Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just recently purchased a Mali uromastyx. It is a girl, around 6 to 8 inches long, not sure on the age. I have a few questions about them.
1. I have converted my old fish tank, ( 16 inches deep, 20 inches tall, 37 inches long). I have about 2 inches of calcium sand, a den, a heat rock, a log going up to a stone under the heating light. I have one heat light and one uvb light. I have a infrared light to but I’m not sure if that is needed? My temp Gage reads out around 83 degrees with the lights on. It’s around 100 under the heating light and around 80 on the cool side. I am not sure how to get the temperature up because I am sure it is down to low for her.
2. I have had her for about 2 days and have not seem her eat at all. I have gotten her kelp, zucchini, carrots, and collared greens. But I’m not sure how to get her to eat? I’ve tried to put her near the food but it does not look as if she has eating.
3. I have gotten her from petsmart. They had her for over 5 months, she is very aggressive. I am sure it is because is was not handled much. What is the best way to get her to be more friendly?

1.) First, get rid of the heat rock. Its a completely useless, if not hazardous product for a reptile. If you have proper lighting, there is no need for one.
2.) When you say the warm end is about 100'F, is that the ambient air temperature, or is that the actual surface temps of the ground directly below the basking lamp? You should ideally have a real rock or stone under that lamp, which will provide a more natural basking area than a heat rock. This surface should between 120-140'F. You will need a digital thermometer with a sensor or a temperature gun to gauge the temps from this spot. The little sticky thermometers are useless.
3.) As for food, lean more toward leafy greens then other vegetables. I feed my Uro kale, romaine lettuce and the "spring mix" salad mix commonly available at grocery stores. You can also grind up a 15-bean soup mix into a powder and leave that in there 24/7 for the Uro to nibble/graze on. What time of the day are you feeding him?
4.) Also provide plenty of hides and shelters, on all ends of the cage. Many Uros prefer to hide under a decoration under the basking lamp as opposed to basking out in the open for extended periods of time. Various blocks and planks can achieve this. The more temp gradients you provide, the better.

5.) Don't worry about handling for now. Get his habitat adjusted accordingly with proper decorations and lighting, and wait til he starts eating more regularly before starting to handle him.

Also check out: DeerFernFarms.com for more detailed care info if you haven't already.

your best option here is to google 'uro wiki' for the best up to date info. You need to make a lot of changes.
get rid of the calcium sand and heat rock right away. You need a good temperature gradient, which means a larger enclosure. 75 gallon fish tank would be absolute minimum. (48"x18"x18"

Diet should consist of escarole, curly endive (also known as chickory), bok choy, radicchio, dandelion greens, etc.
The foods you are feeding are definitely a no-no.

Get a good digital thermometer and IR temp gun (tempgun.com) very reasonable price. This will give you proper temp readings for basking and ambient temps. Also a good UVB bulb (reptileuv.com) should be used. The tube bulbs do not have a very good output and need to be 6" away to be effective. Get a good MVB (mercury vapor bulb) 16" away and you will get great UVB output and heat for up to a year per bulb!