Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[paulv]

I got my first 2 Uromastyx 2 weeks ago at the local reptile show. Very cute lizards and I am excited to work with them as well.

Any words of advice will be appreciated.

Here are some pic's, will get better ones over the weekend.


Thanks

paul

[mark_w]

I don't keep Uros anymore, but have a few years experience with U. acanthinurus, which I think these are?

Apologies if you know all this already, but essentially they need a thermal gradient, but with a very hot basking spot of say 110 - 120 degrees F (even warmer for adults) and a cooler area in the mid 70's to low 80's F. They also benefit from very bright lighting. Many European keepers use metal halide lighting for this. They are fine if you shut off all heating overnight.

They love to burrow, and benefit from some kind of semi-moist burrow or hide box at the end of a tunnel. A lot of keepers find that they never get used to glass, and spend a lot of time scratching away at it.

I used chopped up wild greens; chicory, dandelions, plantain etc as a staple, with occasional treats of sweetcorn, grapes, strawberries, king mealworms, waxworms, crickets etc. Also, I always hibernated mine, even when very young; I found that they started the spring with renewed appetite etc.

Hope this helps,
Mark.

[paulv]

Yes they are U. acanthinurus. Thanks for the info, I have set them up in a new cage with a more suitable substrate.

I will try and get the cage even brighter, Have a normal UV tube in there with a 100 watt spot light.