I just got a new Mali Uromastyx on saturday! She is very active and seems to be doing well so far. She isn't shy at all and eats from my hand. I have loads of questions but the most pressing is the UV-lamp and the substrate. The pet store said they didn't need UVB light when I asked. I've done the research and it seems some can do with just D3 supplements, I still would feel much safer having a good UVB light. Any recs for good brands? I am leaning towards a MegaRay, but they are so expensive and I already have a good 150W heat lamp with UVA. Just not any UVB light.

You're always safer to use a uvb light than just plain supplementing. You would have to be very wise in biochemistry to determine how much or how little your Uro requires. Let the body produce it for you.
I would rather see you use a tube uvb fixture. It depends I guess on your enclosure. Uro enclosures tend to be shorter in height than most other herp habitats. This makes using a mvb unwise because of the close proximity. Unless you can keep it at least 10 inches away from the Uro.
Something like a Reptisun 5.0 would be good. With that you can still supplement every four days or so.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

I use a Powersun UV 160w bulb for my Mali. This bulb is the mercury vapour version of the bulb which has both UVA and UVB. I also have a 75w Zoo-med heat bulb that I use to get the correct temps in my enclosure.

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Grammostola rosea 0.1.0
Pandinus imperator 2.0.0
Lampropeltis getula nigrita 0.1.0
Uromastyx maliensis 0.1.0
Rhacodactylus ciliatus 2.2.2
Uroplatus henkeli 0.0.1
Eublepharis macularius 1.0.0

I guess we forgot to answer your substrate question. Using a hard packing dirt is ideal. If possible deep enough for burrowing. If you can afford it the Zoomed Excavator substrate would be good for putting on top of a dirt base. It would hold some moisture under it that would enable burrows to be held intact.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Thank you! It is hard to figure out where to start even, and the pet store has been worthless.

After researching some into both the Powersun which would provide heat and the 10.0 tube which would provide UV only, i am leaning towards something of the powersun model. The Mali's cage is 4'x16" and 22" tall. I currently have his 150W basking light 15" from the basking surface giving him 115-117F temps. The light is kindof towards the middle now because when it was on one end the temps on the other side would drop to 75F and the mali would never venture over there. I was considering putting my 150W basking light on one side and a 160W UVB-A light on the other side and having the cooler part in the middle and tossing the undertank heater. It gives 85F surface but 110F underneath. The pet store convinced me to buy CalciSand, which seems to be okay but he is unable to burrow and it gets really dusty when the mali trys to dig in it. I was thinking of switching to bird seed but I like the idea of the dirt.

Also, what kind of dirt? Do I have to treat it specially? I live in a very dry climate (15-20% humid) so i'm not overly concerned about having some wetness in the cage, but wouldn't the dirt and the excavator substrate raise the humidity too much? I do like the idea of letting the mali dig his own tunnels.

Thank you again for all of the help so far.

Hello,

If you are leaning toward a powersun, I would suggest the mega ray instead. Like the powersun, its a mercury vapor. The difference is that it is better than the powersun and either the same price or cheaper.

The SB (self ballast) series produces both UV and heat. The EB will just produce UV and is actually designed for larger enclosures.

If you are going for natural in the enclosure, you should look into the "Excavator" substrate that just out recently.

Its a moldable clay like material that hardens when it dries.

To check out the Mega Ray, visit this site: Welcome To ReptileUV - Mega-Ray® UVB lamps for reptile lighting worldwide

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.:: Rich ::.

+ Spread The Info

Where is everyone getting the powersun for that cheap? I had to pay 95.00 a bulb for mine when I used them. Is that the normal price for them?
Back onto the subject of this, I would recommend the Mega Ray,, it has done amazing things for some of the really horrible iguana cases I have in at the moment. In 6 months time my Grizzly thinks he is king of the world, eats like a champ, has put on lots of weight, and now acts like a normal male iguana, which I never saw before that. At one point I was going to have to euthanize because he was just not getting any better, The mega Ray was my last shot before euthanasia, I now swear by this bulb!

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

Nichole you must be getting them from the petshop!
Online you can get them for 40-50 bucks

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Impressive work on the Iguana! I'm sold with the Mega-Ray. Now as far as setting it up how does the two sunning spots sound one on each side of the cage with a cooler part in the middle? My cage might be too small for that. (4'x16", 22" high)

I would love to see pics of how other people have set up the cage if you have them handy. Mine right now is barren except for some rocks, a hiding spot and a ton of CalciSand. It looks like a pathetic rock garden. I can't imagine my Mali is very pleased with the setup.

I was,, with a big emphasis on the WAS! LOL. that would explain it though, 100 percent markup on everything. Now if only he would carry the Mega Ray that would be great,, I do have those days where I seem to break one or two of them and realize I only have one extra one or none I would still pay the 95.00 for the convenience on those days, lol

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead