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#2263700 JCGepyuro View Profile	Shedding Concern I have a hatchling Egyptian Uromastyx that is about 5 months old. He did most of his shedding back at the end of February. However he still has some of his old skin on his tail, arms (hands and top of arm), and legs . I’m concerned as to why he still has some of his old skin still there or if some of it is maybe part of a new shedding. How often do Uromastyx’s shed? Is it normal for hatchlings who are so small that they aren’t able to get rid of some of their skin especially hard to reach areas? What happens if they aren’t able to get all of their skin off? Is there anything that I can do to help him? Thanks in advance for any help!
04/21/12  06:21pm
#2263750 UROKEEPER View Profile	Message To: JCGepyuro   In reference to Message Id: 2263700  Shedding Concern young uro’s shed quite a bit more than adults and the tails usually shed last or sometimes weeks later or even until the next shed. This sound normal. the back and body usually shed first. all the uro needs is time it doesn’t need any help. we cannot help this process. pulling ea skin off the uro may cause a bad shed or future shed problems. leave the uro be. make sure there are rocks in the cage for him to rub on. everything you said is a normal part of shedding.
04/22/12  10:22am
#2263752 Vers View Profile	Message To: JCGepyuro   In reference to Message Id: 2263700  Shedding Concern Can you provide a bit more information? Providing enclosure, heating/humidity, lighting, diet, substrate and hide details will help. Generally speaking, while uromastyx should not be exposed to high humidity they do require moderate levels (~25-30%), especially within their hides, to assist with shedding. They should also be provided with rough surfaces (rocks, branches, etc etc) in order for them to rub against. I’m not sure if going months without shedding completely is normal but shedding in sections/spots is, specifically the tail and other extremities.
04/22/12  10:31am
#2263756 JCGepyuro View Profile	Message To: Vers   In reference to Message Id: 2263752  Shedding Concern 1) How long have you owned the animal About 3 months 2) Dimensions of the enclosure you are using. Measure it- do not guess or give gallon size. Also describe enclosure. Height is 12 inches Width is 12 inches Length is 24 inches He has a log on his basking side of his enclosure that he can climb on as well as areas where he can dig around it and holes under where he sleeps. 3) Species (if known), length, and weight of the animal Egyptian Uro 4) Listing of all animals kept in the enclosure referred to in the post None besides the one 5) Basking spot temperature and how that temperature was measured 100-110 the type of bulb not sure if it matters is a zoo-med 6) Temperature throughout the rest of the enclosure (warm and cool areas) and how these temperatures were measured e.g. digital thermometer, stick on dial thermometer. Provide the nighttime temperatures as well. rest of the cage is around 80 to 90 degrees and at night it can get around 75 sometimes lower. I use a I am not sure about the humidity. How would i check that. 7) Acknowledge whether you are using a UVB bulb and if so, the brand, age of bulb, and distance from the bulb to the uromastyx I do have a UVB light and the light is the one we got back when we got him. It is on top of his cage. The top has a screen that goes across. The UVB bulb is also a zoo-med bulb 8) Diet items being fed and how often each item is fed He eats collard greens and bird seed everyday. Depending on what I have sometimes he will have Bok Choy as well or mustard greens. 10) Type of substrate (cage bottom material). If this is sand, state whether it is calcium sand Sand not calcium. 11) Describe your animal’s daily routine. When it exits the hide, when it retreats for the night, how long it is usually out throughout the day, is it active during this time, how much time does it spend sitting on the basking spot…. He gets up around 8:30ish or so and is laying near his basking spot. lately he has been staying there most of the day. He will move around and dig in his sand and then go up on his log and bask there. Sometimes he will go back under where he sleeps and lay there during the day. He usually is more active like digging and sometimes scratching on the glass later in the day. His lights go off at 7pm and usually he is already in the place he sleeps or will go there in the next 20 to 30 minutes. 12) Describe your animal’s appetite. He has a pretty good appetite there are no days where he wont eat. 13) Describe any unusual behaviors you are seeing or any recent changes in behavior. Also note whether any recent modifications have been made to this animal’s environment. e.g new enclosure, move to another room, new heat bulb.... He isn’t as active as he has been lately. 14) Describe how often this animal is handled and the type of handling. He is handled daily when I feed him. Keep him out for a little while after and he crawls around on me. I dont know how to post pictures..
04/22/12  11:44am
#2263766 Vers View Profile	Message To: JCGepyuro   In reference to Message Id: 2263756  Shedding Concern Thanks. I’ll address each point in relation to the above order. 2) The enclosure you’re currently housing the uro in is far too small--at the very least it should be a 40g breeder while young (sub 7") and it’s going to have to be significantly larger (at least 6x3) within a year, preferably sooner. As a general rule of thumb the enclosure should be 4x the animals adult length in length and 2x it’s length in depth/width. The species you purchased can grow up to 3ft in length, so even a 6x3 enclosure would be considered small. The tank you have the uro will prevent you from setting up a proper temperature gradient, which is a crucial aspect in regards to the uro’s health. You should also be providing at least two hides (one on the cool end, one on the warm end) that are securely anchored to the bottom of the tank (at least three points of contact) to ensure the uro cannot dig beneath it, which could cause the structure to collapse and crush or suffocate the animal. 5) What type and wattage of ZooMed bulb is it? How are you measuring these temps? At 100-110f you’re not providing an adequate basking temp, which should be in the 120f range. If you don’t have one already, I would seriously suggest investing in a digital temp gauge as well as a decent IR temp gun with a ratio of 6:1 or up. 6) This is OK for now, but once you raise the basking temperature you will raise the cool end temps, which would then exceed the ideal range. As for measuring humidity, an outdoor/indoor digital temp gauge, as mentioned above, would do the trick. 7) Can you provide more information in regards to the specific type of UVB bulb you’re using? Also, how far is it placed from the animal at the closest point? 8) Offering a diet mainly comprised of curly endive and escarole with smaller amounts of, for example, bok choy, collards, radicchio, dandelion greens, spaghetti squash, yellow peppers etc etc alternated ever couple of days would be more ideal. I would avoid offering mustard greens, at least regularly, as there are many other food items that offer better nutritional value without the tradeoffs. Please visit UroWiki’s ’List of Food’ page for more information. 9) Any supplements? 10) What type of sand is it? I ask because sometimes people think the sand isn’t calci sand when it is. 13) Many factors play a role in activity level, including diet, temps and quality of light (UVB, light spectrum). Some of the above info will help you straight away, but you will need to provide a bit more info in order to get everything in proper order. In the meantime I would highly suggest visiting the UroWiki webpage to read up and further inform yourself--it will be a tremendous help.
04/22/12  01:03pm
#2263800 JCGepyuro View Profile	Message To: Vers   In reference to Message Id: 2263766  Shedding Concern Just an FYI this will not be his normal cage it is only temporary. I’m at college right now and the largest I can have at school is 20 gallons. (I didn’t have a way of getting him home when I got him bc i am about 1000 miles from home here and we had to buy him then or we couldn’t get another for about a year or so). The one at home which he will be changed to next week is a 40/50 gallon might be a little bigger not sure it is our old bearded dragons cage. That cage does have more hides one on both side as well as in the back that goes across. I’m not sure about the bulbs exactly one because I am not in my dorm right now and two I don’t have the boxes anymore. The UVB bulb sits on top of the screen. Once he is back home and staying there it will be easier to set things up the best way possible and have the right food (I am limited in what I can get here without a car or a lot of money). Thank you for your help. I will try and fix as much as I can now with what I have available. Also the sand isn’t calcium because we bought it from the specialty store where we got him and they specifically told us not to have calcium sand. Sorry if this isn’t in the best order.
04/22/12  05:03pm
#2263803 Vers View Profile	Message To: JCGepyuro   In reference to Message Id: 2263800  Shedding Concern In that case I would recommend the following: -Replace the basking bulb with a 100w ZooMed PowerSun MVB, which will provide both heat and UVB, cutting a hole in the screen below the bulb to allow full heat and light potential. If I knew what type of fluorescent you were using I’d recommend just getting it or the animal closer (8-12") however for all I know it may be the wrong bulb. -Offer at least two low clearance hides. Do you have access to a home improvement store where you are? If so, grab a couple 8-10" non-coated ceramic tiles (~$2 ea) and a few strips of 1x1.5 (or so) hard wood trim (you can cut them to size there) and either hot glue or silicone (clear, w/o mold inhibitors) the trim to the bottom of the tile on three (or three and a half) sides leaving ~1.5" of clearance. Allow the glue/silicone to cure for 12 hours. You should have no problem doing this for under $10. -At the very least you must provide a decent diet. Curly endive and escarole are similarly priced to collards and other leafy green lettuces and they should be equally available. -You should be thinking of another enclosure option for when you go home. As I said, the uromastyx you purchased requires a much larger enclosure than that of a 40 or 50g.
04/22/12  05:33pm
#2263806 JCGepyuro View Profile	Message To: Vers   In reference to Message Id: 2263803  Shedding Concern how much of a hole below the screen would i need to cut. The screen right now does have holes Figured out how to upload pictures the one below is how the lighting is situated not the best picture i know but ya here is the cage right now. and here are some pictures of him :) the one right below this message I took today thank you for all your help Godzilla (though I usually just call him little one) will be home next friday. Also this will be his normal cage.
04/22/12  05:49pm
#2263808 JCGepyuro View Profile	Message To: JCGepyuro   In reference to Message Id: 2263806  Shedding Concern also you still havent told me how often uros this age normally shed
04/22/12  05:53pm
#2263813 Vers View Profile	Message To: JCGepyuro   In reference to Message Id: 2263806  Shedding Concern Yea, I would definitely replace the main basking bulb with a 100w PowerSun and the current uvb with a 23w or 27w daylight rated compact fluorescent. The hole should be slightly smaller than the diameter of the fixture housing and the new PowerSun should be mounted above the top, not on it. The current uvb you’re using is useless--this is something they absolutely need. It’s also important to get those hides in there, which will help significantly. As for shedding, they shed when they need to...its really the least of your concerns, though.
04/22/12  06:19pm
#2263814 JCGepyuro View Profile	Message To: Vers   In reference to Message Id: 2263813  Shedding Concern why is the current UVB useless just curious? I mean this was the UVB the reptile store gave us.
04/22/12  06:23pm
#2263827 Vers View Profile	Message To: JCGepyuro   In reference to Message Id: 2263814  Shedding Concern Unfortunately pet stores will often sell items just to move stock (a lot of them still push calci-sand, one of the worst products ever created). Generally speaking compact fluorescent UVB bulbs are the worst UVB option out there, often generating inconstant and historically dangerous amounts of UVB output. This is why many recommend only MVB (mercury vapor) and standard fluorescent UVB bulbs with a rating of 10-12%.
04/22/12  07:09pm

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