Uromastyx Questions

I am interested in getting a Uro soon(probably a Mali) and im just doing a ton of research before it gets serious. ive read a bunch of care sheets and looked at videos on youtube. so i just have some questions that werent mentioned thouroughly on care sheets.

-What wattage basking bulb should i use if i have him in a 40 gallon critter cage?

-Could i use a 75w infured bulb 24/7 on the cool side to keep the temps around 75~ at night and 90~ daytime?

-Could i use washed play sand as a substrate?

-What are the best staple veggies to feed a Mali Uro? Ive heard so much "dont feed this" and "dont feed that", so i just want to know the truth lol.

-What are the kinds of calcium and vitamins i need? and how often do i dust with them?

-What i want to do feeding wise is buy all the veggies i need and cut them up and put them in a large tupperware container. Then everyday i clean out the food dish from yesterday and put in new veggies from the tupperware with the calcium/vitamins if its the day. would that work?

-as hides, i was thinking of getting 2 bricks and separating them enough so that the uro could fit in it, than putting a piece of tile over it. Then it would be a basking spot and a hide! i would do one of those on each side. would that work?

i hope you guys can answer these as best u can!

thanks in advance!

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Originally Posted by bamf64

I am interested in getting a Uro soon(probably a Mali) and im just doing a ton of research before it gets serious. ive read a bunch of care sheets and looked at videos on youtube. so i just have some questions that werent mentioned thouroughly on care sheets.

-What wattage basking bulb should i use if i have him in a 40 gallon critter cage? I have to use a 150 basking bulb to get their basking spot hot enough

-Could i use a 75w infured bulb 24/7 on the cool side to keep the temps around 75~ at night and 90~ daytime? They do best with a sharp drop to around 65 at night so often enough no heat is needed at night

-Could i use washed play sand as a substrate? Bird seed and Alfalfa mix work best but if you want sand go with the reptile sand

-What are the best staple veggies to feed a Mali Uro? Ive heard so much "dont feed this" and "dont feed that", so i just want to know the truth lol. Plenty of greens like romaine, Bok-choy, collard greens and veggies like green peas and beans, Corn, Carrots, Squash

-What are the kinds of calcium and vitamins i need? and how often do i dust with them? If you are going to use a calcium suplement make sure you get one that will also give them a D3 supplement even if you are using a UVB bulb which is required And twice a week is often enough

-What i want to do feeding wise is buy all the veggies i need and cut them up and put them in a large tupperware container. Then everyday i clean out the food dish from yesterday and put in new veggies from the tupperware with the calcium/vitamins if its the day. would that work? The best time to feed is first thing in the morning and remove the food in early afternoon, If you want to leave food in leave dried beans in and not the greens, Uro's need time to digest their food before bed and later feeding does not allow that. But the tupperware idea is similar to what I use

-as hides, i was thinking of getting 2 bricks and separating them enough so that the uro could fit in it, than putting a piece of tile over it. Then it would be a basking spot and a hide! i would do one of those on each side. would that work? That is simkilar to what I use, This is similar to my setup Just make sure the hide is barely as big as they are they like to be real confined in their hides

i hope you guys can answer these as best u can!

thanks in advance!

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Thanks a lot!

anyone else? i want to get as many opinions as possible.

bump. anyone?

Wow, I just realized I answered in the wrong thread...lets try this again.

For bulbs I recommend using T-Rex Active UV Heat mercury vapor bulbs. Last I checked they put out the most UVA/UVB and last the longest. I use 100 watt bulbs and have no problem getting the proper temps.

For basking I put down a piece of slate, adjust height of the bulb and use a infrared temp gun to get the desired temperature.

For food, if you have a yard I would suggest growing some Hollyhock. Uro's LOVE the flowers they produce. Mix some Hollyhock blooms in with the normal diet. My uro can't get enough of them...

I found Deer Fern Farms to have some very good info. http://www.deerfernfarms.com/Uromastyx_Care.htm

My little uro:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y10...z/_MG_9325.jpg

how come everyones telling me to use a 150w basking bulb? if i got the Trex MVb, i think i would get the 160w. what are your basking temps?

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Originally Posted by bamf64

how come everyones telling me to use a 150w basking bulb? if i got the Trex MVb, i think i would get the 160w. what are your basking temps?

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I think it depends on setup. I could see needing a 150w bulb depending on substrate or basking spot material and bulb distance.

My basking temps range between 110 and 115 degrees using a piece of slate and the 100 watt bulb suspended 16" from the top of the slate.

Thanx for posting this, I am about to get one as well.