Very good, I placed my order on a Monday and stated it wanted it that Friday, and they set that up for me. The Little Guy was active and eating as soon as i got him as well, which as you know is sometimes iffy. Had him almost 9 months now, no issues.
arabian blue uromastyx
- Thread starter crayfishguy
- Start date
scince that stuff is designed to clump when wet wouldn't it be a problem for impaction?...why is aspen not a good substrate?...what would you suggest as a substrate for mine?
Wow NICE pickup, but a bit on the delicate side and also a rare lizard, too rare to just keep as pet, hope you want to breed some day, all bloodlines needed. If he was mine I would stay away from aspen but not the worse stuff out there either. Just for the time being I would sugest keeping simple. Tile would be a good substrate just for the moment. In the long turn you want a dirt based substrate mix heavy on play sand. I would say your terrarium is a bit on the small side specially considering the need for a good termal gradient. You should also include a cave for him. Feed allot of dark leaf vegetables and ocasional insects.
Hope you know some good Uro husbandry, I would go for mali uros anytime before trying these.
Hope you know some good Uro husbandry, I would go for mali uros anytime before trying these.
You'd better get some research done on the excavator clay honestly. There have been instances of it not clumping like with Methos75, or hardening into rock hard stuff in which you would have to make burrows before hand.
As for cage size I gave him a 20 long yesterday and for substrate I am looking for other things (tile won't let him dig so I dont think he would like that play sand would be ok for him?
You could do a half tile half whatever is good for burrowing............that way you cut the maintenance down by half
the main problem with aspen (for these guys) is that they can ingest it causing impactions that can kill them. i've heard of impaction with EVERY substrate, even play sand. play sand is safer but doesn't allow much for burrowing.
i've heard of people mixing play sand with clay (like for pottery), that's basically what the excavator clay is... i never used it so i can't say how good/bad it is but from what i hear it can be tricky. you can add water and/or sand to it to get different results. you put it in the tank wet, the lizard digs its burrow and then it dries in place (hopefully after the lizard dug its burrow).
you could even use dirt from your yard if you wanted to. sift out the big bits, sterilize it in the oven (to kill any bugs or germs), add water, the lizard will dig its caves and when it dries out (depending on your soil) it should hold it's shape.
do your best to keep the cage clean and substrate out of it's food dish to avoid impaction problems. they don't eat substrate on purpose, they do it because it smells like food or it's stuck to their food. they'll even eat their own poop out of the substrate so make sure to clean it often and raise their food dish above the substrate on stones or something stable.
i've heard of people mixing play sand with clay (like for pottery), that's basically what the excavator clay is... i never used it so i can't say how good/bad it is but from what i hear it can be tricky. you can add water and/or sand to it to get different results. you put it in the tank wet, the lizard digs its burrow and then it dries in place (hopefully after the lizard dug its burrow).
you could even use dirt from your yard if you wanted to. sift out the big bits, sterilize it in the oven (to kill any bugs or germs), add water, the lizard will dig its caves and when it dries out (depending on your soil) it should hold it's shape.
do your best to keep the cage clean and substrate out of it's food dish to avoid impaction problems. they don't eat substrate on purpose, they do it because it smells like food or it's stuck to their food. they'll even eat their own poop out of the substrate so make sure to clean it often and raise their food dish above the substrate on stones or something stable.
Nice! keep it hot on one side of the tank! Plenty of high calcium veggies and uv lighting. Good luck.
How is this little guy doing? My buddy just picked one up and I have been thinking about grabbing one myself...maybe a pair. Is he adjusting to his new life alright?
