon long terrarium with screen top that flips up from the middle. he's only 5 inches long right now. I will definitely upgrade to a much larger tank when he gets a little bigger. I have a temp gun and a thermometer with a probe. basking spot is just about 110 average, hot side is is 90-95, and cool side is 80. so not really looking for so much heat, just light. maybe I will try a household light. what do you think, a 60watt maybe?

I would recommend getting a larger cage now rather than later. A 40 breeder is as small as you can really go (36" x 18" footprint). It's not the size of the lizard that determines what cage to use, but whether you have enough space to get an appropriate temperature gradient. Uros need a wide temperature gradient, with enough space in each area to move around in. Even if you can't get a new glass tank, a very large rubbermaid bin works as an inexpensive temporary solution.

Your basking spot needs to be boosted a little higher (120-130F), but doing so and still keeping enough of a cool side is dangerously difficult to do in a 20 gallon. It's very easy to overheat it. Too cool overall temperatures mean a long, slow death for the uro. Too high mean a quick death, to paraphrase someone whose uro knowledge I respect a great deal.
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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)

I forgot your question about supplementation. You can use a light dusting a couple times a week. It's very possible to overdose on D3 which is toxic, so you don't want to overdo it. Most of his calcium and vitamins should come from a balanced, varied diet and a good quality UVB light (or natural sunlight), so you don't have to rely as much on supplements.
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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)

Thanks. : )

Definitely follow the advice from ET As for the supplements, I give my

No. Do not use a regular house light. Your basking light supplies light. However, more important, be sure you should have an additional calcium light. I believe it's a tube type of light that gives off UV just like the sun. It's a "must" for URO's. I spent $900 on a sick URO at a vet because I did not have one of these lights. You can buy one at any pet store. Just be sure to give the pet sure the mesurements of your tank. The plus side is it gives extra lighting just as you requested!.