New Mali Uromastyx

[roseplummer]

We got this guy/girl? off freecycle and I wanted to share a picture and ask a few questions. We were told he is a Mali Uromastyx but his tail isn't spiky. He/she is about 8-9 inches long and a bit stressed out from the move. His tank was very yucky so I had to completely clean it which didn't help his stress level at all. He has washed play sand with a tiny bit of calc-sand mixed in for now. And I fixed him a salad of chopped blueberries shredded carrots and shredded bok choy and he seems to like it. I wet it down good to help replenish fluids. He won't eat if he thinks we are watching him. He tried to get me with his tail when I was cleaning his cage which scared the poop out of me lol I was not expecting it but I don't blame him. He is at the minimum 9 years old maybe older. His tank is 55 gallons with a heat lamp on one end. He had a bunch of torn up plastic plants and stuff. I took all that out and have a basking rock and his little cave thing in there. Does he look like a Mali to you? How do I get him used to people?

 

[Claudiusx]

Yay, another Uro on the board.

Yes, he does look like a Mali to me, but honestly, I've never seen a mali irl so I'm not 100%.

It is slightly weird that his tail isn't as spiked as Calcifers. If you look at his thread on here you will see there is a big difference in the tails of these two.

-Brandon

 

[Claudiusx]

How do I get him used to people?

... that is a bit more of a challenge. They are MUCH harder to tame than a bearded dragon. I've been working with Calcifer for over a year, albit not every day, but pretty constantly. He still is not at the point where he will cuddle like a bearded dragon does.

But, he doesn't bite, he never even opens his mouth at me, when I get to close, even putting my hand right in his face, he will only back up. He doesn't lash his tail at me, I can even hold his tail and he won't try to hit me with it. So there has been some progress, but as you can imagine, it is very slow.

You are going to have to dedicate a lot of time into him if you want to get him tame to the point of a bearded dragon.

-Brandon

 

[roseplummer]

I will be happy if I can get him not terrified of me.

 

[Claudiusx]

Actually, It might be best to stay away from handling for about a month or two even. Just open up the tank to feed greens. It's a very slow process , and you first need to make your Mali comfortable in his home, which is why you shouldn't mess with him for a month or two.

What are you going to name him?

-Brandon

 

[roseplummer]

He came with the name Nitro but I am not too fond of it. We haven't decided if we will change it or not.

 

[Claudiusx]

Oh, well you should definitely take some more pictures If you can!

-Brandon

 

[roseplummer]

Here are a couple more. I kinda want to name him Beans lol We have a bearded Dragon we just got the day before this one we named Rango.

This one was before I cleaned his home. It was really gross.

After I cleaned his home. He is really cute oh and he is shedding (normal right?)
These are not a good depiction of color.

 

[Claudiusx]

Yeah, shedding is normal. Make sure you provide him a hide with a low ceiling. They like to be able to feel their backs up against their hides if they can.

-Brandon

 

[herpgirl2510]

What a cutie :mrgreen:

 

[Claudiusx]

We want more pics! :mrgreen:

-Brandon

 

[roseplummer]

I will try to get more soon. I have been just letting him do his thing and get used to us. He is so cute and not aggressive but still scared of us. He likes to come out after the kids are in bed and watch us. Yesterday he was out and let me gently pet his back and then he reached up and licked me lol

 

[roseplummer]

Pictures from today. He kept looking up at the camera trying to figure out what it was lol.

His mouth looks rough and has since we got him. I am hoping it is just from shedding. I don't want to mess with it and scare him.

 

[Claudiusx]

He looks nice a plump!

From what I can see, his mouth looks fine to me.

BTW, have you sexed him yet? Up until a few hours ago, I thought Calcifer was a guy, but I checked, and he is actually a she!

-Brandon

 

[roseplummer]

I have no idea how to sex him lol. He seems a bit plumper than when we first got him. He is a lot easier to care for than the baby bearded dragon.