Uromastyx: healthy?

Trollbie · 04-16-13, 11:40 AM

My sister in law has a Uro named sunshine. He seems healthy except a bit of stuck shed and what looks like stuck shed on his tail. I know nothing about them so I told her I'd post a thread on a forum to get expert advice. Here are some photos of sunshine. Does he look healthy?

Also she keeps him on millet seed. Is that a good substrate?

I apologize about the bad picture quality...

Trollbie · 04-16-13, 11:41 AM

He also had one overgrown nail. Is there a way to fix that?

Starbuck · 04-16-13, 12:06 PM

One of my leopard geckos used to get sheds stuck on his toenails; i would put him in about an inch of lukewarm water (no warmer than 85 degrees or so) for 10-15 minutes (NEVER leave an animal unattended while in a water bath), then either have him crawl around on something like a terry cloth towel (so his toes go in and out of the fabric) or gently try to wipe/rub his feet until the stuck shed came off. The earlier you work on his toes the easier it will be to fix, many layers of stuck shed can cause constriction and eventually the toes can fall off.

As for the tail, i'd think the same treatment? It doesnt look very bad at this point, but I have never kept a Uro so this is all second hand advice.

Trollbie · 04-16-13, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starbuck

One of my leopard geckos used to get sheds stuck on his toenails; i would put him in about an inch of lukewarm water (no warmer than 85 degrees or so) for 10-15 minutes (NEVER leave an animal unattended while in a water bath), then either have him crawl around on something like a terry cloth towel (so his toes go in and out of the fabric) or gently try to wipe/rub his feet until the stuck shed came off. The earlier you work on his toes the easier it will be to fix, many layers of stuck shed can cause constriction and eventually the toes can fall off.

As for the tail, i'd think the same treatment? It doesnt look very bad at this point, but I have never kept a Uro so this is all second hand advice.

I heard Uros aren't supposed to be around water. I could be very wrong, but that's what I heard.

Starbuck · 04-16-13, 12:48 PM

That is true, they are a desert animal.

However, retained shed on the tails and toenails are very often caused by a husbandry issue. D. M. Mader's text 'reptile medicine and surgery' recommends a brief soak before you attempt any manual removal of stuck sheds on the toes.
Im not saying to keep him for hours at a time in a bath, or even every day. Try every other day for 10 minutes (then gentle manual manipulation) until it resolves, then stop the baths completely.

Starbuck · 04-16-13, 12:49 PM

I dont know of any other method to safely remove stuck sheds, other than leaving it. If anyone does, please post!

Trollbie · 04-16-13, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starbuck

I dont know of any other method to safely remove stuck sheds, other than leaving it. If anyone does, please post!

So you think his overgrown toe is stuck shed?

Starbuck · 04-16-13, 01:01 PM

Oops, i thought thats what you were trying to say in your original post... Hard to tell from those pics, i apologize.
If it is just an overgrown nail, i would try using a fine emery board (if he will sit still), as its very unlikely to get to the quick and cause him to bleed.

StudentoReptile · 04-16-13, 05:59 PM

Other than the aforementioned issues, I say your Uro looks great.

Trollbie · 04-16-13, 07:44 PM

Thanks guys! I'll tell her to give him a soak then

TragicTaste · 04-16-13, 08:01 PM

Im not sure if I had an isolated incident but tell her to be careful when giving the soak, when I had my mali-uro the only time he ever thrashed me, was when I first got him and gave him a soak to remove some stuck shed. I got some good scratches out of that one!

Trollbie · 04-16-13, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TragicTaste

Im not sure if I had an isolated incident but tell her to be careful when giving the soak, when I had my mali-uro the only time he ever thrashed me, was when I first got him and gave him a soak to remove some stuck shed. I got some good scratches out of that one!

Thanks! I'm probably gonna be the one giving it a soak anyway and I don't mind haha

smy_749 · 04-17-13, 05:18 AM

These pictures make me want a uro....very nice looking animal, the belly is nuts.

Trollbie · 04-23-13, 10:56 PM

Sunshine got a bath today. I was able to get most of the stuck shed off of him.

Pirarucu · 05-28-13, 05:13 PM

I'm just going to share this, because I think it is worth taking into account. Especially after the comment about them being desert animals, implying that any sort of water/humidity is bad for them.

My brother obtained an Arabian Uromastyx about two years ago, and at first we kept him as the average care sheet suggested. Very dry, with a basking area of around 120F. At first, he seemed to be doing well. Over time however, he became rather lethargic, and eventually he was spending 90% of his time in his buried hide. Over this time he also lost several nails and his tail did not shed well at all. I encouraged my brother to try something else, and we started keeping him on a sand/soil mix that could hold a burrow. The thought behind this was that in the wild, animals in dry environments usually conserve moisture by taking refuge underground, so he may have been telling us the cage was too dry. We also upped his basking temperature by a LOT, so he could choose from a wide range of temperatures. He had access to surface temps of over 180F, with ambient temperatures in the 90-100 range on the warm side. In short, we kept him more like a monitor. The only key difference is that his enclosure is not sealed, so that the whole cage is not humid. The substrate is moist at depth however, so the burrows are more humid. He has since become extremely active and inquisitive, and behaves like a wild animal. He doesn't waddle around the cage, he runs. If you attempt to grab him, he puffs up and defends himself instead of just laying there. He acts like a monitor, something I have yet to see with any other Uromastyx. He constructed burrows, and has been spending less and less time in them. Now, he spends most of the day out of his burrows, and only spends the later part of the day and the night in them. He sheds very well, we have the intact shed from his whole back around here somewhere. He has also begun regrowing the lost nails.
It's up to the individual keeper, but I have to say ours has done very well with the change. I would recommend other keepers try offering theirs more choices in their environments, to see what results you have.
Here is a picture from the other day: