” He just doesn't like to fowl his own viv!

It is much more likely that the increase in activity (and possibly the stress) has a direct impact on peristalsis which results in defecation (not a perfect term but beats typing out waste elimination several times in this post). Diet (including fiber), temperature, and activity appear to play a significant role in the defecation process so an animal regularly defecating while active outside of its enclosure does not surprise me; I hear the same claims about bathing. I just do not think that it is likely that the uromastyx is making a conscious effort to keep its enclosure tidy. Repetition and conditioning probably also come into play.

Many that have experience with multiple animals of this genus will likely agree that most uromastyx are not ‘tidy’ animals and favorite spots for defecation are often food bowls and warm basking spots.

I wanted to throw my comments into this thread as I have worked with quite a few people that have had issues with inconsistent defecation (their uromastyx not themselves) that was stimulated only by bathing or stress/high activity. Simple changes (e.g. upgrading to larger enclosure to promote proper temperatures and activity, tweaking temps, changing diet, proper lighting) resulted in a more consistent pattern where the animal no longer went weeks without defecating or had to be bathed or taken from the enclosure to stimulate waste elimination. (I am not suggesting that this is necessarily the case with the animals in this thread)

Of course this post will have little influence (other than maybe to start a frivolous debate) on those that prefer anthropomorphizing and personification to scientific principles but I thought it worth posting for those that would like to look into the possibility of valid reasons for inconsistent defecation or extremely slow transit times.

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