Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been watching this forum for a while now and have just joined to ask some questions. First off, I have never owned a Uro before. I have had an Ameiva Lizard before and have tried 2 baby Bearded Dragons. After both died for whatever reason, I decided to look into another kind of lizard. My science teacher has one. I don't know what kind but it is all black. I wanted to know what kind to look into. What is a good kind to start off with? Also, any general info. anyone can give me would be great. Such as diet, aquarium size, etc... Thanks!

Leopard Geckos are great starter reptiles.

If you had problems keeping a beardie alive, please please please do not buy a uromastyx.

They need a lot of space, have very specific requirements for heat, light, and diet. Building and equiping a proper enclosure is quite costly. Many of the uros sold in pet stores and at shows are wild caught, can be unhealthy and difficult to acclimate.

Once you have experience keeping reptiles healthy, nevermind merely alive, look into uros.

benedita

ok. first of all, my first lizard was alive for 3 years before it fell the wrong way, hurt it's back and died shortly after. and I didn't have trouble keeping the beardies alive, the guy at petco said they were sick. so please don't judge me on them I am pretty sure I can handle a uro with some good tips and suggestions from the guy at regal reptile. still, any help you can give me would still be appreciated. Thanks.

This doesn't really answer any specic question, and I don't have any other herp experience besides my Mali, but I don't really think they are that hard to keep. Am I just blissfully ignorant? I hear a lot about how hard they are to keep, but I think Bruce is doing OK even with my limited knowledge. Just my two cents...

JR
-----
BRUCELIZARD.COM Curious? Thought So.

JR, I think I've seen you make a similar post before. Not everybody does the research (or follows it) and puts forth the effort that you have. Too many people will half ass thier setups and feeding to whatever is convenient for them and the animal will "survive" for awhile before dying and said person will claim it was healthy and doesn't know what happened. It happens all the time, it even happens with dogs and cats, just go to animal shelter. I hope that didn't come across as rude because that was not my intentions, I just feel that you are more of the exception and not the rule when it comes to first time reptile owners.
-----
1.1 Ornates (Lindsay Pike)(Doug Dix)
0.0.1 Mali
0.0.1 Egyptian
0.1 Weimaraner

No offense taken whatsoever by your post...I didn't think it was rude at all. You do make a very good point that I had never thought of. You would almost have to try to not be able to keep a cat or dog, but still there are thousands in shelters. Planning probably does account for nearly as much as previous experience with almost any animal. Good point.

JR
-----
BRUCELIZARD.COM Curious? Thought So.

The best advice for a beginner is to shy away from any animal that requires extreme temps or high/low humidity levels, especially if you plan to use fish aquariums as enclosures. Maybe go with an Ackie monitor. They're tough, don't get large, aren't very needy & are very entertaining.

Uros caa take some money and time to get set up for properly, but once that's done they can be managed fairly easy. Uros are fairly similar, but Mali's, Egyptian, etc. can have some varying needs.
For a full grown Uro you should have at least a 55 gal. tank with a lid that can be secured. If given a chance many will find a way to escape. It should be a minimum of 4 times their length and twice their length in width.
Substrate is a controvercial issue regardless of which reptile you get Uros included. Different people have different preferences. I personally use wild bird feed that is mostly millet. It's easy to take care of, low in dust, and some Uros snack on it. Every 3 months or so you can change it and feed the old stuff to the birds.
Heat and light - Uros require a basking area of 120F, the low or cool end around 80F during the day. The light has to have UV-A and UV-B for their bodies to properly process their food.
As a rule most captive bred eat primarily greens. Some will eat a little fruit, and they can sometimes have crickets or worms as a treat. Wild caught have a varied diet and don't always want to eat what the caresheets say. I'm not going into that though because it always causes a stir here.
Each Uro HAS to have it's own hide which needs to be big enough to turn around in. You can't house 2 adult male Uros in the same enclosure as they WILL fight, possibly ending up with one dead or seriously injured. The hide should be at the cool end of the tank, but you can have one at the hot end as well.
That's the basic basics. To learn more detailed info there are some good sites with care sheets for them.
Whatever you decide on I'm sure you will research it and set up for it before you actually buy it. Searching for care sheets is a good way to learn about different species to see which is right for you. Good luck.
-----
**Kenn**