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Old 05-29-13, 03:02 PM   #16
smy_749
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Re: Uromastyx: healthy?

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Originally Posted by Pirarucu View Post
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:
Don't tempt me.....Something the size of an ackie with cool colors, behaves like monitor and doesn't need an infinite supply of insects? I may consider these in the future...

How large is your cage?
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Old 05-29-13, 04:51 PM   #17
Pirarucu
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Re: Uromastyx: healthy?

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Originally Posted by smy_749 View Post
Don't tempt me.....Something the size of an ackie with cool colors, behaves like monitor and doesn't need an infinite supply of insects? I may consider these in the future...

How large is your cage?
36"x18"x18". This species is actually smaller than an ackie by quite a bit. This species tops out at around ten inches.

That being said, if all goes well I shall be getting some ackies over the summer.
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