why do my uromastyx have some white skin on his nose

[ChrisW9586]

I got my uro for a month already.He's eating great and healthy.But im wondering why he has some white skin from shed or appear from his nose? i notice that happen like 2 or 3 times a week.

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[leoares27]

do you have a pic of it?

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[smilin-buddha]

I think it is salt. They dispel salt out their nostrils. I guess like sweating

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[BWSmith]

That is correct. It is how they get rid of salt.

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[mongoose5971]

Soak him once or twice a week and it will dissolve. It's not a bad thing, as stated before it is salt deposits, but if too much builds up it is possible to block the airflow to his nostrals.

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[BWSmith]

Originally Posted by mongoose5971

Soak him once or twice a week and it will dissolve. It's not a bad thing, as stated before it is salt deposits, but if too much builds up it is possible to block the airflow to his nostrals.

Soak a Uromastyx? It has been 10 years since i kept Uros, but I would NEVER soak a Uromastyx. In fact, mine died from soaking (at the instruction of the Vet who didn't know what they were doing). The soaking caused a secondary infection. In the wild, they may go their whole life without touching water. To the best of my knowledge, the salt is harmless. I always just wiped it off. But i would advice against soaking unless a good Uro breeder recommends it since things may have changed in Uro husbandry in the last 10 years.

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[TammyJamaica]

This is interesting. I don't know anything about uromastyx at all.

What is the salt thing all about? Why does this happen and what do they eat that they have so much salt to have to get rid of?

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[BWSmith]

I am not sure of the scientific reason, but logically I would guess it is an adaptation to climate. They come from such arid regions that water is the most valuable resource. If they expelled it through urates, that wastes water. This seams like the most efficient method to remove the salt and retain the water. Of course, this is just an educated guess, I don't have any documentation one way or the other.

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[_Sam_]

Wow- i really never knew that. You learn something every day I guess!
thanks BW!

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[smilin-buddha]

I got mine from a friend who was losing his place. He said he used to bath him monthly. I rinsed him once just cause he was dusty from the sand. I have since went to seed substrate. But I would not soak him either.

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[Xeikeness]

No, absolutely positively do not soak a uromastyx! Their tails will rot. The person that had my uro before I did did everything wrong. He has a huge burn on his back from a light being too hot too close in a cold room, and he had some pretty bad scale rot on his tail from being "bathed" once a week.

As for the white crusty stuff on their noses, it is just salt, don't worry about it. If it bugs you, gently brush it off. If he's a biter, gently brush it off with a soft toothbrush.

I do, about once a month or so, offer my uromastyx water. I leave it in his cage for two days. I've had him for over a year, and he hasn't taken a single sip in all that time. Still passes urates and feces just fine, so it's par for the course for uros.

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[mongoose5971]

I've never had a problem with soaking...IDK I never did with mine, I had her a long time ago before I really knew much about them, but we do occasionally at work and never had problems...I'll ask around though.

But as for the salt deposits, not sure why they do it, but iguanas do it too, they usually "sneeze" it out...which sucks if you keep them in glass tanks!

	Iguana Iguana

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[TammyJamaica]

Originally Posted by mongoose5971

I've never had a problem with soaking...IDK I never did with mine, I had her a long time ago before I really knew much about them, but we do occasionally at work and never had problems...I'll ask around though.
But as for the salt deposits, not sure why they do it, but iguanas do it too, they usually "sneeze" it out...which sucks if you keep them in glass tanks!

Iguanas who live in Glass Tanks shouldn't sneeze salt!LOL

	Iguana Iguana

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[tmangt7]

Originally Posted by mongoose5971

But as for the salt deposits, not sure why they do it, but iguanas do it too, they usually "sneeze" it out...which sucks if you keep them in glass tanks!

i guess you do learn something new everyday, interesting and this made me crack up! thanks mongoose!

	Iguana Iguana

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[shadowmagic]

I've had my mila for almost two years he's 'bout 2 1/2 now he has had white patches next to his nose between his eye however it was after sheding and now that skin area is soar do not pick at it as if it were shedding. Salt at his nostrals is normal yes it is salt and he is extracting it outta the water. Bathing i give a bath to "Torgue" about once every three months in luke warm water. he loves it. P.S. my Torgue can get enough dandy lions from the yard.

[shadowmagic]

Originally Posted by ChrisW9586

I got my uro for a month already.He's eating great and healthy.But im wondering why he has some white skin from shed or appear from his nose? i notice that happen like 2 or 3 times a week.

I've had my uro for over two years it's had a white patch twice now between his nose and eye. It never seem to do any damage. It's only happen after shedding and i believe its just soar and heals JUST DONT pick at it. it will fade away. Salt out the nose yes is typical but i dont think that's what you were talking 'bout. BTW mine loves dandy lions out the front yard

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[JKCarter]

As for the white patches enough people have answered that LoL.

As far as soaking, I just took my Yellow Uro to a reputable herp vet a week ago for a check-up and was told it is perfectly fine to soak a Uro so long as you keep the water clean. Obviously if the animal has lacerations or some other skin lesion/condition, soaking would increase the chance of introducing some kind of bacteria to the open wound.

Just thought I'd share what the herp vet had said.

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[morti]

Hi! This thread is from 2008. This person's uro is either better or dead by now. :Yes:

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[JKCarter]

LoL Suppose I should learn to check the date of the original post before replying. In the immortal words of Homer "Doh!!"

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