Lizard update and new cage :)

doublemom2 · Post by **doublemom2** » May 19, 2008 7:01 pm

We got new Animal Plastics cages for our lizzies, and they are WONDERFUL! We use half the amount of power to keep the same heat levels, and the new mercury vapor bulbs we can use now are much healthier for them and make them oh so much brighter. Gizmo wanted to show off his new apartment... he's gone from 6 sq. ft. to 10 sq. ft. and is making use of all the extra space

We move the babies into their new enclosure tomorrow

They aren't going to have a clue what to do with the space, they'll be going from 4 sq. ft to 10 sq. ft, more than doubling their floor space

Andi

Garden_of_Mu · Post by **Garden_of_Mu** » May 20, 2008 8:30 am

Swank digs! I'm sure they'll be right at home in no time.

LucyGoose · Post by **LucyGoose** » May 20, 2008 9:16 am

Sorry I fist missed this Andi!

Very Cool!! DH will like to see this!

party_music50 · Post by **party_music50** » May 20, 2008 10:02 am

Nice digs, but holy cow! Gizmo is "beautiful"! (well, you know what I mean ;^) His coloring and tail is wonderful. How big is he? and how much does he weigh? Does he come out and play?

Ginger · Post by **Ginger** » May 20, 2008 1:35 pm

Babies????? Do you have baby lizards? Is Gizmo a Daddy??

Ginger

Kas · Post by **Kas** » May 20, 2008 3:32 pm

Ole Bristle Britches is looking fabulous, dahling! He has really matured.

Glad to hear your surgery went well, too. What is the next step on that?

Kas

doublemom2 · Post by **doublemom2** » May 20, 2008 4:44 pm

Gizmo is an adult male, we have no idea how old. He's about 13" long and weighs about 260 grams. He's put on about 40 grams since we got him and he's filled out very nicely.

The babies are both females and about 9 months old and weigh about 20 grams each. They're still tiny... it takes these guys at least three years to mature to adulthood. I got the babies from a breeder last fall. It takes a lot of time, effort, and money to have Uromastyx set up properly, and unfortunately most pet stores tell people they can keep them in a 20-gallon aquarium, which eventually kills them. We believe in spoiling our pets LOL!

Kas - The surgery went really well, we'll hold off on the shin-breaking thing until at least next year, Dr. Bramwell said it didn't look as bad under the scope as it did on xray and mri.

I'll post a pix of the babies in their new cage once I get them moved in

Andi

party_music50 · Post by **party_music50** » May 20, 2008 5:08 pm

oh, he's smaller than I thought!

I just did a quick search and see that they are primarily herbivores. Is there a good reason not to have any plants/greenery growing in those tanks? ;^)

doublemom2 · Post by **doublemom2** » May 20, 2008 5:15 pm

They do randomly eat some insects in the wild if they happen to be on the plants that they are eating, but they are basically 100% vegetarians, which is why we have this type of lizard! I told Tori that I would not have crickets or insects in the house, not open to discussion, and if she wanted a lizard she could find a vegetarian one. Uromastyx are what she came up with, I fell in love with Gizmo, and then got two more babies for me

They are also EXTREME heat lovers... probably more so than any other lizard. Their surface basking temps should be between 125-140 degrees, and they "cool off" in about 85-90 degree air temps.

I never ever ever thought I'd be a reptile person, but these guys are so different than most other lizards, they wrapped me around their spiny little tails and I was in love

They are a "look at me" kind of pet, not like a bearded dragon that you can walk around with. The only way we interact is by hand feeding, but we never take them out of their enclosures because they can't be away from their heat source for more than a minute or two.

Ok.... off my cool lizard soap box now.... but can you tell I really love these guys???

Andi

doublemom2 · Post by **doublemom2** » May 20, 2008 5:28 pm

I think I've already posted this, but here are Pooka and Chili:

Andi

party_music50 · Post by **party_music50** » May 21, 2008 12:01 am

Are they the girls? different coloring for sexes, or is it a maturity thing?

geez... I'm asking a lot of questions. lol! sorry about that, but it's very interesting! It's too bad that they can't come out for fear of getting too cold. Are they endangered when too cold? do you need generator backups in case you lose electricity?

I have a friend who is BIG into fish, and he has had power-outages that lost him lots of his fish because he doesn't have a backup power source for heat or oxygenation -- simply a case of insufficient space (every spare inch he has is packed with fishtanks -- they're even stacked on specially built shelves!)

and... ewwwww.... I hadn't even thought about the cricket feeding thing.

doublemom2 · Post by **doublemom2** » May 21, 2008 12:22 am

the females have less coloring, more brown with orange or red spots, but they will get more colorful as they mature.

I don't have a backup generator, I use those handwarmers when our power goes out... open up several and wrap in a paper towels, then stuff them into the area where they sleep. It's not perfect, and they still go into a semi-hibernation that way, but it doesn't hurt them if it's only temporary and it's much cheaper than a generator LOL!.

And the fact that they are 100% vegetarian is a big big hit for me

Andi

nanny_56 · Post by **nanny_56** » May 21, 2008 7:07 am

Ahhh, the things we do for love! I can see how they would grow on you...

I went on a fieldtrip with my Tori yesterday to the Indianapolis Zoo. She loves snakes, so I had to try to take as many snake pics as I could!

Muffy · Post by **Muffy** » Jul 06, 2008 9:32 am

Oh cool Uromastyx! i love those. They are on my wish list. Love the idea of not feeding crickets....YUCK! I love your set up too. Very nice!

doublemom2 · Post by **doublemom2** » Jul 06, 2008 12:44 pm

Thanks Muffy

If I can make a suggestion? If you ever do decide to get a Uro, do all of your research first on diet and habitat and have an enclosure completely set up before bringing one home. These guys stress easily and don't adjust well to change. And most importantly, do NOT get one from a pet store, please please please... get one from a reputable breeder.

Chili just shed a couple of days ago and she is looking really good. Both of the babies are growing well, Chili has tripled her weight since we've had her, and Pooka is about 2.5 x her original weight.

Andi

eastwood2007 · Post by **eastwood2007** » Jul 06, 2008 11:37 pm

How 'bout some new pics, Andi?