New Uromastyx - some newbie questions

[Pugwinkle]

Hi there! I just spent almost an hour over on your beardie thread! I am only on page 6 so far. Gosh Spike is adorable. Before I got the URO's it was actually a beardie that I really wanted but I decided to go with the URO's because first and foremost they don't need crickets and worms and secondly I didn't think I wanted anything that needed to be that hands on. I was worried I wouldn't have the time to devote to an animal that loves so much attention. I already have 4 pugs, 2 cats, a turtle, two aquariums and the crested gecko which do take up a great deal of my time so I decided to go with the URO's. I still think about the sub adult that I found at Petsmart. He may very well still be there waiting for a home. He was a beautiful color too and I still really want him but I probably shouldn't get him. My husband is emphatic that he doesn't want me to get any more animals that require crickets. I can't blame him because it's always awful when we get a couple that escape. Mike is not pleased when that happens. It doesn't creep me out as much as it does him but I don't like it either. Mike asked me last night if I have crickets here and I had to say yes and he wasn't happy.I forgot that I got two tree frogs at the same time as I got the URO's. I bought them from the same lady and unfortunately they need crickets. I will likely rehome the tree frogs eventually but will have to find the right home for them before I agree to it. I will probably ask this young man at Petsmart if he wants them. He seems to be very knowledgeable about the animals and he has plenty of animals that eat crickets at his house so he might be interested in having them. They aren't all that exciting either so I doubt I would miss them too much.

Your geckos are really cute and Oreo is adorable! I will have to try to get a picture of Lizzie my crested gecko. She is so small right now but terribly cute. They are the first animal I have ever had where they recommend to keep them in something really small when they are little so she is just in a critter keeper right now. I have a larger enclosure waiting for her and I think she is getting close to the size where I can move her. Crested Geckos I believe are the only gecko that does not need to have live food to survive. That was why I got Lizzie but I do find that she loves to hunt crickets when I give them to her.

I like the names you came up with but we have already had a Sparky in the family. My dad's lab's name was Sparky. Her ashes are on my mantle. And Spike was my husband's nickname when I met him. I might ask if he would be okay if I used that name but my favorite name would be Puff. That is what I was going to call the Beardie if I would have gotten him. I may keep that name just in case I get one in the future.

What is Gordo's favourite kind of greens? How is Gordo feeling since his visit with the vet?

 

[Pugwinkle]

Sorry I should say her visit with the vet.

 

[Spikeshuman]

Gordo likes collard greens and butternut squash most. Winter squashes can be heavy in salts so they shouldn't be fed every day.. but I usually sprinkle a bit on everyday anyway cause he loves them so much. He also loves his lentils of course.. and dandelions and dandelion greens.

He is looking SO much better. He remained a light green color all day yesterday.. which he has not been since he got sick. He went from his normal pale green color to this icky near black. His belly is also nice and round. He has not pooped since I started the tube feeding on monday.. so I am concerned about pushing more critical care into him until he does.. so we might do only one dose today. I posted a ton of pics of him on the uro forum yesterday.. but I will throw them up here just for you!

Hes almost looking fat!

I think Puff is a perfect name for a bearded dragon.. so if you think you might get one.. id save it! Puff the magic dragon... so cute. As for the bug thing.. after a beardie turns 1 year old.. their diet should be 90% veggies anyway or they run the risk of organ damage. Since Spike turned one just now (I dont know the exact date.. she hatched late June) the vet is making me force her to eat veggies. I am spoon feeding her greens that I have pulverized in the food processor.

I agree that tree frogs are not the most exciting species. I do like albino pacman frogs.. but again.. not exactly exciting.. just neat to look at.

With your other animals.. and lack of extra time.. a Uros were the perfect choice for you!! And of course the no bug thing is always a plus!! I was feeding Spike roaches for a little while.. until some escaped from her cage!! After I found the third roach.. I got rid of them entirely. I was keeping the colony in a bin in the garage.. but what I didn't know.. was that they could climb up the silicon corners of Spikes tank. I don't use the lid on her house.. so that the UV light does not get dispursed.. and those nasty suckers climbed right out! They were not small roaches either.. dubia are almost as big as hissing cockroaches. I still shudder thinking about it!

Oh.. I also like Godzilla... or Zilla for a boy uro. I know your not sure on sex. Also, you may think Im a goof.. but when I think Sunny (Sonny) I think Cher.

 

[Pugwinkle]

Thanks for the pictures!! Gordo is sooo dang cute! LOL! about Cher! I had the same thought so I don't think you are a goof

Dubia are illegal here in Canada which I'm very happy about! I could never have them here. My husband would totally move out or have me move out LOL! He can't handle having crickets around, he would freak if I had Dubia's.

I gave Sunny and ?? some dandelion greens this morning and some endive. I decided to only give them one or two things so I can see what they like or don't like. I still find it hard to know if they are eating it though cuz they make such a mess and I can't really figure out if they are eating it or just rummaging it all over their enclosure.

 

[Spikeshuman]

It is really hard to tell if they have eaten anything.. but as long as they are moving around and pooping daily.. they are eating! When I first got Gordo.. he would empty his over flowing bowl in minutes and I would have to give him more! I hope we can get back to that.

 

[Pugwinkle]

My guys get up about an hour after their lights come on and they bask. They don't bother with their food till later. The little one is very skittish so I am being very careful that she doesn't see me when I'm trying to check on her. I am not going to be able to do that for long though cuz they are in my office and I will eventually need to get back to work I am trying to steer clear of my office in the mornings when I notice she is out and basking. Then after they bask I think they go and have some food but they certainly don't eat it all. Maybe I'm giving them too much, I don't know.

What do you do with your guys when you are cleaning out their enclosures?? I don't want to stress them out again so I've been putting off the cleaning which I'm sure isn't good either.

 

[Spikeshuman]

Well.. before his illness and vet visits and force feeding.. Gordo was NEVER afraid of people. He loved licking our hands.. and he would even crawl up into my hand. Now.. Gordo is definitely afraid of me. He does not scramble.. but he watches me.. and if I linger too long he retreats into a hide. He very obviously knows faces.. because anyone else can sit there and watch him.. and even still pet him and he still licks their hands. He just hates me.. and I can't blame him. When I have to clean.. I reach in.. remove his poop.. and that's about it. He watches as I do it.. and if it takes too long he will creep into a hide. Since his house is SO big though... I think its less intimidating when an arm reaches in, either that or hes just fearless little uro.

I would not worry about them having small appetites while getting used to you and their new surroundings. It can take months for a uro to settle in. As long as they are eating.. and pooping.. they should be doing fine. Its pretty common for a uro not to eat at all for the first week or two in a new environment. If that's the same house they were in when their previous owner had them.. that probably helps. Since its so had to measure how much they actually eat.. its best to watch their poop. That's also going to be tricky since you have two. You never know who did what!

If they are waking up.. coming out.. basking.. eating.. they sound like they are pretty comfortable in their environment. It is really common for skittish uros to remain so. There is not much you can do about it. A hands on taming approach could work.. or it could make it much worse.. so I would just slowly introduce yourself back into your office.. and hopefully it will eventually see that you aren't something to be afraid of. I often get on all fours to crawl past Gordos house so I don't scare him into a hide when hes basking. Either that or I go through the kitchen and walk past the far side of the livingroom. I hope we get past this and he can eventually like me again.. cause I miss him running up to my hand and licking me.. and I miss hand feeding him.

 

[Pugwinkle]

I'm sure Gordo will eventually love you again. If they are anything like dogs they will forgive you. Animals seem to be very forgiving creatures. Let's just hope URO's are as well. It may take time but hopefully he will run up your arm and lick you again.

So what do you do with Gordo when you are going to do a complete cleaning of the enclosure? I need to get that repti carpet out of there and put some new stuff in until I can figure out what kind of substrate I want. I am leaning towards the slate tiles but also have been reading a lot about play sand. Did you see that care sheet that I had been referring to in another thread. I think I posted it here but I did post it on Repticzone. I guess that Excavator stuff isn't good but the people that did the caresheet have had URO's on sand for over 10 years with no issues. So I am trying to decide which way to go. Not going to rush into anything at this point.

 

[Spikeshuman]

Your Uros are definitely big enough for sand. Just like beardies.. its really a matter of maturity as far as sand goes. If you have ever seen a baby lizard eat.. they go nuts and just gobble everything.. including the sand. Then they get impacted.. and sometimes die. Your Uros should be well past the voraciously gobbling stage. So long as you keep their food up on a non - sand flat surface.. and pick out any food that ends up on the sand.. it really should not be an issue for you. The one thing with sand.. that you can not avoid no matter what.. is that when they poop.. the solid part will be easy to clean.. but the liquid part soaks down to the glass floor. Bacteria builds up.. and eventually smell will build up.. so you have to plan on changing it out like once a month. If that isn't a big problem for you.. then sand is ok. Just make sure that its natural play sand.. and make sure you wash it first. The dust can get into their lungs and since it is a silicate.. it can actually work a little like fiberglass in humans.. cut up the lungs and can be hard to come back from. Can I ask.. what is it about sand that you like? The look? Because I am not convinced that a Uro would like it better than flat rock anyway. They don't have sand in the wild. I read the thread on the excavator stuff.. and it sounds ideal.. the perfect medium for a uro.. if it weren't for the problems people experienced.. like mold and such. And mold would be a huge HUGE problem.. uros are very susceptible to upper respiratory infections. For Gordo.. I actually use my vacuum to remove dried food and scattered bird seed (which gordo does not eat.. he only throws it around). Then to clean poop messes.. I remove pieces.. I never have to clean out the whole thing at once. For you.. since you have the reptile carpet.. I would just lay down paper towels.. and replace all their furniture. The paper towels are perfectly fine while you wash the repticarpet. Also keep in mind.. tile does not have to be slate. It can be any non - coated tile. My beardie has ceramic tile that LOOKS like slate. I find it a lot easier to clean that Gordo's natural slate and poop / urates don't soak into it at all.

 

[Pugwinkle]

Yup, I am experiencing the same thing with the slate tile I have for the basking area. It's not that easy to clean so I can't imagine having the whole enclosure with that stuff. I am not really sure what you mean about non-coated tile. The only non coated stuff I saw at Home Depot was slate. Everything else had kind of a shiny coat of something on it. There was some other porcelain tiles that weren't shiny but I have no idea if they have a coating on them or not. So that is why I'm thinking of sand. I would prefer the tiles I think but don't really know what to get that won't have a coating other than the slate.

 

[Spikeshuman]

There should be a ton of non coated tiles at Home Depot. What I mean by non coated is that it does not have paint.. or gloss on it.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_408697-89251-PDEV61N7_4294856526%2B4294926044__?productId=3820965&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=Ceramic

http://www.homedepot.com/p/MARAZZI-Earth-Sand-18-in-x-18-in-Glazed-Ceramic-Floor-Wall-Tile-ULAH/203065868#.Uc4j8fnvueY

Since I can not see or feel these in person I can not tell you that they have no coat.. but they look like they don't. You can always ask the person working the floor area if the tile has any coating over it. The reason coating can be bad is that uros need such high heat (even heat for beardies is high enough to cause problems) that it can heat up the coating and then it can let off fumes. That can also happen with some adhesives so keep that in mind when using them for your basking spot and such. Silicon like they use to seal fish tanks would be a good choice.

That all being said.. sand is still an ok option so long as you change it all out when needed. That would be WAY too big a job for me since Gordos house is 6 feet by 2 feet.. but yours is more manageable.

 

[Spikeshuman]

Sorry.. that second link says Glazed.. not sure what glazed means.

 

[Pugwinkle]

I will probably go back to Home Depot this morning and see what I can find. I may buy just one and see if it's any easier to clean than the slate tile I'm using for the basking spot before I buy enough to cover the whole enclosure.

So doesn't the urate get down between the tiles? I assume I will have to remove all the tiles and clean under them? That seems like a job that might take a fair bit of time each week? I will have to move them out of the enclosure in order to take the carpeting out and replace it with something else. What do you suggest I put them in while I'm doing that? Will their being in a cardboard box for awhile stress them out?

And when I'm spot cleaning the tiles do I use a vinegar/water mixture and is it safe to use that while the URO's are still in the enclosure or should they be removed and then clean with the v/w mixture and wait until any odour has dissipated?

 

[Spikeshuman]

Removing the uros will most likely stress them out. The tiles I have are about 18 inches across. To be honest Gordo has never pooped anywhere near a tile seam. Spike however has done that once.. and I did have to remove everything to clean under it. With Spikes house it was not too hard.. since two tiles covered the whole bottom surface area. When I clean the tile.. I scoop out the poop with a paper towel.. and then I used a wet paper towel to wipe down the area really well. I don't use any cleaner or vinegar. Uromastyx poop is even dryer than bearded dragon poop.. so my guess is you should not have too much liquid going under your tile (or sand if that's still an option your considering).

Also.. when you do the substrate and if you do have to remove them and clean the entire house.. put their decorations (especially their hide) in the cardboard box .. or a plastic walmart bin / tub would be great. That will reduce stress a lot.

 

[Pugwinkle]

Okay thanks again, I will hopefully get some tiles shortly. I did pick up a porcelain tile yesterday at Home Depot. The guy there had absolutely no idea what would be considered to be coated and non coated unless of course it was shiny. The one I bought isn't shiny so hopefully it's not coated with anything. They had porcelain & ceramic but I liked the porcelain one. I just bought one to try it on the basking spot because that seems to be where the little ones poop.

I saw you on the Facebook page! Was nice to find you there.