I want to make sure I am not just being a worry wort. I got my new Uro 2/20/2013. He is only about 3-4 inches long. I was told 3-4months old. The previous owners only had him at most 2 weeks. They said that he was eating good with them and they kept his basking spot around 100 but they never gave him a place to bask really. I am keeping it around 120. I believe he is a geyri but not 100% sure about that either. He did start shedding a few days after I got him. He was eatting but doesnt seem to be now. If so not alot. He has a millet seed mix and fresh greens every morning and night. IF they get wilted I replace them. His greens are Collard, Kale, and Mustard greens. Small carrot pieces and apple pieces. Im not sure how i can post pic but I will try to figure it out.. Thanks for any help
Very cute little guy you have Congrats on your new uro What is his tank set-up like? It looks like you have some kind of sand mixture on the bottom... Especially for younger reptiles it's not the best thing to have a loose substrate that they can accidentally eat and then potentially get impacted on. A better choice for younger uros is tile, newspaper, millet (this is a safe loose substrate because it is also a food source), papertowel or repticartpet (I found my little guy's toe nails got stuck on the repticarpet too much though). As far as food and eating habits you can see from this thread that we have all gone through the mini-freak outs of not having your little guy eat for a week or something. I would suggest getting a gram kitchen scale so you can weigh him or her and I wouldn't start to worry about him not eating as much as usual if he isn't losing weight.
I use papertowels for a substrate. I did not notice my little one eating when I first got him or her. It take them a little while to adjust to their new surroundings. You may want to try spring green mix [baby greens] that is what my little one likes. I tried mustard greens and it did not touch them.
He is on crushed walnut shells. Yes I know not best for him. That is what he came with. I was told as long as his food is kept in a dish he should be fine. Any food scattered is picked up. Cage cleaned regularly. He never comes out of his hide rock unless i take him out. He doesnt bask either.. Just got some new greens tonight for all my guys. So see if he likes them. He eats but not everyday. He is not loosing weight and looks good. So im probley just a worry wort.
I picked dandalion flowers for mine and it kicked his appetite into overdrive. I would also try to get his basking temps up to about 130. It made a huge difference for mine. If you can setup some rocks closer to the heat source it will give him a choice of basking spots. Mine seems to love the area that is about 135 degrees right before and after he eats.
He has a big basking area. He can choose hotter side or cooler side of it. I have to get a thermometer that goes higher as mine maxes out at 120. So not 100% sure the temp for it..
What kind of thermometer are you using. The guys here talked me into a temp gun. I ordered it on Amazon for $25 and it proved that my stick on thermometer was way off. I still use those in the tank to let me know if anything changes at a glance but I check surface temps with the gun. If you have any dandalions around try feeding him those. Mine can't get enough. That and lentils are his favorite treats. I believe if I used lentils as my substrate that little guy would look like Jaba the hut in a day and eat every last one. LOL
Oh wow, ok so... this is a link to a very graphic image of a dissected bearded dragon that died of impaction from walnut shells. Please don't look if you're not ok with seeing a beardie cut open and their stomach contents!!! Here is the link. Walnut shells are great for scrubbing and cleaning... not so great on the sensitive stomachs (inside and out!) of lizards. That might be why he isn't really coming out of his hide often.... I really would change it out, even regular sifted play sand would be better than crushed walnut shells. Obviously it's your choice but it's always good to be aware of the possible risks.
No I appreciate all the help and advice out there. Again its what he came with. I planned on changing it out. What about cage carpet or white millet? I think the millet is a great idea because he can still dig..
You guys are right!!!!!!!!!!! I put my last piece of cage carpet over the walnut shell and he is out .. he was just basking by himself and eatting.. I should've went with my gut in the beginning and listened to myself
Oh good! I'm so glad you figured out why he was hiding all the time! I had carpet at 1st but my little guys nails kept getting stuck in it so I changed him out to tile after a couple weeks. Good luck with him!
I think im gonna do carpet and white millet that way he can have something to dig in plus carpet under his food area... What do you guys think
Sounds like a much safer plan than walnut shells Just be careful with the carpet, you might have to clip your little guys nails if they get stuck too often. Good luck!
Yes I read tht about the carpet. Im only going to put that under his food dish area. The millet will be the rest of his tank.. I do appreciate all you guys help. I shouldve listened to my gut to start off with
Try covering the back and sides of his tank with a background, or even a blanket, if you haven't already. You can even cover all 4 sides, or at least the bottom half of the front if you don't mind the look of it temporarily. Putting a physical barrier around them makes them feel more secure. Having said that, some juvie uros are just naturally shy. I had a customer who had one for about a year before the uro started basking in front of people. Yours is still in the adjustment period, so I wouldn't be too concerned about her shyness. Is she eating and pooping regularly?
As far as I know he is eating fine dont see alot of poop but do see some. He doesnt eat very much of greens if any that i can tell but he is still nice and fat. He rarely comes out. He barely ever comes out. I am thinking he needs a quiet no noise or movement home.
Covering the sides like Cammy said helps a lot... and Uro's actually can take around 6 months to "warm up to you" ... AKA even coming out of their hides when you're in the room. It seriously took my guy about 4 months before I could take off the paper covering the front of his tank.
This is very accurate. Nines was a rescue from a Scamps store. He (she) would do nothing on his own. I have an enclosure that is only open in the front. I had a routine of taking him out of his hide every morning. Eventually he started eating regularly and basking. Poop is a great sign. It shows they are eating. I kept his diet very simple after consulting with Douglas Dix. Butter lettuce as a water source, with endive and bok choy, 6-7 water soaked lentils and a light dusting of mazuri tortoise pellet. On this simple mixture of food he essentially grew plump, and was a successful save from a box store that knew NOTHING about uros. Now he is now lovingly know a 'fat & worthless'LOL. It took 6 months of the prompting him out of his hide to establish a routine that he fell into. He would have died at the Scamps we bought him at. They were feeding him a plain diet of Iceberg lettuce. He was sickly looking and super skiiny. He was also on a bed of crushed walnuts. I changed him over to a thin layer of millet because he likes to dig. Six years later, and he thinks he runs our home. What a life. Basking, running jumping, climbing and the occasional glass dancing. He's a ham.
