Sorry for the delayed response! I don't frequent this forum often.



In my limited experience (I've kept Malis, Saharans and currently an Egyptian), Uromastyx are fairly intelligent lizards. As with many species, most of that intelligence revolves around food. I personally do not feel a person cannot bond with any reptile in the same manner one can with, say, a dog. At best, many reptiles learn to tolerate our presence and some will behave in certain ways to solicit reward (i.e. food!). We humans love to anthropomorphize things to death and its so cliche to say we "bond" with our iguana or bearded dragon or whatever.



Quite simply, your lizard will never "bond" with you as a parrot or a dog may in the sense it sees you as a companion. With a small handful of exceptions (which Uros are not a part of!), reptiles do not have the capacity for affection. They categorize things as follows:

- conspecifics (members of the same species),

- food/prey,

- predators/threats

- non-threat organisms

- environment (rocks, plants, etc)



Your pet lizard likely rates you as a non-threatening lifeform that routinely provides it food. Likewise, it has (or will) learned to tolerate your presence because instinct mandates that it never pass up a free meal. As mentioned before, it may even become alert and responsive when you approach, not because it "likes" you, but because it merely associates you with food. Do not misinterpret this as any form of affection.



To answer your other questions, Uromastyx see fairly well, as most herbivorous lizards do. They see in color, and within the UV spectrum, and they use this ability to identify safe plants to eat and members of their own species.



You may want to check out: http://www.uromastyx.org for more information.

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