Need some advice with a Uromastyx Lizard

I need some advice with a uromastyx lizard I just got from craigslist. He's very dark, which I am understand is not normal. He was being feed bird food and lettuce (I'm assuming iceburg lettuce). He didn't have a UVA/UVB blub and they were using a hot rock. He looks like he has a lot of stuck shed, especially around his tail. He also seems to have some stuck shed around his nostrils which makes is breathing sound labored. I did not get him at a good time because I have to go out of town tomorrow morning and I won't be back until late Tuesday night. I also got him around 6pm and all of the pet stores were closed as it's Sunday, so I wasn't able to get him a UVA/UVB light today. I plan on correcting his habit on Wednesday when I get back, I've done my research so I think I'm all set there but what should I do about his stuck shed? This is my first lizard so I'm hoping I can get him healthy again.

Photos:

http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_1062.jpg

http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_1063.jpg

I would soak him in a luke warm bath in the sink, use reptisafe in the water or whatever you have as a water conditioner.
Soak him in a few inches of water for around 10-15 mintues then ever so gently you can try to massage the dead skin off of his body. I would repeat this process maybe when you return on tuesday if the shed remains. But getting him his heat with proper bulbs and the right diet are going to be the big things right now.
If you've done your research you should know what kind of bulbs you need and what temps to keep him at. As well as a proper diet.
I hope this helps, keep us updated.

I would think a little soak may help. I let my leos play in the sink with a liile water in it to remove any stuck shed from their toes.

do you know what species he is?
depending on what species he is he may actually just be that dark. I dont really know my uro species well.

He will need to be soaked in shallow luke warm water just like a dragon.

The uros won't eat any insects as adults. If they do it's pretty rare. Lettuce and bird food??? Omg poor thing. My best friend has one and he only gets the best greens.

Turnip, Collard, Kale, etc. Shredded carrots, some diced fruits n berries once in awhile. Dandy lion greens n flowers. Just about anything you would give a beardie.

They usually won't drink from a bowl so a water bowl really isn't needed. After you get that shed off, just a weekly soak like you would for a beardie and he should be fine. They need a high temp basking area also but a heat rock?? What were these people thinking? It's the UV and heat they need from above.

Geeze.. I'm glad you got him. Let us know how he's doing once you get him cleaned up :)

They do come in different colors. My friends is rather dark. Not all of them have the colorful bands of color on them.

Thank you everyone! I just gave him a nice long soak, and got a few layers off his tail, it's mostly black again! :D (It was an orange color originally) I think he might have enjoyed soaking, he actually looked like he was falling asleep. ^__^ I'm going to soak him again when I get back, I'll be sure to post pictures again once everything is fixed with his cage. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mues155

do you know what species he is?
depending on what species he is he may actually just be that dark. I dont really know my uro species well.

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I don't know what species he is. We'll see if he brightens up once I get things setup right for him. :)

You can use an old tooth brush to get the old shed out from between the ridges in his tail when he's soaking also. If he's anything like my dragon, he's going to love the massage of being scrubbed with a toothbrush.

Ek! That diet is perfect! Iceberg lettuce not so much, but these guys eat seeds in the wild and love them. We feed ours just kale and bird seed and he is great. Yours honestly looks like a very healthy uromastyx. They come in all sorts of colors and shapes. I'd get the rest of his dead skin off, put on his uva/uvb light and a nice heat light. Don't offer him very much water, they're from the desert and water can cause more issues than not. When we offer ours water he bloats really bad and actually needs to be drained of excess liquid. It's not fun.

But make sure you dust his food with calcium and vitamins!

Care sheet from Chicago Exotics (vet)

http://www.exoticpetvet.com/breeds/iguanageckos1.htm