[WMazda]

Hi everybody!

I have had my Egyptian Uromastyx since he was a baby for about 2 1/2 years (3 years in september). When I got him, (Neo), he was merely 3 inches or so, and he is now just shy of 10 inches, head to tail.

Reading the forum, it seems most people recommend the play sand, but the pet store recommended cage carpet so that is what I chose because I didn't really know any alternative. Neo seems to love it; he sleeps under the carpet and it is easy to pick up droppings and clean.

His tank is 36x18x17. I have three heat lights and one florescent light that is 7 inches above the top (so 24 inches above the ground). The temperature is about 95F and 110F in his hot spot.

For food, I have fed him everyday since I got him. I heard that eventually they only eat 3 times a week when they are adults, but I don't know when that is so if someone could enlighten me on that I'd appreciate it! I give him kale, green beans, and carrots.

As for Neo, he is great. I play with him everyday and he is very active. And when I say him, I really have no idea because everywhere I have looked there seems to be no tell of the sex.

I have not given him many hides, however. He does have a cave and spends a good share of time under the carpet. But he doesn't seem to need to hide it seems. He loves to climb, and his main basking spot is on top of a branch that is right under two lights, so roughly a foot and a half off the ground.

Well, there you go, thats Neo and I hope that any suggestions you have can help me to make sure he lives a happy and healthy life!

~Wes

[schlegelbagel]

If he is happy on the carpet, i wouldn't change it. Carpet is one of the safest substrates out there. No chance of impaction, where playsand you get some.

Give him a few more hides if you can, he'll appreciate it.

Welcome!

[schlegelbagel]

Originally Posted by urorex

I dont understand how it can be easy to clean as when your uro urates on it and you dont wash it then it will become bacteria and that isnt good.

thats why you have lots of pieces, change often and wash.

[venus]

Welcome to herpcenter. You can probably trim the nails to prevent snagging but repticarpet is pretty safe.

[kriminaal]

Hi Wes and welcome to Herp Center.
Yet another substrate debate on Uro's(evil laugh) Unfortunately there's not a lot of good info on Egyptians that is readily available. By good info I mean papers or books by qualified researchers.
I just saw a caresheet that said they like to burrow so a substrate depth of 8 inches is required. EIGHT inches for an Egyptian? I guess he could put his tail in the hole.
If you want to keep it simple and easier for you (which appeals to a lot of keepers) , stick with the repti carpet. Make sure he's getting some baths or misting sessions though.
An alternative that is better for him(if it is a him). Would be to build an enclosure that would allow for 2 feet of substrate. Use a silty/loam mixture that will allow for burrowing and hold in moisture. Initially you will need to wet the surface down and pack it to get it to harden up. Use the Excavator product by ZooMed mixed in with some of the substrate for the top. It will help to harden it up.
Doing this will enable your Egyptian to burrow and create a humid burrow. The basking lights will dry out the air on top and you won't have any humid air up there. Periodically you will need to add water to the substrate.
I read that your fluorescent lights are 24" above. You need to have some UVB lights in there and if they are that high they won't be very effective.

[fire2225ems]

Just wanted to say welcome! Looks like you have gotten a lot of good information. As far as the food is concerned, I'm not a Uro owner but I would think that at almost 3 years old it would be considered an adult and you would be able to lighten up a bit on the food if you wish. I don't however see that getting fed everyday would be harming Neo. At the very least this means that if you want to continue feeding everyday you can do so without the fear that if you leave for vacation or something of that sort that you would have to find someone to come over every day, rather you can get someone to come over every couple of days...

[Typhanie]

Welcome! You'll find that most people have very strong feelings one way or the other on sand or carpet. There really isn't one right answer. It depends on what you can handle and what you are willing to do with the substrate.

A few points, though, to consider. In the wild, Uros do not live on either loose sand or carpet. Neither one is going to be a "natural" substrate. Uros live on hard packed earth, among rocks. They do like to burrow, and create hides when they do not have natural ones.

Concerning sand, it's a high impaction risk. There's no way to get around that. If they flick out their tongue, they may catch grains of sand, if they move the sand around and open their mouth, they might swallow some by accident. Certainly, they will kick sand into their food and consume it if there's any way conceivable to do it.

So when dealing with sand, you have to take certain precautions. You need to make sure that their food dish(es) are kept well away from the sand. Urorex keeps his on raised platforms so that it greatly minimizes how much sand can reach the food. If you have a big enough enclosure, you might put sand on one side of the cage, and the food on slate or tile at the other end. You'll want to spot clean the sand often, so that you don't have potty germs festering, and you'll have to change out all of the sand regularly, maybe once a week, or once every other week. You might even be able to get away with once a month if you catch his potty breaks quickly.

Also avoid any man-made, colored or calcium sands. If you're going to use sand, sifted play sand is definitely the way to go.

Regarding carpet, having two or three pieces is handy. You can switch them out often, and wash the ones not in use. When they get too ratty, it's not too hard to get a replacement piece. They will have to be changed more often, though, and they should still be spot cleaned as often as they can be while in the enclosure. When you do change them out, you'll probably want to wipe down the bottom of the cage with a reptile safe disenfectant as well.

With both substrates, good hides are necessary, as they can't actually burrow in either.

You can also use paper towels, newspaper, tile, or slate as simple substrates.

Mike's excavator suggestion is probably the best solution all the way around. I plan to try it with my own as soon as I can afford the excavator. Something else just always seems to come up.

[WMazda]

Thanks for all of the input. I think I'll stay with the carpet and feeding everyday. I will definitely get a new light so the UVB gets closer, and will get him a new hide.

In the caresheet, however, I saw that Kale is a "NO". I was taken back by this because I had read somewhere (a couple of years ago) that Kale is great for them because it is very dark and high nutrients. I do give him green beans and carrots, but is Kale all that bad?

Also, I pick up his droppings daily, but I never see urine so I actually assumed he didn't do that. This being the case, I clean the carpet / tank once a month. Should I clean more frequently?

Lastly, if I were to get him a companion, is he too old for the change or still young enough to adapt to a fellow Egyptain Uro?

~Wes

[Brewster320]

with most reptiles they don't like company, unless it's a male and female or female female which you can sometimes get away with but 2 males will fight and maybe even kill each other.

[kriminaal]

Kale should be used very limitedly. As far as the new companion. He isn't that big yet that you should have a problem. However you would need to keep a close eye on them to see how it's being accepted. I introduced a younger male with an adult male once. The adult appeared to become his big brother, and I never had a problem.
You could assume that since he was smaller he didn't appear as a threat to the bigger male. However if dogs are an example of how animals don't know their own size this might not be true. You often will see small dogs barking and trying to fight with dogs twice their size. They don't seem to know how small they are.
If you are planning to try this I would also be prepared that you might need to set up a second enclosure if it doesn't work out.