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 #1910903


Jbreddawg
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 The long slow death of a uro

People need to understand that uro’s are a very hardy species. They are not fragile and are rather hard to kill.
Then why do we have all these posts everyday about how poorly someones uro is doing ? Or that he just "suddenly" died ??
They are very slow to grow. My ornates are 2 years old and are just starting to show colors. Their not even 80 grams yet.

It’s sad to say but uro’s can take alot of punishment before actually showing signs that there are problems. Maybe not to experienced keepers but to people who bought them from a petstore and never bother to do research until the uro is OBVIOUSLY having problems.
Not eating,sleeping all day , not "acting normal " all telltale signs .

Just because you have had your uro in a shoebox for years and it managed to actually stay alive does not mean he’s "fine"

I hope more people will actually research first instead of years later after the uro has been suffering the 20 gallon tank,warm baths,sitting on my shoulder for hours ,90 degree temps,kids running around the house with it , eating crickets and Romain lettuce ,calcisand,walnut shells ,and bearded dragon room mates.

You might as well pull up a chair and watch them die a long slow and painful death.
For anyone who doesnt think uros are a hardy lizard , just think how long a chameleon would last with bad husbandry ? A week ? maybe a month at most .
And yet, we see it on here all the time .
"I must be doing something right cause he’s still alive "

People, PLEASE for the sake of the pet that you have been intrusted to take care of RESEARCH !!!

All the answers are here for the taking. Everyone will be more then happy to help as long as you are willing to actually accept the help being offered.



12/07/08  09:53pm

 #1910908


MissAnne2u
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1910903


 The long slow death of a uro

Well Said !!!

I have to admit, my Uro purchase was a "spare of the moment" purchase and I have had to sink tons of $$$$ in getting everything right. I wish I had researched before buying, but I am lucky in that I have the resources to take care of them properly, along with all the help I have received from members here.

Please, if you really want a Uro, save up for a CB one and get it from a known breeder and do some research BEFORE you buy.



12/07/08  09:58pm

 #1910917


Casshammel
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1910903


 The long slow death of a uro

i can not agree with him more. a family member got ruby for my five year old for his birthday last year and i tried to get things right for months. i bought books out the dummy but let me tell you the don’t help. it wasn’t untill ruby stopped moving around that i found this forum. i now have everything corrected and she is doing great. i would not trade ruby in for any thing she is now part of the family but if i were to do it all over again i would have refused the gift and bought one from a breeder. so please any one on here looking for advice, listen to them and get it corrected rightaway.



12/07/08  10:14pm

 #1910938


Newmailmom
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   Message To: Casshammel   In reference to Message Id: 1910917


 The long slow death of a uro

Well said and I agree with you 100%!!!
12/07/08  11:29pm

 #1910998


Jbreddawg
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   Message To: Casshammel   In reference to Message Id: 1910917


 The long slow death of a uro

It’s nice to see that sometimes people really do want to make changes !! You will have her for a very long time to enjoy !
12/08/08  05:56am

 #1911339


Jbreddawg
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1910998


 The long slow death of a uro

Just bringing it up for some to read
12/08/08  07:47pm

 #1911525


Mommawilx
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1910903


 The long slow death of a uro

I appreciate how passionately everyone feels about the proper care of these fine creatures. Which is why I am trying my best to get all the info I can. I did research and ask alot of people questions about uros. Apparently I got alot of info that was not helpful. However give me a little credit for trying to improve his situation. Its not something I am taking lightly and I care for him very much. He has come out more in the last day and looks well and active. Thank you for the info on improvement I am going today to purchase new things. If someone could just be a little more specific about lighting (basking and cool end) I’m not sure pet stores in my area would have what I need so a website for supplies would be helpful
12/09/08  07:51am

 #1911551


Casshammel
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   Message To: Mommawilx   In reference to Message Id: 1911525


 The long slow death of a uro

i live in a very small town, but i did some looking on line and found a small snake shop about an hour away that had all of the cages and lighting items i needed. i was able to find a cage that was 72x24x24 i got lucky and the guy had just sold the snake that was in it and i begged him to sell it to me, told him my situation and he sold it to me right away, he said it wasn’t a problem to order another one. the cage ran me 250, i’m not sure if that is too much or not, i didn’t care i just wannted to make things right asap. My uro lived in bad conditions for 8 months and i made all the changes the day after posting on here and she is doing great. so even thought it might seem a little overwhelming, once it is done you and your uro will be very happy. also as far as the vet goes if you take a couple days worth of poo to any vet they can do a fecal exam for you, it only runs about $25. as far as your lighting questions i’m sorry i am not that experienced, but when i was going through this they told me that the cool end should run 80-85 and hot end 95-100 basking should be 125-130(i have two basking spots in mine one is 115 and one is 129) please do not go by what i say for that i am new to this some one will chime in and tell you the right temps. also i they suggested i buy a temp gun, which i did and it makes it alot eaiser to get the right temps.
12/09/08  09:53am

 #1911573


Orni
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   Message To: Casshammel   In reference to Message Id: 1911551


 The long slow death of a uro

Casshammel did give the correct temps, though I think 80 might be a little too cold for the cool end depending on the size of cage you get. I guess the bigger the cage the bigger the gradient you can have, someone else should comment on this?? Anyway, look into megarays Link for UV and heat; you have to have a tall tank for this to work as they need to be at least one foot from your lizard. As for caging, seems cheapest to make your own (no pine/cedar - oak is your safest bet) but you can also buy custom cages online. I would buy the mega ray and then see what your temps are after that before buying more heating lamps. You should put in a few bulbs in for lighting to make the cage bright. One suggestion I have, if your house gets cold at night, you could add a ceramic heat emitter to your mega ray to reach the 120-130 basking temp. With those two you can have the megaray on a timer and the emitter on 24hrs to have correct night and day temps.
12/09/08  11:31am

 #1911833


Jbreddawg
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   Message To: Orni   In reference to Message Id: 1911573


 The long slow death of a uro

I have to use a 100watt emmitter on 24-7 to keep the temps up.
Also, it’s great to see people who make changes !!! Too many people come on here just want to argure about how good their 20 gallon tank is.
If you willing to take advice and make changes then people on here are more then willing to help !!!

Cassie, doing great !!! Good advice !!
12/09/08  07:38pm

 #1912001


Alex_demont
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1911833


 The long slow death of a uro

as to keeping the temps up at night... i was told by the breeder and supposed expert i got my Uro from to let the temperature drop to low 70’s at night. I am not saying you are wrong, as I am new to uro’s and was wondering if she was even close to correct (but she is a breeder of the Mali species and that is which I have). I was just wondering if that was proper for my baby mali or if the breeder was a little off her rocker???

I am not arguing over the hot side, cool side, basking temps, and ambient temps as you



12/10/08  03:23am

 #1912016


Rtl402
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   Message To: Alex_demont   In reference to Message Id: 1912001


 The long slow death of a uro

night temps should be around 75F. Some places just get too cold at night, and instead of using a red light (as usually suggested by pet stores) use a ceramic heat emitter, which gives off no light, just heat. I keep my heat at 73F, the tanks usually are 74 when i wake up in the morning.. guess my digital therm is more accurate then the thermostat hah.
12/10/08  05:49am

 #1912026


Jbreddawg
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   Message To: Alex_demont   In reference to Message Id: 1912001


 The long slow death of a uro

It’s not that they cant survive temps going lower then 70 .
When I keep my nighttime temps from dropping below 75 then they are much more active and up sooner in the mornings.
It’s one of those things that most of us on here have already tried. The general consensus is 75 at night.
Some say a little lower . I personally just dont like my temps to fluctuate to much.
12/10/08  06:51am

 #1912030


MissAnne2u
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1912026


 The long slow death of a uro

I also keep my Ceramic Heat emitter on 24/7 ... its over my hot end basking area so that end doesn’t go below 75 at night, but the cool end does get down to the lower 70’s even high 60’s. I very rarely find my Uros sleeping on that end.... They are all out and about within an hour of the lights coming on at 7am. So having the night time temps up a little for mine is definately better.



12/10/08  07:09am

 #1912052


Alex_demont
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   Message To: MissAnne2u   In reference to Message Id: 1912030


 The long slow death of a uro

thank you to all of you, that really answered my question.



12/10/08  08:47am

 #1914285


Jbreddawg
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1910903


 The long slow death of a uro



12/14/08  08:32am

 #1923918


Jbreddawg
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1914285


 The long slow death of a uro

Please read this over. If you are doing any of the above to your uro , you need to make changes ASAP !!



12/31/08  05:29pm

 #1930921


Deenosmom
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1923918


 The long slow death of a uro

Just wanted to say thanks to you all cause my Uro is doing much much better. He is eating hes in a bigger tank. I bought a che for the heat at night so I don’t have to worry about my daughter putting on the ac at night.........Also he now eats carrots by being hand fed. ....deenos mom
01/12/09  09:57am

 #1932749


UROKEEPER
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1910903


 The long slow death of a uro

bump
01/15/09  01:58pm

 #1952763


Jbreddawg
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   Message To: UROKEEPER   In reference to Message Id: 1932749


 The long slow death of a uro

Something ALL newbies should read
02/14/09  05:45pm

 #1953081


Treyrenner
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1952763


 The long slow death of a uro

this is totally right! i want to point out that people need to get on forums like this one and learn alot before getting the pet bc i did about two months of research and still had everything wrong thanks to you guys i have started making changes but talk to people about it and have many sources



02/15/09  11:54am

 #1966342


Jbreddawg
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1910903


 The long slow death of a uro

Bump for some of the newbies
03/10/09  07:56pm

 #2017999


UROKEEPER
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   Message To: Jbreddawg   In reference to Message Id: 1966342


 The long slow death of a uro

bump
06/07/09  05:22pm

 #2018008


Lyrical
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   Message To: UROKEEPER   In reference to Message Id: 2017999


 The long slow death of a uro

I have read on alot of sites Romaine Lettuce is fine now you say it’s not I am confused
06/07/09  05:34pm

 #2018010


UROKEEPER
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   Message To: Lyrical   In reference to Message Id: 2018008


 The long slow death of a uro

it’s not bad but it’s not all that great either. it can be added to a varied diet infrequently but there are much better greens out there when it comes to nutrients. if feeding a wide variety of greens with the staple foods you can add some romain from time to time.



06/07/09  05:42pm


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