Uromastyx.org

Hey guys, im really sorry but i have to talk POO! lol

One of my chuckwallas more than the other seems to have to strain a lot to pass his soilid waste! Poor Loki looks like hes having a hard time and lifts up his back legs and brings them together behind him like hes doing the breast stroke!

I was holding him and noticed how fat and round he looked in the lower belly so i gave him a very gentle massage on either side of him, almost immediatley he went for a wee so i gently put him down as i expected what happened next, but his feces was much much larger than usual - about two inches long and 6mm wide. it was huge for such a tiny little chuck.

it did not look too dry or feel too hard.

I have given the boys warm baths which have encouraged them to go to the loo but the feces never seems hard, its always soft and has the expected medium dark brown colouration, sometimes when very fresh showing a little green tint. the feces smells ok, just like femented greens.

is it normal for them to strain like that when passing waste? if not, how can i further help them? i cut their food very finely, sometimes misting their food dish, i supply freshly cut greens twice a day and give them warm baths every now and again.

should i bath them more often? daily maybe and see if this makes any difference?

i feed them squash which i have been told acts like a natural dewormer. I have not yet had their feces screened for parasites but will be doing this very soon.

they both have small clustered rounded lumps on the left side of their body. from studying their biology this would be their bodt fat stores by their spline. i asked my vet if it is normal to feel these lumps and sometimes see them protrude a little and he said he expects it is normal, as i could only decribe the lumps over the phone and he not actually see/feel them.

they very much feel how the picture of the fat stores looks in this image. sometimes they are larger and harder than other times.



could other keepers please let me know if they notice this in their hatchlings? or adults for that matter?

i panic over everything to do with my chucks!

Like uromastyx, chuckwallas have lymph sacks down each side of the body that are used to store water. When fed a diet high in moisture (which is sort of unnatural for chucks) these sacs fill with fliud(water). These can then look like lumps down the side. From my observations I think that this really only occurs in captive chuckwallas. I think that chuckwalla diet is pretty misunderstood. I believe the diet in captivity is way to rich and high in moisture but when we resort to a more natural diet there seems to be digestive problems-mostly binding. This does not seem to be a problem in wild chuckwallas. This leaves me to believe we are missing something pretty major in their husbandry. It may be we keep them too dry. I know their hides in the wild are higher in moisture than the air around them. Maybe even higher than we think??? I have had many conversations with Dr Jarchow -the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum's vet. He has been to San Esteban many times doing research on S. varius and he tells me really no matter the time of year the humidity in their burrows is quite high-68% relative. Just something to think about.

Tom Greb

that makes sooo much sense!
i was trying to find out more on how chuckwallas absorb moisture through their skin and how this affects their overall hydration levels. didnt get very far though, research posted on the internet is limited
i have a 5ft viv, maybe if i was to make the corner of the viv contain very deep soil, like a hill of sand i suppose, i could dampen sand deeper down and cover it with dry sand? this way they could dig themselves a burrow more alike to that in their natural habitat.

i imagine this would still bring up the overall humidity of the vivarium?

i had the understanding the purpose of these sacks was to store water for the most dry periods when they would require the hydration? surely if the captive environment is always in the rich seasons then the chuckwallas wouldnt store as much water?
i think i got that from the suncharmers care plan.

the lumps im talking of are actually solid. the other side of their body does seem to hold a little fluid though, again in circular feeling sacs.

thanks chuckwalla, given me loads to ponder and research more on! fascinating!