Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently took in a pair of adult Mali Uros (male & female) who, to the best of my knowledge, got along fine. Keep in mind that I was also told that they are basically too lazy to reproduce. My friend was not able to bring them up north so he also gave me an old aquarium (4ft x 1ft x 20in) and stand. This tank is much bigger than the one they were sharing so I have added a stronger basking light (150W) and attached a large heating pad to the underside (below their hide).
Unfortunately, I live in an 80 year old house with poorly insulated wood floors so the lizards spent most of the time curled up in their hide (utilizing the heating pad). I would occasionally see her basking, but the female rarely ventured out as much as the male. He is obviously the dominant one but always seemed more oblivious than aggressive.
Now that it is warming up, he has taken to biting her neck skin and anterior body. I know that this is mating behavior (possibly brought on by the cold snap?) but she seems entirely unwilling. The other day he was pulling her back into their hide by her tale as she struggled to evade him. It is beginning to look more painful than annoying but I can't say that for sure because this is my first experience with lizards. They still sleep in the same hide at night, however, I lifted it up yesterday and he grabbed her neck as if to keep her from leaving. Needless to say I am greatly concerned about the female's stress level and nutritional uptake.
I am sorry for including so many details but I have searched the web for a while now and have yet to find the answers to some of the following questions (ANY and all help is greatly appreciated)...
Can I separate them/divide the tank?
Do uros have a mating season?
If so, can they be reintroduced after the season ends?
Should I just let the biting behavior persist?
Tank you for your time and advice.
Gabe

Don't worry about offering details - the more the better for getting help. Lazy has nothing to do with it. If they don't mate, there's a reason: incorrectly sexed (i.e. two males?), not old enough, too old, poor health, poor nutrition, parasites, etc. etc. etc. I took in a pair of Malis long ago that were supposed to be a male/female pair and soon realized they were both males. You can't always trust what they tell you.

Is the female flipping onto her back at all (rejecting a mating attempt)? Does the male do any head bobbing or push ups? Does he bite and try to mount or does he just bite? Biting her tail is bad. If you feel uncomfortable with the behavior you're seeing - and it sounds like you are, I would recommend separating them right away. Mating usually happens in the spring and into the summer, but if it's territorial aggression, they may have to be separated forever.

I know they were kept in a smaller enclosure before, but do not divide the tank you have. It's barely big enough for one - the lizards are longer than the tank is wide (or they will be soon). Get a second tank at least as big. Four feet by two feet is a good size for one uro. Aim for a wider tank at the very least.

Some recommendations? Get a quality digital thermometer with probe, and make sure there's a good temperature gradient across the whole tank. You can find them in the garden center of most big stores. If your house is cold, it's unlikely one 150 watt bulb is enough. You've seen that they huddle in the warm spot. If the temps are right, you should see them using the whole space of the tank, not just one spot or one side. If they're healthy and in a proper environment, they're very active and curious lizards. Ideally, you want a basking surface temp around 120F or a little higher. About 2/3 of the tank should be at or near 100F. The cool side (that last 1/3 or so) should be no lower than 85F.

Hope that helps. Good luck with them!
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1.3 Saharan Uros (Joe, Arthur, Hitch, Lefty, and Skywalker)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.3 Collared Lizards (Ripcord, Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Niacin)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Thank you for the fast response. No, the female DOES NOT roll onto her back at any point during the mating attempts. It would certainly appear that he is trying to mount, however, most of the time he ends up holding on to her skin while she drags him around the tank. The tail biting only occurred once and it seemed like he was desperately trying to regain hold of her after losing grip on her neck skin. The videos I have found of uros mating usually seem to involve a male pestering a larger female...this is not the case here as he is larger than she is.
I came home today and they were both in their hide together. I'm in the process of contacting the previous owner because it is my understanding that they have always gotten along and separating them is not something I look forward to doing.
I can tell that the female's skin is dry and looks like a shed might occur in the near future. Because her skin is dry, I can also easily observe that the areas around her back/shoulders have a pinched appearance (from the bites) and he dry skin is flaking off. Should I be concerned about this? Is there anything I can do to improve the condition of her skin?
Also, I greatly appreciate the advice regarding the temperature gradient. I will be purchasing a thermometer this Thursday (pay day) and hope to stabilize their environment (in the meantime I have purchased an additional 150W spot w/stand). I was researching the point-and-shoot model of digital thermometer, do you recommend one with a probe over these types?
Thank you again. As always any help is appreciated.

I forgot to mention that the "male" has been seen bobbing his head. Ultimately, he displays much more energy/curiosity than the female.
Thank you

For thermometers - both are good types but they measure different things. The IR kind (point and shoot) tells you the surface temperature and is excellent for understanding your basking spot. The digital probe thermometer is usually a little cheaper and tells you the air temperature around the probe. This is good for checking the gradient throughout the cage - especially if it has a min/max feature. I use both kinds.

Using the same hide doesn't necessarily mean they're ok together. It might just mean it's the only warm spot and she wants the warmth more than she wants to be away from him. Getting along sometimes just means that no one has seen them actively fighting. Uros that live together peacefully for years can sometimes turn on each other for no reason that we can see (there IS a reason, we just might never know what it is). There can be intimidation happening that we don't generally notice until it escalates. Since you know she's being bitten and she's not coming out as much as the male, it sounds like she would definitely do better in her own enclosure. Even if it's mating attempts and isn't territorial aggression, he's certainly hassling her enough to stress her greatly. If she's in her own cage, she'll likely be more active and eat more (and you'll be able to keep track of food intake) which equals better hydration and health and her skin issues might well solve themselves.

It's expensive and a pain in the butt, but separating them sounds like the best course of action to me.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1.3 Saharan Uros (Joe, Arthur, Hitch, Lefty, and Skywalker)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.3 Collared Lizards (Ripcord, Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Niacin)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Thank you so much.
I am indeed separating them and plan on building two 4ftX2ftX18in enclosures ASAP. She will also be getting a doctors visit Thursday. I am open to any additional advice regarding cage construction/design, but have been doing my research none stop. I am taking taking this very seriously and genuinely appreciate the help.