Building a huge new tank for my Male and Female Mali Uromastyx. Any suggestions?? any size suggestions or designs?
Minimum size for ONE Uro is 48"x24"x24". This is to ensure proper temps are reached. Secondly, they should NOT be housed together except at mating time, which Mali's do not reach maturity until they are about 5 yrs old. So, with that said, you will need TWO enclosures, each the specified measurements. The best material to use is Oak Plywood, you will need to seal it with Polyurethane clear satin stain, maybe two coats, then let it air out for at least two weeks to get any fumes out of the enclosures. Another suggestion is to have sliding doors on the front or ones that open like cupboard doors, makes for easier access for daily cleanings. You can get ceramic light fixtures and cords for them at Home Depot or Lowes, you will need at least 3 in each enclosure, one for a ceramic heat emitter (if needed during the winter months and at night time), one for your basking bulb (regular or MVB), and one for a regular household bulb for extra light. Do not have lights on at night, as Uro's can see the light and it will mess with their sleep patterns. If you don't use a MVB, you'll need a UVB Tube light, the best is the Repti-Sun 10.0 tube light, they are only $20 at www.reptilesupply.com. If your Uro's are under 7" long, use papertowels, newspaper or tile for your substrate, after that, you can used Pool Filter Sand, Washed/Sifted Playsand, Millet Seeds or tile as your substrate. Personally, I use the Pool Filter Sand and love it. Here are my enclosures, I had them specially made for my Uro's, they are 60"x24"x24" Here is a great way to make a Hide / Feeding area so you don't get all kinds of food in the substrate: I hope that helps somewhat.
72 long 36 wide and 30 deep... This will give you plenty of room to house 2 Uromastyx together and also bring room for you to place a nest box in the tank during season, the width is a fairly big deal as the width brings dimension to the tank and will make the Uro feel a little more like they are in open air than in a see through hallway. The depth will allow for 6" of substrate (better for burrows and security of objects) and you will be able to place an actual raised basking area to designate as the UV and heat basking spot, and the legnth will allow for a proper climate transition (cold, warm, hot, basking) as well as a secondary bask spot for just heat as they don't always want to be pelted with high amounts of UV. Also an awsome thing about having a tank that large, you could build a background as Jbreddawg (on Repticzone) [post="0"]Jbreds Cage[/post] did for his Ornates. For the bottom of the tank I would just use MDF(medium density fiberboard) lined inside with a layer of FRP sheeting(fiberglass reinforced plastic). Glass wont scratch down the line like plexiglass would, but it also weighs more and is about 1/3 more expensive than plexiglass.
Once again, I stress ... TWO URO'S SHOULD NOT BE HOUSED TOGETHER. They may not fight at first, but one may dominate the other causing health issues. Agression could happen at any time, when you aren't home to stop it and they could fight to the death. I don't know about you, but I have been tail- whipped and they have drawn blood, so why risk them being housed together if you don't have to.
thanks for all the replies and all comments are taken in. if anyone has any other suggestions lemme kno cant wait to get this thing built
Hey Trey, I sent you a PM about your Uromastyx there should be a link in the upper right hand corner of the webpage
