"Yes, uromastyx are primarily vegetarians. Will they do fine on a vegetarian diet? Most likely. Will they do good if you give them insects every now and then? Most likely. You will probably see an increase in growth.

Gout and renal failure are more indicative of poor environmental conditions, and perhaps feeding excessive protein to an animal that is primarily vegetarian will have an effect, but for the most part these are caused by chronic dehydration."

The problem here is what is the proper amount that can be fed without it becoming too much on the Uro's digestive system. Pet stores and keepers will say 2-3 per day, others 2-3 per week, and some say 1 a month. Problem here is, your just taking one person's opinion as a factual statement. Field studies may indicate animal protein is ingested 'accidentally' with the greens.

If you feed crickets on a regular basis, yes the Uro will recognize it and eat it. Will they do this if the enclosure was larger then what we use, say 20'x20' in an attempt to stimulate more of a wild type setting.. maybe they wont seek it out as food. Choice is obviously up to the keeper, but a keeper that pushes his/her opinion as fact is when it becomes a danger to other Uro's. Every Uro's health may vary, therefore the amount of animal protein they COULD consume safely, varies as well. I think a true study needs to be done on the effects of protein in Uro's.

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