Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have temporary custody of a young pair of WC (newly imported) Saharan uros and have a few quesitions.

What kind of night temps do they need? It still quite cold here and the house gets into the mid 60's at night.

They are 7" and 8", are being fed dandelion greens & flowers, endive and a bit of clover. They get mineral supplements daily and vits 3X a week, is this good? I also ordered mazuri pellets for them.

Poor things are so wild and frightened, its affecting how they eat. How long may it take them to get acclimated to captivity? I have the two in the same tank but it will only be for a few weeks then the female will be going to another home.

I'm not sure about the Saharan Uromastyx, but the Egyptian and Mali needs to the night temperature of about mid 60's F in order to do well. From what I've read, the Saharan are from warmer area with less harsh winter, so my guess would about 70 degree at night would be good for these guys. It takes mine about a week to two weeks to fully acclimate to the cage when I first brought them home. It really depends on each individual. You should first let them get acclimate before shipping them off to someone. This way they'll be less stressed out when they actually have to go to another home.

All your diet seems to be good. It looks like you've done your research. I too supplement my yearling and the baby Uro with calcium supplement at least everyday and multivitamin 3 to 4 times a week. Note: I only use little pinch of multivitamin and calcium supplement as too much supplement is even worst than too little. I also provide them with high protein food like parsnips, peas, and lentils. I buy frozen peas from supermarket and thaw it out in a strainer under running hot water. Before I serve the peas, I mash it a little bit with the fork, so they can digest them better this way. I've seen some ate whole peas and passing them through whole. That's why I suggested mashing them first. For the lentils you can serve them to the Uro the same way it comes in a bag. I just put some dried lentils in a little dish for them to snack on all day long and my Uros pick at it all the time. For the parsnips, I grate them on a cheese grater which seems to get it into the serving pieces I want, and it easy for them to eat. You can use vegetable grater that is part of the food processor if you like. That would work, too.

Slightly warmer night temps would be better for them - 70 - 75F.

The diet sounds fine, if a bit spare. You can add in some other things like escarole, shredded winter squash (butternut is easiest to deal with), zucchini, green beans, etc. I definitely do not supplement that much, but there are no rules here. As long as you're doing it very sparingly, it's not likely a problem. I would not use a calcium supplement on the same day as a vitamin supplement, though. Supposedly they interfere with absorbtion if used at the same time.

As for the wildness - make them feel as safe as possible. Cover the sides of the cage if they're glass to give them more privacy. Make sure they have several low, snug hides. Don't bother them, including looking at them or rummaging in the cage, unless you absolutely have to. My wild caught pair that I've had since...2003?...still run from me and don't tolerate handling, though they aren't as crazy as when I first got them.

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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 for the advice, I'll bump the night time temps up. Is it safe for smaller uros to eat lentils? I have some but haven't offered any, maybe I'll grind them up just to be safe.
I'll cover the tank as it is glass and they have plenty of low hides which they use. I have been handling them some, figured they were like bearded dragon and ned some gentle handling so they learn I won't eat them.
The one I'm not selling won't be shipped, she will go back to the person who bought them and she is local.

You should wait before handling them. Wait until they are well acclimated and even then Uros aren't meant for handling. But I do know some people who do handle them and their Uros seem to calm down quite a lot. I guess it's up to you.

As for lentils. I serve it whole to my baby Uro, but you can grind it up in the coffee grinder if you like. I think the lentils are small enough for them to handle IMO.

Good luck with your URos!