The most important is What are you measuring the temperatures with I am using a stick on thermometer but i will get a digital one You should be using a digital thermometer with a probe not these stick-on or dial type types, these are useless and totally inaccurate. Even better an infrared temperature gun. Size of tank. 13" wide/ 30" long What UVB have you got, make, type, Repti Glo Desert Terrarium Lamp 10.0 uvb 15w 18 inches What are you using as heat/basking lamp, make, type. 75 watt bulb in a alum globe type housing How do you control them. timer How close can he get to uvb and basking lamp and where are they in tank. The uvb is laying on top of the screen top of the cage and my mali dab can get within at least 6 inches from the uvb and as far as the basking lamp he can get fairly close to it, the basking lamp is laying on top of the screen top as well What hides have you got and where are they. I have a clean small towel and he seems to like this cause he crawls under it and hides it is in a corner, also have a ladder going from side of glass tank to bottom of tank he hides under that also
Definately pick up a digital thermometer - this is critical as its VERY easy to overheat the tank. You dont want screen between the UVB and the lizard (or plastic or glass) cutting a slit in the screen will elimate this. Screen will filter some of the UVB, making it less effective. You want to work on your hides - the reason he likes the towel is because they like snug, secure hides - but he needs to have this hide and also be able to sit on top of it for a basking spot, a towel is not an adequate hide. I construct my hides out of tiles and paving stones or bricks. You want the hide to be low enough that it brushes their backs when standing, and nice and snug so they can wedge themselves in. By using broken (smoothed down edges) peices of tiles stacked on top of eachother and epoxied in place, with a peice of tile across the top - you can make sure that its the perfect height and width. You can also make several of these and stack them on top of each other, which will give you the ability to get the proper basking temps. You need a bigger tank, 75gallon is the smallest standard size aquarium that should be used. They are only 18inches wide, ideally you want something 24inches, but a 75 is better than any other standard tank. You can also make one or buy a specialty reptile cage that is the proper dimensions. Here are some pictures of my hides to give you ideas: a feeling of safety and security is crucial
Thanks mimc so I should have the uvb light on the same side of the heat lamp (basking light)? is the reason for this is because you want the other end as your cool end? my mali isnt a baby but is no where near fully grown so can i get by with a 50 gallon tank for a few years? when we pick him up he does squirm move around alot, so i take it that this is a good sign ? he hasnt ate anything since we brought him home last night I guess he is stressed, I have put a few mealworms in his cage and some greens and he hasnt touched anything I do have a large waterbowl in his cage should i take this out?
Hi Debra, Yes the uvb and heat lamp should be at same end. I wont go into the technical stuff about UVB but he absorbs D3 through his skin and basically this is then distributed through his body and ensures all his organs are working correctly, the heat is also essential for digesting his food, together they make for a healthy uro. Although he may not be fully grown yet, he really does need the larger tank so you can get the correct temperature gradients. A 50 is only 36" long and to get the basking spot up to 120F+ (directly under the heat lamp) and the cool end around 80 will be hard to get. It would save you a lot of cash in the long run if you can go to a 75g (48" long) to start with, and again temps easier to maintain. He will use every inch of space you can give him. I would remove the mealworms and just have the greens in there, it will take him some time to settle in, as long as 2 months, depending on the individual uro, they are all different. Just change the food daily and leave him alone for now. Remove the water bowl, they dont drink, all their water is obtained from the food. You can wash the greens and just shake off the excess water this is enough. A bowl of water will raise the humidity and could cause respiratory problems. I know we keep on at you about size of tank but it vital to your uro's health. You learnt the hard way with your beardie, sadly, so lets try and get this right from the start.
ty I do appreciate the advice what do you think a 75 gallon tank will cost ? and any advice on where to purchase ?
75gallons usually run around 150-170$ depending on where you get them - if you buy them via a petstore. You may be able to find them used in your local buy.sell/swap magazine
thanks mimc you and bruno have been very helpful I will look into the 75 gallon tank however lol so there should be 12 hours of my basking light (heat lamp) and uvb light ? and the other 12 hours of no light at all ? wont the littel guy get cold? will I need two digital thermometer's or just one?
Hi Deb, Yes 12 on and 12 off, in summer this can be 14 on and 10 off same as natural light. If your house doesn't get cold at night, below 65F, the slate rocks will hold the heat and he should be ok, if it does get cold then a low wattage CHE (ceramic heat emitter) these dont produce any light, can be used to keep temps up. I cant help regards the purchase of tank, I live in the UK and we dont use that type over here, we use wooden due to different climate, these retain heat far better. Do you have Aquatic centres (Tropical fish) near you, they may have a second hand one that leaks or slight crack in it, no good for fish but ideal for lizard, may be Craigslist as well. It would be better with 2 thermometers but you could use one, just means moving probe often to check temps at both ends. Dont know if you can get then over there but I use a dual thermometer, this unit reads temp as well as probe, so you could put probe under the basking spot and unit at cool end inside and observe both readings at same time. Here's a pic of my setup, it's about same size as a 75g. I have gone in for the natural look here with loose substrate, as he loves digging. His caves are built in under the rocks. Click on image for full size pic. Bear in mind, mine is an egyptian uro and needs a little more heat and UVB than a Mali, hence the extra lights etc.
ty bruno really nice setup you have i bought my little guy(no name yet ) a nice little desert cave hidey he was really happy ill have him a new home within a few days. but he still isnt eating or poopin (yuck lol) he is being lazy today baskin on his drawbridege i have had him like 2 days now should i be worried about him not eatin or poopin ?
Hi, I shouldn't worry just yet, could take a week or more to settle, if you just change the food etc daily and leave him, he will settle better but may not really improve till you get new tank set up. Then you should see a big difference.
