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#2277221 GuyFromTX View Profile	NEW URO! 1) How long have you owned the animal 2 Weeks 2) Dimensions of the enclosure you are using. Measure it- do not guess or give gallon size Current - 20 Gal aquarium... I know its bad but its all I got right now Building 64.5x24x24 ... be done as soon as glass door comes in 3) Species (if known), length, and weight of the animal UNKNOWN 4) Listing of all animals kept in the enclosure referred to in the post One URO 5) Basking spot temperature and how that temperature was measured Basking spot will be set between 120-130 measured with IR probe 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. Warm area between 95-105 Cold area between 85-95 2 digital thermometer probes measured at the Uro’s level towards the bottom of the enclosure 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 Reptisun 10.0 UVB 24" covering the left side of the enclosure Brand new bulb and will 15" from the basking spot and 18" from secondary basking spot 8) Diet items being fed and how often each item is fed Right now just escarole but looking to give him some more variety 9) List of the supplements being used, how much is used, and how often the supplement is used None at this time 10) Type of substrate (cage bottom material). If this is sand, state whether it is calcium sand Enclosure bottom is slate tile with limestone flagstone at secondary level 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…. Right now he is in a small aquarium (20gal) so he is not too happy. He comes out in the morning and lays on the basking rock for an hour or so.. eats his food and hangs out under a rock off and on throughout the rest of the day. He stays under the rock after about 7 and then repeats his routine the next day. When he is in his new enclosure I think he will be much more active with all the space. 12) Describe your animal’s appetite. He eats his escarole just fine and eats about 3 leaves per day. 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.... No strange behavior just tale whips when I try to pick him up to clean his cage out but that is from me having to approach him from the top of the aquarium. 14) Describe how often this animal is handled and the type of handling. Only to clean his cage out ... whenever he poo’s (1-2 times per week) 15) State whether the animal has been to a vet, when that was, and whether the animal was diagnosed with a medical condition. Also state whether the uromastyx has ever had a fecal check. If so states when the fecal check was done, what was found, and if medication was prescribed. Has not been to a vet, had fecal check, etc. This is the enclosure I am currently building. Everything will be secured in place when done this is just a rough layout I put together. The rock on the left has a 2.25" clearance and the one on the right has a 2" clearance. There will be a basking spot on the far left (heat/UV), main in the middle on the slate(heat/UV), and third on far right which will be heat only/no UV. I also will add another ramp on the right for him to get onto those rocks. I am going to install a sliding glass door for the front with a wire mesh top with multiple heat lamps and 24"UVB. Any suggestions or concerns before I finalize this enclosure?? This is a picture of my Uro ... I think its a Mali since I found it in my backyard. Any info would be appreciated.
08/18/12  09:41pm
#2277236 Pris View Profile	Message To: GuyFromTX   In reference to Message Id: 2277221  NEW URO! You found it in your backyard??? In TX? Obviously escaped from somewhere - just curious if you checked any postings for lost animals. Your enclosure looks awesome. There are more knowledgable people on this site than me - but my only concern is the all tile substrate. Is there a chance this would get too hot baking under the light?
08/18/12  11:16pm
#2277239 GuyFromTX View Profile	Message To: Pris   In reference to Message Id: 2277236  NEW URO! Ya he has been in and out of my backyard for the past month.. I have a flagstone patio he likes to hang out on. I did not see any signs or anything; I’m guessing someone couldn’t handle it so just let it go. I just did a test run and the cage is so large that the heat lamps focus is solely on the basking tile so the tiles on the 1st level do not receive direct heat. They appear to just stay whatever temperature the cage is at so it looks ok from that aspect. My only concern now is do I need a spot for him to dig/burrow like a sand box or will he be happy with his rocky environment.
08/19/12  12:29am
#2277240 Vers View Profile	Message To: GuyFromTX   In reference to Message Id: 2277221  NEW URO! The species you have is, indeed, a mali, but I’m not sure why you would make that assumption just because you’re in TX as they are not a native species, in fact the entire genus are foreign to the Americas. Regardless, it sounds like you’ve done your research and the work in progress is coming along very nicely--I wish I had access to natural stone like that up here! Is there a particular reason for the screen top? If you go this route A LOT of heat is going to escape into what ever room the enclosure it in. In the meanwhile you may want to tone down the cool end temps--they should remain below 90f, especially in a small tank. You can raise the basking rock as well as the basking light itself in order to manipulate the temperature gradient. What types of wireless thermometer probes are you using--digital or analog? When you adjust the basking surface and basking lamp be sure to adjust the UVB bulb as well--you want the uro to be within 12". Also, please note that picking the animal up from above is extremely stressful. If you can, try very slowly scooping it up from the opposite end of the tank, keeping your hand as low as possible. Lastly, I would highly suggest bringing a fecal sample to your vet for testing. All in all though, you seem to be on the right track!
08/19/12  12:45am
#2277242 Vers View Profile	Message To: GuyFromTX   In reference to Message Id: 2277239  NEW URO! Quote: My only concern now is do I need a spot for him to dig/burrow like a sand box or will he be happy with his rocky environment. Although uros tend to avoid sand in the wild, they do like to dig and burrow. Frankly, I see very little reason to add particulate substrate if there is no chance to create and hold a burrow--that’s the only good purpose it serves, in my opinion. Otherwise, it’s just a health risk.
08/19/12  12:54am
#2277295 GuyFromTX View Profile	Message To: Vers   In reference to Message Id: 2277240  NEW URO! Not sure why I was going with a screen top I guess I just saw some other people doing it. It does make sense about the heat escaping so I am going to go with a wood top with cutouts for the lights... now I just need to determine how much ventilation I need for the amount of heat lamps I have. The probes I am using are a wired digital zoo med probe which I am going to run through the plywood and measure the temperature at the Uro’s level. Right now the cool end stays in the mid 80’s throughout the day. As for a fecal sample I am going to start looking for a vet on Monday and get this done.
08/19/12  06:52pm
#2277306 Vers View Profile	Message To: GuyFromTX   In reference to Message Id: 2277295  NEW URO! This might be an idea for you as well...check out how I have the lighting mounted. And here is a mockup of a split-top I designed for a 40gal breeder... Seriously consider using the basking lamp(s) on a dimmer/rheostat and don’t forget to add considerable lighting throughout the enclosure--23-30w daylight rated CFL bulbs are great for additional ambient lighting. I would also HIGHLY recommend Arcadia t5 HO 12% UVB fluorescent bulbs (lightyourreptiles.com)--these things perform excellently.
08/19/12  09:11pm
#2277352 Vers View Profile	Message To: Vers   In reference to Message Id: 2277306  NEW URO! Also, don’t forget to add some type of ventilation--especially on the warm end of the enclosure. If ambient temps in the room are warm to begin with there is a good chance the enclosure’s ambient temps will become too hot. If that’s not the case you could always close the ventilation hole off.
08/20/12  02:23pm

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